About 12 years ago, I began making a series of dolls called "Wee Mountain Folk." At first, I made them from cloth but then began using a kind of polymer clay called cernit. The cloth dolls were beautiful, but it was impossible to get the level of detail I can get with clay. First, I use wire to build the shape of the doll. Then I cover the head, hands, and feet around the wire using the cernit. Then I make the doll's clothes myself, using lots of different materials. The completed dolls are fixed onto hardwood bases made by my father, Jim Logan. Generally, the dolls I make show older people taking part in traditional activities. I've always had a great respect for the older generation. Inspiration for the dolls often comes from people I know. Once I was caught looking too closely at the wrinkles on the face of one of my mom's friends. But I explained that her laugh lines made her more attractive. Now I work as a teacher's assistant, and while I was raising my two daughters, Keri and Sheryl, I could work on the dolls only late in the day. The girls loved to come downstairs the next morning to see who'd arrived in the night. It's the detail that I enjoy working on the most. I once made a fisherman doll for a lady to give her father, including a tiny creel -- a basket used by fishermen for carrying fish. When the man got the doll, he immediately opened the creel to see what was inside. Luckily, I'd made a small fish out of cernit and placed it in the basket. Hopefully my story will inspire others to try their hand at doll making -- I find it very relaxing and interesting. Why did the author look closely at her mother's friend's face?
To guess her age. To get creative ideas. To give her a surprise. To find out why she was so attractive.