Molly has dreamed, too, of a special rite of passage in Irish dances. Her first solo dress! She will be wearing it for a competition and a public performance. The competition is called a Feis (pronounced fesh) or Feile, meaning festival. Schools of Irish dance usually have a uniform design reflecting the traditions of the school. When a dancer becomes "advanced," however, a solo dress is designed for her, a dress that accents her own colors and interests.

As you may remember, Irish stepdance became famous after 1994 because of the touring show Riverdance. The solo stepdance usually has straight arms, and quick, precise movements of the feet. Girls dance in hard shoes or in soft shoes, called ghillies (gillies), which resemble black ballet shoes.

PHOTOS: Nancy Lee took all photos in natural daylight coming in her studio window.

COLOR & PAINTING: Some computer screens may modify the color of the art. Some may make the image lighter or darker than it is. The doll has finer detail and more subtle coloring than a computer-jpeg-photo can show.

I am using artist-grade alkyd-oil paints (in thin translucent glazes) with the addition of alkyd resin to make the paint surface become as flexible as the doll’s vinyl skin and to make it adhere well. I finely sand (Q-tip and finest pumice) the surface before painting it for better adhesion.

KISH MARKS: There is an impressed mark on the back of her head near the neck: 1997 Kish and Company 97F, which shows when Helen Kish first created the head sculpt. I signed my name there, too.