112 OI magazine good way to make a little money,” adds Judith. “Every girl in the 18th century had one of those dolls. And in the 19th century, Val Gardena produced more than 100,000 a week! The valley isn’t easily accessible and yet the locals became successful entrepreneurs and travelled the world!” Those dolls were all the rage in Amsterdam, so much so the wooden dolls were sold as “Dutch dolls”. They took the world by storm, as proven by the fact the V&A Museum Of Childhood showcases 138 of them. In the 1930s, however, things changed. Judith recalls how, “they were replaced by plastic because it was modern. There were no wooden dolls during my childhood. Luckily, my father and mother, who were an artist and a collector of period pieces, had a collection at home. I started taking them apart one piece at a time, but I simply couldn’t copy them. I kept failing”. After attending Art School in Urtijëi, she opened her very own workshop to recreate Val Gardena’s ancient dollmaking tradition. Wood is malleable in her expert hands – she carves and paints skillfully. Judith uses a bandsaw for the upper body, head, and limbs, and a lathe for the neck, torso, hips, and tip of the nose. With the skill of a conductor, she wields her files and brushes with refined artistry. “100 steps – that’s what it takes to make a block of wood into a doll. I need to be finicky because each doll consists of seventeen pieces, carved and used for models ranging between 1 cm and 1.70 m in size. How long does it take me? How long is a piece of string? Time is relative, anyway. I’ ll know I’m done when it feels right”. A doll has a face, arms, and white socks to mimic the more expensive porcelain dolls of the past. It’s flexible and its colour palette respects the original patterns – although in the past, earth from Mount Seceda was used for their face powder and valuable coal was used for black hair. What else did ingenious doll-makers use? Lime was used for white; however, when it came to the blue eyes, pink cheeks, and red lips they used pigments acquired during their business trips. A doll was never
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