Meet Polly's Mom

...or is it creator?   Hmmm... does that make me a Goddess?  I kinda like that!

My name is Lorie O Follett and I've always been an artist. I don't even remember when I wasn't driven to create.

Mostly I make art dolls and figurines that are sold online and in shops.  My primary medium is polymer clay these days although I use a lot of different materials and techniques.

As a child I didn't like to play dolls or rather my idea of playing dolls was dramatically different than my sister's idea of playing with dolls.

A year and a half younger than me, my sister would absolutely beg me to play Barbies with her. Sometimes I would not accept until she did my chores. I know I was a bad sister.

Every time the problem would started with the very first thing to come out of her mouth. It would go like this:

Her: " Okay, so Barbie's going to the beach..."

Me: "Oh! She needs a towel! and swim suit! and a beach bag! ... it'll only take a minute."

I'd immediately set off happily, frantically cutting, stitching , crocheting while my sister would be making like a tea kettle!

First the arms cross in a huffy manner, then the whimpering, followed by crying with a steadily increasing volume and ear-splitting shrillness until finally she'd explode "You always do this!"

Looking back I don't understand why she continued to want to play dolls with me - it was a never ending battle for her to try to find something Barbie could do that did not require anything for me to make.

For me it was a like a crazy, exciting Project Runway thing - Junior edition. Funny, she never came up with Barbie as a nudist... oh yeah, we were Mormon and didn't know what that was!

I haven't really changed much. In high school and dating often I would just be finishing up sewing something to wear as my date rang the doorbell. Again a crazy, exciting Project Runway - Teen edition.

Years later I was finishing the hem on my wedding dress in the car on the way to the ceremony.

Polly's creation was a bit like that too except it wasn't her hem I was sewing at the last minute!

Introducing Polly Merclay

Meet Polly, a life-size doll with realistic head and hands which I sculpted in polymer clay and baked in my home oven - and yes, it was pretty creepy even for me opening the oven and finding a face staring back at me!

Her eyes are blown glass and are so realistic there are thin red blood vessels in the sclera. She even has eyelashes and eyebrows.

Her body is composed of galvanized wire, PVC pipe, aluminum, fiber fill stuffing and fabric.

She is approximately 5' tall and can be dressed in regular clothing size medium. Her head and hands are removable to avoid damage while dressing.

I had no one in particular in mind when I sculpted this piece although I was kind of speculating just a little bit on what I might look like in 20 years.

I believe we earn the face we have in old age and she has a wonderfully peaceful expression that to me says she has lived a joyful life and has maintained a sense of humor.

I'm having a lot of fun with her and have decided not to sell her as she has become part of the family.