Hello, my name is Kathy Grimm. I’m an artist and a teacher living and working in St. Louis, Mo. “Doll Envy,” is my online journal dedicated to the art and design interests of my students, colleagues and family members. Most of the posts included here will cover topics frequently associated with the “doll arts.” I will soon list below brief explanations of the categories that I intend to develop on this web blog.
Books Worth Having – In this category, I will post those books that somehow lend beneficial information to my classroom and lesson plans. I use books for a variety of reasons: for patterns, for instruction, for inspiration and sometimes for teaching literacy through articles about my field of study.
Collecting Materials & Tools – Under this category, I will post photographs of those materials and tools teachers use to teach hands-on textile projects.
Creative Linking – Most of my readers are aware of the fact that I include many links on my blogs. These resources are quite necessary for my students to complete research under the topic of textiles that is both productive and creative.
Doll Challenges - Doll challenges are like miniature lesson plans. I do not, however, always include every part of a traditional lesson plan with these. Many adult doll clubs post doll challenges in order to inspire their membership. Doll challenges also create focus on themes for future exhibits among artists. My doll challenges are written to appeal to a decided younger set of people so that I may use them while working with high school students.
Doll Furniture – I will maintain a file here of those doll furnishings that are among family collections and links to furniture I find online.
Doll Research and History – Under this category I sometimes include encyclopedia articles. The purpose of this is to train my students in research, journaling, history and literacy activities.
Dolls In Progress – I have discovered that it is very helpful for my students to actually see artworks develop over time in stages. Not every visitor here will appreciate this category but students glean much understanding by studying photographs of art processes. Often the eyes take in information that the written word is unable to express.
Dolls That I’ve Made – Here I will post photographs of both old and current dolls that I have sewn, sculpted, and painted.
Family Collections – These are dolls that are owned by both myself and many other members of my family. These dolls were not made by me but have somehow captured my attention. I record them here for research and enjoyment.
Step-by-step Textile/Doll Instructions – In time this category will grow as I begin to explain methods of construction and applications used in textile projects.
Stories & Poems About Dolls - This category is for sharing with young people. Many of the resources under this category are in the public domain, excluding the children’s book reviews. Teachers, homeschoolers, and parents may use them to teach with and enjoy!
Textile Treatments – Under this category I will include photographs of finished textile artworks.
Come visit my latest website, The Crayon Palace.
