‘ to form the nose, mouth and eyes.

LIBRARY DISPLAY
Ancient tradition
of dollmaking
alive in W. Van

ORIGINALITY IS the motto of West Vancouver resident
Lidia Speek and that shows in the creation of her dolls
which are on display at West Vancouver Memorial Library.

The dolls are individually
designed and hand sculpted.
“They are really my children,’ the
mother of three grown daughters
says with a laugh,

By ANNELIES RAVENSBERGEN

Contributing Writer

in dollmaking to classes of five
pupils. Anyone interested can call
her at 922-3444,

The dolls will be on display at
the West Vancouver library until
the end of March.

The basement studio in her
home is decorated with dried
flowers, dolls, antique materials
and lace. The big heavy wooden
table in the centre of the room
serves aS a worktable during the
many hours of creation. Speek
estimates it takes her two months
to complete a doll.

Speek, who obtained a degree in
textiles in her native Netherlands,
owned an exclusive boutique and
designed costumes for theatre pro-
ductions.

She emigrated to Canada in 1982
where she began making dolls, an
ancient tradition in Europe. Speek
rates among the four best
dollmakers in her native country
and said the art form is not prac-
tised in North America.

Wooden dolls were already
popular in England in 1700, Speek
said. Later, dolls were made out of
paper and wax until 1875 when
mass production started with the
use of molds.

The most famous companies
were Jumeau, Bru and Steiner, and
today these dolls are collectors’
items and extremely valuable,
Speek says, even though they are
reproductions.

Speek starts with a styrofoam
ball for the head and covers it with
self-drying clay. She then proceeds

After the face is polished, she
paints it. ‘‘It is a special job to give
the eyes expression.”

‘As soon as the head is finished
I see what the personality is,’’
Speek says, after which she decides
if it will be an 18th century French
madame or a 1920 flapper.

The shoulders of the doll are
marked with a serial number, ©
Speek’s initials and the date to
prove authenticity.

The head is then sewn onto the
fabric body. The lower legs and
arms are also made out of clay,
and sewn onto the limbs. The doll’s
arms and legs can move at the
joints and can be set in several
positions. The shoes are painted on
and the hands are finished.

The hair is taken from wigs and
adapted to head size and done up
in the appropriate fashion.

“The clothes are as original as
possible,’ Speek says. She uses
antique materials and lace, which
she buys at auctions as far away as
England.

Speek stresses the uniqueness of
her dolls: ‘I want to create my
own design and that is how it
should be when making something
original,’’ she said. ‘‘I try to do
things as perfectly as possible.’’

Speek warns many dolls that
claim to be original are actually
reshaped molds. ‘“‘They wiggle the
mold when it is still pliable and call
it an original, but it is still a
mold,”’ she said.

Speek has also mastered the
400-year-old folk art of
Hindelooper painting, named after
a 14th century trade city in nor-
thern Holland. The style is used to
decorate furniture and is limited to
a few colors and designs. Speek
creates her own designs that fall
within the strict limits of the
Hindelooper style and uses origina!
paints.

Speek offers two-month courses

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31 - Friday, March 27, 1987 - North Shore News

oe

NEWS photo Terry Peters

DOLLMAKER LIDIA Speek shows some of her creations at an exhibit of her works at the West Vancouver
Memorial Library,