Messenger of Life

The « Messenger of Life » Doll Series

In 2002 while living in New York state I made two series of Russian dolls ranging from 4 - 20 “ high. The pieces were thrown in two parts and then hand built to fit inside each other. They were hand polished at the greenware stage and then carved with a design which evolved from a personalized version of the folk art found in the region where my family originated.
The Lobe family has its beginning in Russia in the mid 1700’s. The family dispersed and imigrated : to Poland, Germany & the U.S.A. In the late 1800’s, my Great Grand Father moved his family to North Dakota to farm the land. After a terrible fire on the homestead and the flu epidemic of 1916, he moved the family including my Grand Father and his 8 brothers and sisters to northern Saskatchewan, Canada by horse drawn covered wagon. The farm animals followed. My father was born in Saskatchewan, Canada as were my sisters and I. My parents later moved our family to British Columbia, Canada I was the first generation to move back to Europe. My first daughter was born in France and my second daughter was born in New York. My family had come full circle.
As I made the dolls I researched on the patterns, designs and common motifs that carry through most first nations peoples. I used a slip method of engobes similar to my Bella Coola Sun Family platter. After a bisque fire the pieces were fired in individual saggars filled with sawdust. Upon removal, they were polished with wax to bring out the variations and the luster of the reduced carbon affect. The final image is referred to as the “ Messenger of Life”. Each doll represents one generation of the family with the colors and sizes making the distinction. The message originally intended was to imagine that each of us carries our history within us.