marie mason

Marie Mason is well known in this part of the country for her paintings of dogs, jazz musicians and assorted other lovelies. She is a down to earth, no nonsense, gentle and funny woman who loves to work in her garden and in her studio (in beautiful Weston, Missouri). She is a dog/cat lover and supporter extraordinaire. I recently commissioned her to paint a portrait of Sam, our almost-17-year old Bichon. It's a wonderful piece!



Marie's doll will be part of the live auction. This is what she wrote about her:

"When I picked up my doll, brought her home and took a look at her, I was truly amazed at her beauty. Some child in another country created a lovely lady out of leaves…this figure was grand without any embellishment! What kind of improvement could be made?

I brought her up to my studio and she just lingered on my drawing table for days! I first envisioned her housed in some kind of porch setting with a soft cloth covering above her so that she would be protected from the elements. I thought of cloth wings, grass fields, and finally just a beautiful day. I wanted to create this beautiful day for her to exist in. Warm, but not hot, with a soft wind blowing and a few clouds for shade. A cloth cloud came to mind, but how would that work over time…. Then I came up with the cloud cape idea.

Last summer a friend’s 10-year-old granddaughter visited my studio. Together we got seriously involved in making paper mache animals. I learned a lot about the new materials that are available…. and so I decided to create a cloud cape and a bonnet to protect this lovely doll from the vicissitudes of a hot or stormy day. She would wear the clouds as a kind of armor and protection from the elements. Even though her feet are on the ground, she will always be protected with her cloud cape and sun hat.

I hope that this doll figure will carry a wish to the orphaned children so far away. May imaginary capes of clouds and bonnets of sun be some kind of protection from hardships."