I have been making dolls for as long as I can remember - certainly funny little dolls when I wa a child, but representations of the human form nonetheless. Graduating to more sophisticated dolls as an adult, I started working on wire armature 'skeletons' covered in wadding, cloth and/or stocking. It wasn't until I attended an elinor peace bailey workshop some twelve years ago that I discovered that I was making CLOTH DOLLS and that other people were doing much the same thing.

With a background stretching back fifty years in visual and performing art, teaching children's art and craft to TAFE students, English, Drama and Art in Sydney high schools, I now find I am teaching doll making workshops all around Australia from Canberra to Sydney, from Adelaide to Melbourne plus helping an enthusiastic group of ladies make dolls on montly basis at a needlework store in Lumeah in Sydney's South Western suburbs. I also teach at 'Frill Seekers' in the North Rocks shopping centre in the North West once a fortnight.

My now retired husband (ex-fireman)is underfoot all the time (especially on fabric shopping trips - "What do you need more fabric for - you've got a whole house full already!!!") and having the two most gorgeous grandkids in the entire world (have the pics to prove it - their dad's a photographer)

I spent twelve month's teaching how to creatively use recycled materials in a government funded project at 'Reverse Garbage' have taught at the first Doll-O-Rama 'Millenium Madness' in Brisbane as well as at the second one 'Paradise Extravaganza' on the Gold Coast. My dolls have been featured in several magazines, and a couple of newspapers here in Australia and was recently thrilled to have an article I wrote about the first doll symposium in Brisbane, published in Dolls, Bears and Collectables magazine.

I love to teach and share my knowledge with people who are eager to learn - I find you always learn as much from your students as you are able to give to them - and of course - I love to make dolls!

My dolls are known as 'Real Characters' because so many times when they've been on display at shoes etc., people would look at a doll and say "That's a real character, isn't it!". I tend to make some fantasy fairies, elves, goblins, pixies etc., as well, but mostly they are character dolls tending towards realism.

My dolls have evolved over a lot of years with the help and assistance of a lot of people, not the least of which have been the very generous American doll tutors who have visited Australia from time to time, mostly brought out by Gloria McKinnon from Anne's Glory Box in Newcastle, also more recently workshop with some extremely talented Australian and New Zealand tutors - I could be biased, but I think we have some of the best dollmakers in the world down under!

Email Marilyn