doll project film by lynne melcher

The eight-minute film about the Change the Truth Doll Project is now available for your viewing pleasure. If you haven't had a chance to see it yet, please take some time to give it a look. Lynne did an amazing job. The Doll Project film features the children from the orphanage, as well as Kansas City artists Susan White, Lee Heinemann, Patricia Caviar, Fiona Gowin, Nedra Bonds, J. Leroy Beasley and Peregrine Honig.



(Depending on your computer, you may have to let the film fully load before you can view it.)

new letters magazine: hot off the press

The latest issue of New Letters features some of the banana fiber dolls made in Uganda at the orphanage and adorned by Kansas City artists. New Letters has been a steadfast supporter of Change the Truth over the years, having featured some of my Ugandan photos in this past issue. Editor Bob Stewart has shown interest in our project since the very beginning, and I am so grateful to him for that. He selected my doll for this volume's cover. The dolls that grace the inside pages are by:

Peregrine Honig
Tom Corbin
Stephanie Leedy
Amy Meya
Caroline Shteamer
Philomene Bennett
Lou Marak
Fiona Gowin
Janet Kuemmerlein
Shea Gordon
Charmalee Gunaratne
Linda Lighton

Here is Bob's beautiful introduction:

"Out in the World
an editor’s note

Poetry teaches by example. The phrase occurs to me often when I read great poems, which tend to celebrate external details, directness, and even self-questioning by the speaker. This is how one should live, I sometimes think—outward looking, humble, engaged. Great writing provides us examples, not in what the writing says to do, but in what it does. Please do not actually try 'Cooking with Medicine,' as a poem here advises, but do try to imagine the spirit from which that notion came.

In their own crazy, intense, and provocative way, the writing and art in this issue create something close to purity of intent. Good will. The writing looks at events—political, global, and personal—and struggles toward empathy. I am, by default, contrasting that enormous force of generosity and freedom with the calculating and dangerous actions that led to the oil-spill catastrophe in the Gulf. We ask of literature that it look outward, rather than to the writer’s own interests. We ask of art that it have a stake in the world.

Consider the photographs here of banana-fiber dolls made by Ugandan orphans, further decorated by artists in the Kansas City area. New Letters has an ongoing interest in the St. Mary Kevin Orphanage Motherhood in Kajjansi, Uganda, where these dolls originated, and our fall 2006 issue featured photographs of many of the children there. The photographer, Gloria Baker Feinstein, created this doll project to raise money for the orphanage; so, besides being an important visual artist, she has taken on the well- being of those Ugandan children as one of her life’s jobs.

Is this perspective on literature and art realistic? I hold to it. Otherwise, why move this writing into the world, by magazine, radio, Web site, and public events, as does New Letters? Why try so hard? The writing in this issue suggests some reasons. Start with joy. Look around."

-Robert Stewart

installation shots

Friday night was a blast and a big success! Thanks to all who attended and showed support of Change the Truth. There were 42 dolls and 50 paintings by the children in the silent and live auction. All the dolls were sold; there are a few paintings left. If you'd like to see jpegs of them, please contact me. You can have them for $65 each (and that's FRAMED!)

Here are some shots I took shortly before the crowd of 400 arrived. The installation of the dolls and paintings was done by Kathy Tracy, Lynne Melcher and me. The store was set up by Susie Corbin and her very able high school crew: Ali, Augi and Andrew.

Party pics by Michael Spillers will follow soon.

irene

I have been running a million miles an hour getting ready for the CTT Friendraiser/Fundraiser.

The installation of dolls and paintings at Leedy-Voulkos is well under way. The volunteers are ready to work. People in the community are looking forward to attending.

I'm tired, but feeling really good about the way things are coming together.

I just came across this photo of lovely Irene holding a doll that was made by one of the older girls during Team 2's visit to the orphanage in 2008. We all fell in love with Irene - how could we not?

Her warm, genuine and beautiful smile is what this is all about.

ana stanovcic

AS 33

Ana is 10 years old and will be in the 5th grade at Pembroke Hill School. Her favorite things to do are drawing, reading, swimming and playing outside.

Ana believes knowledge about the world is important for understanding different cultures. Her doll is holding a book because she enjoys reading, and “books give us knowledge.” She said she wanted the skirt to represent fabrics from all over the world and the shirt to be international by including the names of the seven continents. She included a small selection of her favorite book titles on stacked books at the base of the doll. Some of these are "Harry Potter" and "The Anybodies".

She placed a butterfly in the doll's other hand to represent hope and encouragement.


At 10, Ana is the same age as some of the Ugandan children who made the dolls. Her life could not be more different than theirs, but she comes from a family that encourages her to learn as much as she can about the world around her and to care about others. She strikes me as the type of person who will work toward positive change based upon those differences and ultimately try to make the world a better place. Kids like Ana should give us all hope for the future.

stephanie leedy

SL31

Stephanie grew up at Lake Lotawana in Missouri. She graduated from the Kansas City Art Institute in the sculpture department where her father, Jim Leedy, had taught for over forty years. She continued her graduate degree at Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia and then stayed for a couple of years to run a hot glass studio. She moved back to Kansas City and, during an apprenticeship, learned to bend neon. Stephanie opened “Downtown Neon” and ran a sign shop and then a gallery.

She now helps oversee and manage the buildings that contain artist studios and the much loved Leedy-Voulkos Art Center. I took this picture of Steph and her really cute rescued dog, Winston, on the front steps of Leedy-Voulkos, a place I hope many of you will be next Friday night!

sonie joi ruffin

SJR30

Sonie is a contemporary fabric artist, fabric designer and writer based in Kansas City. Sonié grew up in a family of seamstresses and clothing designers. She started sewing at the age of four.

Her vibrant quilts draw from a centuries old wellspring that explores humanity through the crux of the black African American experience.

Sonié’s designs and stories are distinctive, her stories embrace and inspire, the mastery of her writing shares stories from her life’s experiences, the black African American culture, hardships, triumphs and the courage to celebrate life.

She designs from the heart, paints with fabric and embellishes with her needle revealing universal truths. She is a master at incorporating the boldness of African fabrics such as kente cloth, mud cloth and korhogo cloth with American print fabrics to create striking designs with an engagement of color dialogue.


She has conducted lectures and workshops on quilting at the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s Renwick Gallery. Sonié has been invited to exhibit of her artwork in museums and galleries across the United States. She is the visiting curator at the American Jazz Museum.

Her fabric collections “My African Village and Drums of Afrika”, can be found in fabric shops internationally. Both collections have appeared in Better Homes and Garden Quilting, McCall's Quilting, Fons and Porter Quilting, and Designer's Quarters Magazine.

To date she has two books to her credit “The Soulful Art of African American Quilts: Nineteen bold Improvisational Projects” and “Opening Day" which is about the Negro Leagues Baseball teams.

Sonie is a 2010 Charlotte Street Award winner - a very impressive achievement.

Check out this short You Tube video that features her amazing quilts.

joline el-hai

JEH

The artists involved in The Doll Project are all from the Kansas City area - with the exception of Joline.

She had learned about the project on Facebook and immediately contacted me.

She wanted to be part of it.

When I looked at her website, I was surprised to see that I actually had one of her pieces! It was a nightlight my sister had given Eddie and me as a housewarming gift over ten years ago. I've always loved it.

I think it's amazing and wonderful how things/places/people always seem to kind of circle back. I was thrilled to make an exception for Joline and include her as our out of town "guest" artist. She did not disappoint. Her doll came back from Seattle as a lamp!

"Raised under the sun-soaked skies of Southern California I developed an enduring passion for light and vivid color. In 1975 I fell in love with the medium of glass -- its ability to convey emotion and touch the soul -- and began a 35-year journey of designing and fabricating glass panels.

My glass panels are sometimes naturally-lit as stained glass windows or electrically illuminated from behind as glowing tabletop, shelf or wall sculptures.


A gardener with deep roots in the earth, the drama and intimacy of the natural world often inform my designs. Through grainy reductive glass painting and incorporation of layered fused glass elements in my glass panels I celebrate life’s fertile mystery.

Old suitcases and odd antique wooden boxes are the frameworks for my glass panels in most of my current work. I cut holes in them, edge the openings with copper scraps, insert my fused and painted glass panels, and illuminate the pieces from the inside with low-wattage compact fluorescent lights. Most of them use no more electrical energy than a night light.

More and more I enjoy mixed-media combinations of all sorts, as long as they can be lit-up. For the Change the Truth project I sandwiched frosted mylar and theatrical light gels to fashion a dress for the doll with which I was entrusted. The dress is illuminated internally with a 4 watt compact fluorescent bulb.

I am fortunate and grateful to have lived my life as an artist and to have earned my livelihood that way for 25 years."

Treat yourself. Visit her website.

marie mason

MM28

"I love dogs, cats, the garden and the great outdoors. The sunsets, the bad weather, the beautiful flowers that grow with encouragement, the seasons, the starry nite and the sunny day. In all of what is nature and natural there is inspiration for my paintings.

I have lived in the Kansas City area since 1980. I was born in California, raised in Seattle and have spent lots of time in Las Vegas, Nevada, and Corvallis Oregon. I have a BFA from UNLV, and taught school for ten years in Las Vegas before moving to Kansas City. I now called Weston, Missouri home."


Marie is represented by the Strecker-Nelson Gallery in Manhattan, Kansas. She is well known for Bella Company, a store that has been in business since 1994 and which features dog/cat themed clothing and gifts. Marie is very involved in pet rescue organizations and often uses her artwork to help with the various needs of people, cats and dogs.

Be sure to check out Marie's lovely work here. Eddie and I have been fans of Marie's for years; one of her large paintings is the centerpiece of our kitchen, and we recently commissioned her to do do a painting of our beloved 16 year old dog, Sam.

And yes, her doll is accompanied by a painting! The doll appears to have just danced out of the scene depicted on the canvas. It's a really joyful piece.

marcus cain

MC27

I first met Marcus when I showed my work at Sherry Leedy Contemporary Art in the late 90’s. He was on staff there. I loved his quiet but determined demeanor, and I adored his artwork. I’m still crazy about both.

Marcus is a Kansas City based artist, writer, and Curator of the Kansas City Jewish Museum of Contemporary Art. He is the founding co-director and owner of Satellite Exhibitions, an independent contemporary art curatorial project, and the former Editor of Review, a regional, monthly visual art magazine based in Kansas City, Missouri. He has served as Lecturer in the painting department and Coordinator of the Corporate Partnership Exhibition Program at the Kansas City Art Institute and as Assistant Director for Sherry Leedy Contemporary Art. He frequently serves as guest juror, artist, and lecturer for universities, art fairs, and organizations throughout the Midwest, and he has produced and curated exhibitions for the University of California, Long Beach, CA, Bridge Miami Art Fair, Miami, FL, Stray Show Chicago, Chicago, IL, and the Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, MO.

Marcus has written for publications including American Ceramics, Bridge, Ceramics: Art & Perception, Venus, and Review, authored articles on art critic Robert Storr and artists Do Ho-Suh, Rosemarie Fiore, Adriana Arenes, and Peregrine Honig, and he has contributed exhibition essays to the Daum Museum of Contemporary Art and the Kansas City Artists Coalition. He has also been written about in such publications as Art in America, New American Paintings, The New York Observer, Miami New Times, Oklahoma Gazette, Review, My Midwest Magazine, Kansas City Star, and Pitch Weekly, and online at MW Capacity and Present magazine.


Marcus’ artwork includes painting, drawing and installation. He has exhibited nationally, and his work may be found in numerous public and private collections including the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, BBC Worldwide America, American Century Investments, H&R Block, Sprint Corporation, Westin Hotels, Stowers Institute for Medical Research, and Designer Todd Oldham. He is represented in Kansas City by Sherry Leedy Contemporary Art.

You'd be hard pressed to find a harder working artist or a nicer guy.

lonnie powell

LP26

Lonnie is a graduate of Lincoln University, Jefferson City, Missouri where studied with the late James Dallas Parks. His occupations over the years have ranged from dishwasher at the Villa Capri Restaurant to Xerox sales representative, but the vast majority of his career has been as an art teacher in the Kansas City, Missouri School District.

Though he is not presently a member, he is a charter board member and past board president of The Black Archives of Mid-America and a cofounder of Euphrates Gallery. He is a past member and past president of the Friends of Bruce R. Watkins Culture Heritage Center. Lonnie is also president and founder of The Light In The Other Room, a collaboration of 19 African-American Kansas City based artists.

“As an African-American artist (raised in Kansas City, Missouri), it did not take long to see that I did not have the luxury of being just an artist. On the contrary, I had to be all things related to art and African-American art. I had to be an art educator, an art critic, an art agent, a gallery operator, an art booster, a pickup and delivery man and anything else that might pop up.”

He humbly refers to himself as an art activist.

“I have always sought to keep my art separate from my occupation so that it is free of financial influences. This separation of art and money has allowed me to steer clear of the trends, traps and compromises begrudgingly faced by many of my contemporaries. Although, this course proved to be less lucrative, the art remains true to my heart and shall remain so. Rewards and awards have come to me a little later in his life, but they have come without compromises, and to me that is what makes them special. I never refer to my art as my work. My art is not work. My art is my very self and therefore cannot be separated from the rest of my life.”

Lonnie has shown in and around his beloved city of Kansas City, Missouri in many venues including solo and group exhibits at: The Ethnic Art Gallery, The Central Exchange, The Bruce R. Watkins Cultural Heritage Center and The American Jazz Museum.

He has exhibited at a number of area universities including: Park University, Parkville, Missouri, Western Missouri University, St. Joseph, Missouri, Lincoln University, Jefferson City, Missouri and Rockhurst University, Kansas City, Missouri where he spent a year (1969-1970), as an artist in residence.

His work is included in numerous private collections as well as the corporate collections of Sprint Nextel Corporation, The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, H & R Block Corporation, The American Jazz Museum, The Fishnet Corporation, Sports Association Management Inc. The Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, The Truman Medical Center and The Federal Reserve Bank Of Kansas City.

Lonnie was named one of the "Ones To Watch" by Watercolor Magic Magazine in 2006.


In December of 2007, Lonnie traveled with other members of Change The Truth Team 1 to the orphanage in Uganda to give a series of art workshops to the children. He was truly touched by the experience – in ways he is still processing three years later.

Lonnie and his wife, Brenda, have been married for forty-three years. They worked on this doll together.

fiona gowin

FG25

Because the dolls were originally made by children, I thought it appropriate to ask a very young artist on this side of the world to participate in the collaborative project.

Fiona just finished second grade. She and her family have been friends of Change the Truth for a while now, and she was excited to have the chance to work on one of the dolls.

Fiona’s favorite subject in school is science. She loves to read books, especially ones about animals. Her pets are Luna (a cat) and Sparkley and Scaley (goldfish).


When I asked her to write about her doll, I received the following description:

“This is a Luna Moth Fairy Doll. The Luna Moth is one of the largest moths in North America. Luna Moths have eyespots on their wings that keep away predators. I think this doll will keep away bad luck, too.”

tom corbin

TC24

Tom’s introduction and subsequent career in sculpture has been based more on serendipity than calculation. Born in Dayton, Ohio in 1954; Tom’s early fascination in art was inspired by his mother, an art teacher by trade. Despite studying painting and drawing at Miami University, Tom’s original career pursuit was business - as an advertising executive. Tom’s first brush with the third dimension came in a chance meeting with a bronze sculptor in 1982. Classes with this sculptor led to a deepened interest in bronze casting and thoughts of a career in art. In 1986, Tom left the secure confines of his advertising agency job for the unpredictability of life as a full time sculptor. His work now appears in over 20 museums, galleries and showrooms.


In his own words:

“I was initially attracted to the physicality and the dynamic nature of sculpture and was intrigued by the profound impact sculpture can have on an environment. As for bronze casting, the medium dictates a certain sense of tradition and order, which I continue to embrace. The challenge for me is to take the medium and create a tradition of something new.”

From an article written by Blair Schulman for KC Magazine:

"Tom Corbin spends his time channeling creativity through his hands. A low-key but highly respected figure in the KC arts scene, his sensitively crafted bronze statues and furnishings carry the texture and romance of a 21st-century Giacometti. Local installations include the Firefighters Memorial and a work at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, but Corbin's work is also permanently enshrined at the United Nations headquarters. Some of his pieces also have homes in private, A-list collections, including those of California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, actor Jack Nicholson and television personality Ellen DeGeneres. One of his statues had its own scene in an episode of HBO's Golden Globe-winning ‘In Treatment.’ Others have appeared in the films ‘Obsessed’ and ‘It’s Complicated.’”

You can check out Tom's amazing and accomplished work at his website.


The dolls have now been photographed by art object photographer extraordinaire, E.G. Schempf. E.G. is one heck of a photographer and nice guy. He's donating his time and energy to this project. If you are ever in search of a highly skilled object photographer, he is your man.


Everyone can now clearly see the difference between my shots of the dolls and his. E.G.'s will be the images that will be featured in the "Doll Project" book that will be for sale at the fundraiser. Please let me know if you'd like to reserve a copy. The book will sell for $50.00, will be hardbound with a cloth cover. It will feature 38 dolls, along with the artist's names. It will be handsome with good reproductions. Thank you E.G. for helping to make this happen!

peregrine honig

PH23

Peregrine is one of Kansas City’s best-known artists. She will undoubtedly become even more well-known when the new Bravo Television series, “Work of Art: The Next Great Artist” premiers Wednesday, June 9th at 10 PM. Peregrine is one of 14 up-and-coming artists competing in NYC for a solo show at the Brooklyn Museum and $100,000. In each episode of the show, contestants will create unique pieces in a variety of mediums: painting, sculpture, photography, collage and industrial design. Guest judges will include photographer Andres Serrano and painter Richard Phillips. It's a very exciting opportunity for Peregrine.


Born in San Francisco, Peregrine attended the Kansas City Art Institute. Her prints were purchased by the Whitney Museum of American Art, establishing her as the youngest living artist to be included in the permanent collection. Her sculptures, imagery, and texts explore themes of sexual vulnerability, trends in disease, and social hierarchies. Peregrine currently curates projects and annual events through, "Fahrenheit," and owns the lingerie boutique "Birdies." Peregrine's work is part of the permanent collections of the Fogg Art Museum at Harvard University, the National Museum of Women in the Arts, and The Chicago Art Institute. She has had solo and group exhibits in Santa Fe, Kansas City, and Chicago, New York and across the globe. Peregrine is a recipient of the Art Omi International Artists' Residency, the Charlotte Street Fund, and an Inspiration Grant. An extremely busy artist, she also recently produced the magazine Widow in collaboration with Landfall Press.

Perergine chose not to alter her doll at all, feeling more comfortable making a drawing of it instead. The framed drawing, entitled "Banana Boy" will accompany the doll that inspired it.

paula shteamer and caroline shteamer: mother and daughter

PS21

“A special banana fiber doll, created with love and affection by one of the caring children living at St. Mary Kevin Orphanage, inspired me in ways I never expected. When I volunteered to participate in the Change the Truth Doll Project, I could never have imagined how this creative experience would affect me.

Before I actually met her, I had many thoughts of how I might ‘decorate’ my doll. All of those thoughts, however, flew out of the window when I spotted her on Gloria’s dining room table, and ‘met’ her for the very first time. I took her home, held her, and simply stared, in awe of the long journey that she had made in order to arrive at my door. I felt a strong connection to her creator and to her home. I instantly knew that she was very special and I knew that anything that I might do to alter her appearance must indeed be worthy of her, worthy of the child who had created her from nature and from the heart… and lastly, worthy of me. I loved her instantly and I knew that we would be fast friends… she was indeed a ‘doll’ and I named her ‘Princess Eliza Mae’… honoring two special women who taught me, inspired me, and loved me for much of my life. I then I set out on my journey to add a dimension of myself to Eliza’s unique personality.

As an interior designer, I instinctively knew that I wanted to adorn my princess with color, texture, shape and sparkle … I wanted her to excite the senses. I wanted to emphasize her natural beauty. In order to link Princess Eliza Mae’s history with my own, I gathered and utilized materials that have special meaning to me… a connection from special design projects on which I have worked. I lovingly included unique yarns to adorn her dress... very special yarn fragments that remained from exquisite projects my darling, sweet mother had created years before. All of the materials I used were recycled and joined together in a whole new combination and arrangement. As I worked, memories flowed, and the creative process was exhilarating for me.

My hope is that the amazing child who actually created and crafted Princess Eliza Mae from natural banana fibers growing halfway around the world in Uganda, would be proud and happy to know how much his or her creation inspired me. One thing I know is true… ‘clothes do not make the man…or the doll.’ I know in my heart that Princess Eliza Mae was completely perfect before my creative process ever began. I simply added a bit of trimming to her already-perfect self. And, I might add, I was honored to do so." - Paula


CS22

“I knew I was out of my league as soon as I was asked to be a part of the action, but nevertheless, I was honored. I knew I could not pass up the opportunity to work with such a fantastic organization, among a group of such accomplished men and women. Unfortunately, it is not often enough that I have the chance to help someone else in a charitable way, and for the opportunity to do so, I am extremely thankful.

To be called an ‘artist’ seems a bit overstated. Although, I have never categorized myself as such, I have always enjoyed the creative process and I have, throughout the years, been extremely thankful for the invaluable artistic talents passed down to me from my mother. Beginning at a young age, I knew it was inevitable that art would become a constant part of my life.

Currently working as an Elementary Art Teacher for the Shawnee Mission School District, it is not every day (or even every month) that I come home and have the desire to create. However, as soon as I received my doll, the beautifully crafted banana leaf ‘canvas’ screamed at me, and the wheels began to turn (as they often do when I get excited about creating). Beginning with the stand, I worked my way up to her head, adding modest embellishments along the way. The doll itself, the natural coloring of the banana leaves, and my students with their constant energy, all served as my inspirations for this piece. Hopefully, after all of the paint, the beads, the sequins, and the painted cloth, my doll represents a harmonious little lady, with a whimsical and playful personality.” - Caroline

kim higgins

KH19

“Am I a painter? A muralist? As a teacher at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, I find my medium to be whatever demonstration I’m doing to introduce a lesson. Without a meaningful body of work, my artistic energy largely goes into the process of looking and connecting.

I can see some consistency along the way. I’ve always enjoyed creating with found objects, collecting pocketfuls of interesting sticks and stones. And trees have always fascinated me – dancing in the wind, beckoning me to climb, offering shelter and shade, and shaping my landscape.

So when I met this Ugandan doll made from banana tree fiber I decided to create an environment for her using local trees and the various colors, shapes, and textures of their bark, wood, twigs, buds, and fruit. This assemblage includes parts of a banana tree from Uganda, an acacia tree from Ghana, and cottonwood, maple, walnut, sweet gum, bur oak, curly willow, and pine trees from my neighborhood. The box itself is built of slats from a South American tree used to ship tree fruit. These trees reflect the biodiversity of our planet, like the mythical Tree of Life through which we are all connected.

Nature’s cycles of growth and new life hold great hope for the world. If we could see diversity – of trees and of people – as a wealth of potential in the web of life, what WOOD we do?”

Kim in Ghana

I am so grateful to each of these artists, not only for their creative energy, but also for the incredible amount of thought they have put into their dolls. Kim, like many of the others, has used found objects to embellish the organic nature of the original doll, and she obviously gave a lot of thought to the meaning behind each choice. These artists continue to amaze me; the connections they’re making between the doll and themselves, the doll and the child who made it and the doll and the world at large are truly inspiring.

kelly buntin johnson

KBJ18

There are so many incredibly interesting things to say about Kelly. I wouldn't really know where to begin if I were to try to mention them all. Please read this article by Bill Hankins and you'll see what I mean.

I had never met Kelly and basically made a "cold call" to ask if she'd be be part of the doll project.

Am I ever glad she said yes. I am learning a lot from this woman, I continue to be blown away by her work and I am grateful to finally have made her acquaintance.

Kelly chose to transmute her banana fiber doll into an "Intercessor." The Intercessors make up a body of work that has become an outlet for her environmental concerns; Kelly honors endangered species and through her artwork brings their plight to the attention of all the rest of us. This Crowned Crane, the national bird of Uganda, is a fitting contribution to our doll project. See other Intercessors (and more of her work) at Kelly's website, Diddy-Wa-Diddy.

The case mask (in Hopi Kachina fashion) is made of leather, from a pattern Kelly drew. It is hand sewn and painted. The dress is the color of a crane's body with the words Uganda and Vulnerable (a reference to the birds AND to the children) painted on the front. To make the dress, Kelly sketched a pattern and sewed it by hand from salvaged vintage fabric. The dyed horsehair represents the tall, stiff feathers of the crane's head - that which gives the appearance of a crown.


About Kelly, in her own words:

“I am a native Missourian and self-taught mixed media artist. For twenty plus years, I have beaded and hand-sewn figures and jewelry. My "art supplies" include European glass seed beads, discarded ephemera and bits of bric-a-brac from past generations. I combine holy emblems and relics with assorted trifles from day-to-day living, often adding written narrative as the new creation comes to life. In this way, the mundane becomes sacred as disparate and unlikely remnants evolve into hand-made figures.

In the 1980s, I began creating pieces for private commission, followed by juried art shows and fairs across America. Since then, museums, galleries, and boutiques that have carried my work include the American Folk Art Museum (New York City), Doodlets (Santa Fe, New Mexico), and the John Michael Kohler Arts Center (Sheboygan, Wisconsin). From 1992 through 1995, my husband, sculptor Rhett Johnson, and I maintained our own art gallery, Diddy Wa Diddy, in the historic river town of Weston, Missouri. In 1998 Rhett and I were honored with our first retrospective show, Partners in Art, at the Toy and Miniature Museum in Kansas City, Missouri.

Since 2000, I have devoted my time and energy to creating a series of Muñecos Santos (Holy Dolls). A group of these Muñecos was on special exhibit at the Albrecht-Kemper Museum of Art (St. Joseph, Missouri) and the International Marian Research Institute Library in Dayton, Ohio. Three of these figures appear in the book, 500 Beaded Objects (Lark Books).

I live and work in rural northwest Missouri, near the small town of Dearborn, where Rhett and I share our farm with Gus the Dog. I teach beading and narrative adventures workshops at my studio on the farm as well as for corporate clients, including Hallmark Cards. In addition to creating new pieces, I restore beadwork and stitching on antique clothing and artifacts. When working with these precious pieces I continue to be amazed and inspired by the exquisite skill and imagination of the craftswomen who came before me.”

Kelly's Crowned Crane is a special piece; it was made with a lot of care and fierce attention to detail. She is a mad researcher and even gave me a list of really interesting facts about the Crowned Crane, like... she is 3 feet tall, has a 7 foot wingspan when in flight, lives an average of 22 years and mates for life. How cool is that?

Oh, yes. Her husband, artist Rhett, made the stand for the doll. He's a whole other story!

charmalee gunaratne

CG17

“Shine to souls and wings to dreams” the theme of Charmalee’s doll was inspired by Nicky’s story and his happy smile.

“I was reading Gloria’s blog and was realizing how different these children would be without the love of the St. Mary Kevin Orphanage and Change the Truth. Now they get strong support to smile and dream of their future. “

Charmalee received her Masters of Architecture in 2001 and is a licensed architect in Sri Lanka. Passion for affordable sustainable and socially responsible architecture has been the focus of her work. Living in Sri Lanka, her involvement with designing a “Children Resource Center” funded by UNICEF during the cease fire period in a war-battered zone, opened her journey to this path. Her notable achievement was developing “Reducing Rainwater Harvesting Systems cost for Poorest of the Poor Globally” with University of Warwick, Coventry, UK. The successful prototypes were later implemented in rural Sri Lanka, Uganda and Ethiopia. Funded by Standerford Scholarship, she expanded her knowledge to develop technologies for displaced people at “Environment Seminar & Pallet Workshop” at Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana.

Charmalee shares her thoughts and ideas on these issues at ECO ABET.

As Director of Outreach Design at Summit Architecture in Kansas City, she continues to pursue her passion for developing affordable sustainable architecture. She strongly believes that architects have the power to overcome homelessness globally.

Throughout last year, as the director of Women in Design Kansas City, she themed the year “Outreach” and did numerous outreach programs with the design community.

Charmalee is also an artist and a sculptor, and her work has been exhibited at A-E-C Community, Women in Art (Women in Design Kansas City) and Monsters of Design (Young Architects Forum).


She showed up at my house with two dolls; I couldn't convince her to leave the real one, little Hiru, with me. Darn.

susan white

SW16 12" x 20"

“I work in a variety of media. My primary forms are pyrographs or burn drawings, thornworks, and video/installation. 
Drawing has kind of wandered in through the back door and found a place in the middle of the room. I see the thornworks, constructions made from thorns of the honey locust tree, as three dimensional drawings, like crosshatch drawings in many ways, each mark responding to the one that came before.”

Susan currently is a participant in the City One Minutes Project in Amsterdam and is the recipient of a Lighton Grant in support of an artist residency in Japan in 2010. Among numerous other venues, her work has been exhibited at the Salina Art Center, the Bemis Center in Omaha and the Byron Cohen Gallery. In 2008 she collaborated with architectural historian, Cydney Millstein, on an exhibition at the Paragraph Gallery, as part of Kansas City’s Urban Culture Project. White is a graduate of the Kansas City Art Institute, has pursued graduate studies at Rhode Island School of Design, and is an adjunct professor at UMKC. Her work is held in numerous private and corporate collections, the latter of which include Sprint, Hallmark and H&R Block.


Look for Susan in the Lynne Melcher film about the doll project. Lynne’s beautiful and moving documentary will be shown on the evening of the Change the Truth fundraiser.

Also, take a look at Susan's website to get a fuller sense of the different media in which she is involved.

amy meya

AM15 18" x 15"

Amy is a self-taught ceramic artist. Her education includes living and working in the Netherlands for five years, as well as extensive travel throughout Europe. She has studied at the Kansas City Art Institute, and she was a two- year exhibitor at the Buyer's Market of American Craft in Philadelphia.

A one-woman show at the Langman Gallery in Pennsylvania and numerous other solo exhibitions in the Kansas City area have put Amy, an artist who is definitely interested in folk-art, on the map.

Her work is simply lovely and joyous. (And, she is too.) Her current interest in bird imagery evolved through watching sparrows, cardinals, and goldfinches visit sunflowers outside her window with her young children, through regular walks in the woods and camping.


Here is an excerpt from Amy's blog. I think it sums up the excitement and positive response her work is getting.

“My dream gallery, The American Folk Art Museum in New York re-ordered work from me, that is a good sign that this could be a lasting relationship.

Haven Gallery in Austin, Tx is going to take a fair amount of work from me for the holidays, mostly larger work, and I am really excited about that. Although I haven't been there personally, I hear it is an amazing gallery.

And this month Phoenix Gallery in Lawrence asked me to be the featured artist! So, things are going ok."

I'll say.

Amy's piece is pretty unbelievable. I keep going over to the dining room table where it sits just so I can keep looking at it.