Jolly Chow. by Michael Canadas

Transcription

1 Jolly Chow by Michael Canadas The first Jolly created by Barbara Fernando distinctive features include a fired bisque head with antique glass eyes; as all of her dolls were given. Barbara marked all of the dolls with her name and the year they were made, although that information may prove difficult to locate on some models. Once upon a time, in the City by the Bay, there lived a single mother named Barbara who was raising two small boys all alone. Without support from her former husband, she was left with no choice but to find work no easy task for a woman in the early 1960s. Job-hunting, bolstered with only an art degree, Barbara found very few opportunities. In a stroke of luck, she managed to land a job as a mail carrier with the United States Postal Service. Although not much pay was involved, with that employment, money matters improved for Barbara, but remained tight while she and her two sons lived the classic life of making ends meet. Barbara was very clever and would frequent thrift stores in San Francisco in order to find things that her family Jolly Number One with a feather in his cap from the Mexican parrot that inspired their name. Any and all visitors to the Fernando home would be cheerfully greeted by Jolly - a real character of a bird! A collector of fine antiques, Barbara was able to use the same techniques that firms such as Bru or Jumeau might use. By making subtle variations to the mold and incorporating different painting styles, Jolly Number One was altered and became a Chinese Jolly, complete with a long queue. He quickly became one of the most poplar of all. 1

2 Long before most American collectors had even heard of Beccassine, Barbara was not only collecting them, she created them in the Jolly line. Beccassine was the only doll that utilized a commercially made body. Only four examples were made and only one with a smiling face. Barbara loved the idea of Beccassine, but creating her in doll form wasn t a real challenge for her talent. Teddy Bears were all the rage during the time Jollies were being made and Barbara made her version with a bisque head. Few were made as Teddy wasn t the most enjoyable for her and Jim, who sewed the bodies, didn t find the brown fur fun to work with. As a result, Teddy is a rare piece in the Jolly family. There are many funny stories about Baby Deena, who was named after a good friend of the Fernando s. Many people believe that all of the babies in the Jolly line are Deena, but the only true Deena features a curl of real hair. Barbara was an expert at working with porcelain lace, even on this tiny sized doll. This simple little Jolly Baby, with its Huret eyes originally sold for fifty dollars. Many individuals would attempt to buy them up and resell them for a substantial markup, which Barbara would have none of! Barbara preferred her dolls go to collectors who appreciated them, no matter their budgets. 2

3 could use at prices that would fit in her tight budget. In those modern years, it was only natural that dolls were being pulled out of the big San Francisco homes, and some found their way into thrift shops. Having loved dolls as a child, Barbara found herself attracted to those toys of the past and she bought as many as she could on her limited means many for just a few dollars each. Before long, she had assembled quite a collection. Remember, she was doing this collecting on her own, very early on. There were few books pertaining to dolls available in the early 1960s and there were virtually doll no shows. It would be some time before an event such as a doll show would even exist. Eventually, Barbara discovered the Alameda Flea Market across the bay, which quickly became her vehicle to buy and sell. During the week, she would travel around and buy dolls or related items with potential, use her talent to fix them up and resell them the next weekend. This sideline helped bring in extra money for her family and also allowed her to keep some nice pieces for herself. Barbara maintained that hectic pace which included working for the post office, caring for her family, and the selling activities on the weekend, for many years. In time, her efforts were met with success, when Barbara began to have doll collectors coming to the market, just to see what she offered for sale. Then, as now, it was not always easy to find dolls for resale, so Barbara placed an ad in the newspaper looking to buy dolls. Obviously by that time, other people in San Francisco were also collecting dolls. One collector by the name of Jim Fernando read Barbara s ad and thought to himself; if someone was looking to buy dolls, it might figure that they had dolls for sale. Jim replied to Barbara s advertisement and yes, Mold Number Two features paint decoration changed to give the doll a different look and the head was opened at the top for the queue. Jim supplied the wigs and their styles for the Jollies. In this second creation by Barbara, one is able to see perfected skills in the sculpting of the doll s head. Different sized antique eyes were used, lending each piece its unique appearance. A pair of one of a kinds. The Indian was made from mold Number Three. Barbara made them as prototypes and just for fun 3

4 Barbara and Jim Fernando take a break from work, during the UFDC Regional Conference their doll club hosted. Both Jim and Barbara gave wholeheartedly to the hobby they loved and Easter Fantasy was a great success. Jolly Jammy was one of Barbara s last creations and one that she enjoyed creating the most. With a bisque head and arms on a cloth body, this doll was very popular. Collectors loved the smiling face and the cuddly body. Jammy originally sold for three hundred dollars at a time when most artists were selling dolls for much more. Barbara had to be very careful with the costs of materials to be able to sell at those prices. Only three of the Jolly Fairies were ever made. The five-piece body was made of latex poured in a mold, but to create the bent legs, Barbara sculpted this leg model by hand. The wings incorporate real fairy dust! she did have dolls for sale. Jim scheduled an appointment to meet her and look at the dolls. Having never met previously, Barbara and Jim soon discovered they had many friends in common. The two became inseparable. In time, they became a couple, married, and then went about the business of merging their households, children and doll collections! Jim has always held a deep love for Bebe Bru dolls and noticed that Barbara did not have a single example in her collection. He just assumed that she didn t like them. Barbara instantly corrected him; of course she liked them she could never afford to keep them! Working together as a team, Jim and Barbara comprised a perfect couple, for in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the hobby of doll collecting was just hitting full stride. Both brought their unique talents to the business of dolls and for the first time in many years Barbara didn t feel the weight of the world on her shoulders. She enjoyed life through numerous trips to Europe to buy for both their combined collection and for business reasons as well. Barbara also found time to return to the art that she loved. Some may find it hard to believe, but at some point, even the most perfect doll will need repair. Through their business, Jim and Barbara were stockpiling quite a lot of dolls that needed work, in order to make them presentable. Many of the touches the dolls required, Barbara thought beyond her skill, so upon seeing an ad for a course on doll repair, she immediately signed up for the class. She soon discovered the course was not limited to doll repair; she would learn how to make a bisque doll from start to finish! Barbara learned to sculpt a doll, make a plaster mold and while becoming entirely fascinated with the doll making process forgot all about the aspect of doll repair! Both Barbara and Jim had always loved the Palmer Cox Brownies and together, accumulated a fantastic collection. Just for fun, Barbara decided to make some dolls inspired by the Brownies, but uniquely Barbara Fernando creations. 4

5 Working strictly for her own pleasure, she sculpted some heads, made the molds and by working long hours in the basement of their San Francisco home, put together some dolls. The imaginative dolls were composed of fantastical bisque heads on very unusual, longlimbed latex bodies. One day Barbara received a charming catalog from the mail order decorating company Horchow. Sparked by an instantaneous love of all of their things, she decided to inquire if they would be interested in carrying her new dolls in their product line. In honor of her pet parrot and inspired by the catalog, Barbara named her dolls Jolly Chow. Was Barbara ever surprised when the Horchow Company not only loved her unique creations, they ordered six dozen of each doll and animal style! Not expecting that kind of reaction to her dolls and frankly, rather mystified, Barbara decided to take some examples to the upcoming UFDC national convention, to see what kind of response the Jollies would receive in a doll-friendly audience. Jim and Barbara were known for carrying fine antique dolls, so Barbara was a bit sheepish about putting her artist pieces out. At that time in the UFDC sales room s history, Chairman Ralph Griffith spoke the last word on what could or could not be offered for sale in his room. When Ralph saw the Jollies, not only did he love them, he bought several for himself. Further, he insisted that Barbara be provided a table especially for her creations and she sold every single Jolly she showed at that convention. The demand for her dolls by friends and fellow collectors was so great; it became impossible for Barbara to ever amass enough The Jolly Kitty was a top seller. Always a gray tabby with beautiful pink ear decoration, the Kitty came in a variety of sizes. The jointed bodies were of gray plush and made by Jim. Barbara was always on the lookout for the great antique animal eyes, which indeed, helped give her art its soul. Introducing, Jollywogg! This fantastic doll was created from mold Number Two and creating it opened up an entire new process, which required five steps in the firing procedure. The Jollywogg is therefore, one of the rarest of the entire Jolly family. Baby Frog is a masterpiece! Jim is not quite sure how Barbara made the mold, but it was mostly made out of paper! A lot of handwork of the bisque was involved. For this model, old doll bodies that could be painted to resemble froglike skin were utilized. Many collectors wanted this Jolly, but few got them. 5

6 Although quite popular, only a handful of the Jolly Piglets were assembled. A special feature of this oinker is his wired, corkscrew tail! Models One, Two and Three. The bodies of the Jollies are unlike any other in the doll world - part art - part engineering. They have all held up quite well over the last twenty-five years. Rabbits were very much loved by Barbara and became one of the most popular of the animals. This model featured a velvet body with bisque paws and the eyes are fantastic paperweights. There are no two rabbits alike, as all of the work on the caps was done by hand- some were simple and some quite ornate, but all enchanting. dolls to fill Horchow s order. In one last effort to do so, Jim helped with the making of the bodies, setting the eyes and the design of the clothing really, handling a lot of small details so that Barbara could have fun with the part she enjoyed most, but all was in vain Horchow never got the dolls. The creation of the Jolly truly was a joint venture, although Jim today awards all of the credit to Barbara. Interestingly, the clients that bought Barbara s dolls were not collectors of modern dolls, the people that collected Jollies were antique doll collectors! Barbara was the kind of doll artist whose work acted as a bridge from the past to the present and she was able to make a unique statement through her art. Barbara worked for her own pleasure and for delight of collectors, alike. In her own words she stated; I will never be able to make a pretty doll. Collectors who managed to add a Jolly to their doll ranks might disagree. Every Jolly was made by hand and less than three hundred were produced. Barbara poured the last head in 1984, but at that time she poured a large quantity of them, which allowed her to happily work on Jollies until her death. Today, Barbara s beloved Jollies rarely appear on the marketplace for sale. The dolls remain in the collections of UFDC members and therefore, are sprinkled all over the world like the fairy dust that gave them life in the first place. Barbara left this world in 1990 after a long illness, without realizing all of her creative ideas; not unlike most people who are born incredibly gifted. After Barbara s passing, through a club project initiated by Jim and carried out by members of the 101 Study Club, many of her unfinished dolls were assembled. Each member received a Jolly for their efforts and after the event, Jim destroyed the molds. Now, almost thirty years after their creation, collectors of the finest dolls are always on the lookout for a Jolly. Surely, Barbara is quite pleased that her dolls continue to spark joy in all those they meet. 6