I first met Bobbi Jo at a private boutique party, and later at her studio at Bell Arts Factory during the May’s “First Friday” happenings. At the time I was looking for local artists for the website and we recognized each other from the boutique party.

Bobbi Jo’s dolls are created using recycled materials and reclaimed remnants from interior design workrooms and clothing manufacturers. The materials and yarns primarily used for the construction and composition are natural fibers such as cotton, silk and wool.

Each face, with its twinkling eyes and unforgettable smile is either embroidered, needle sculpted, hand painted, or created by using a combination of these by the artist.

Why do you make dolls?

Partly it’s because of the passion I have always had for fabrics. Just as journals and photographs tell a story of who we are, textiles express a story of different cultures, their love of color and patterns that have meaning woven or stitched into a cloth. It started when I learned to embroider from my grandmother as a child. I loved putting the attention that goes into sewing a picture and the peace it gave me. It was really satisfying to make little dolls out of old pillowcases and use the crocheted edge for the clothing. Now that I think about that more. I believe in part making dolls was like comfort food for me because our toys and all of our childhood belongings went into storage at the time our parents divorced and we never saw them gain. Dolls became a way for me to heal myself and share comfort and love with others through them. The desire to make dolls as gifts surfaced again when I was a apparel designer, I used remnants from the clothing to make dolls for my niece and nephews.

Where do you find your greatest inspiration for dolls?

First would be children in their joy, innocence and raw creativity.

Then my personal experiences, my personal journeys, some people in history. I find every person has their own unique facial characteristic and some are more rememberable than others are. Most all of my previous dolls now have homes, were inspired by entertainers. One of them was Finocchio, I remembered him for 15 to 20 years and them made a doll of him. He was a man probably in his seventies and was a transvestite performer at a club in North Beach. I remembered his face so well because it was a rubbery face with such great expressions. Another was my Step-Dad, Floyd. After he retired from the Navy, he often took on the appearance of a bum, sort of like Red Skelton’s Claude Kadiddle Hopper. You see people who are not shaven and people without their make-up and they look so different from when they are out there ready to be on stage in the world. They actually have a more authentic character about themselves when they are sort of naked and exposed in that way. And people who are really passionate about what they do and say, they have a character that comes through them that touches our heart and is engraved in our memory. I remember those faces and they inspire images I want to create.

There was an older woman whose house I happened upon in Hawaii in ‘74. Her face was a pool of compassion and wisdom. After 35 years I made a doll of her and named her Kane Pau Lei meaning ‘water blossom’.

Finocchio

Floyd

When did you first want to be a doll artist, and when did you first realize you were one?

It was when I was recovering from a ski injury in ’71. There were long hours when I couldn’t be at the store. I had lots of projects I had wanted to do, so I began needle pointing guitar straps and embroidering shirts again. Then I made plans to visit my sister and her three children in Ohio once I was able to travel again so I decided to make gifts for the kids, I’ve always been inspired by the Renaissance period so I started out making jester dolls. Each time someone came by to visit and saw what I was doing they wanted to buy the doll. Eventually I was finally able to complete bears for the boys and a rag dolls for my niece. I started to make the transition by first starting a pillow company that overlapped with the retail clothing and design. Then I visited my closest friend who had moved to Santa Barbara. I loved the town and the arts and crafts scene that was happening there. So I made the decision to be a fiber artist making dolls and costumes and made the move.

Do you visualize your doll before creating it?

I always have a very clear image of the doll and their birth story in my mind before I start to select the fabrics and begin cutting. Sometimes I sketch it out and most often I don’t.

Do you know what it will look like before you begin?

Almost always the doll stays pretty close to the image I started with, but once that little soul  starts to speak to me, many special details will be added into the creation process before the doll is complete. Often the name I started with will change itself.

What is your process?

Mostly getting out of the way so the doll can be created through me. For custom orders, I first envision the feelings that are intuitively coming through me for the person that is giving and/or receiving. They may have also requested a certain theme, color palette and ethnic origin. Sometimes I do whimsical character portraits working from photographs. Anyway, it’s always from inspiration that I start selecting the fabrics to work with. For needle-sculpted dolls, I first create the head. Then I create the pattern for making the body. Then measure the body to design the clothing. For embroidered or painted dolls I start with the body and the face is done to coordinate with the clothing and skin tone before the hair is added and styled. The soul takes a name and the life story is woven during this process.

Bobbi's studio at Bell Arts Factory

Is there anything about the way you produce your work that you believed to be unique or unusual?

As with any artist, when you are most satisfied with your work, you often don’t actually know how you reached the finished result of the inspiration it started with. It always feels inappropriate and almost arrogant to me to say that I made this. As a mother and an artist, I know what comes through me makes me often much more than I’ve been a part of making it. When I’m sewing or painting, I’m being with source more than I’m being with thought. I believe this is what gives my dolls breath and a life of their own.  Many of my dearest patrons have told me their dolls communicate with them and due to their receptivity our relationships are unique and have become closer.

Tell me how you were influenced that first time you went to the Chinese Embroidery exhibit in San Francisco?

I recognized the images and the work so closely, I felt as if I was standing in a previous life. The experience of seeing the intricate scenes created by sewing layers and layers of color awoke a deep desire in me to paint with thread. I have always seen and experienced what I see and touch as dots of light reflecting color creating lucid or denser images. Seeing these works of art gave me a perspective and a new dimension other than drawing and painting to express that.

What is your favorite memory sewing with your grandmother?

It would have to be her patience and love. We were on a farm and there was seldom a time when her hands were idle. She was always teaching by doing what needed to be done. When all of the chores were complete she would embroider and crochet. She was so fast and adept at crocheting that it was intimidating. As a child I could never imagine being able to do what she was doing. So I embroidered and once she taught me the stitches she just left me do what I wanted. And in the end, she couldn’t show enough people what I had done. My grandparents were the best examples I could have had for being a loving, kind and generous person with values grounded in humility and service to others.  They were the epitome of wanting to do the right thing for God and community.

Do you still have items made with your grandmother when you were a child?

We have very special bedspreads, table clothes, afghans and quilts that she crocheted for my mother, my children and me. She used fabrics from the dresses and her aprons, our pajamas and play clothes. They carry the love and energy of a beautiful woman and memories of the some of the most peaceful time in my life.

Grandmother's Quilt

How did you happen to go into Interior Designs?

It happened while I was restoring and renovating a two hundred year old three-story farmhouse that we had purchased. As the poor condition of the house became apparent, it grew into a huge project. I was very sensitive to preserving the history and character of the original house and property.  I was totally involved, acting as the general contractor for every aspect of it including managing the interior design and furnishings.

In the process I was hosting birthday parties and community meetings there and being asked who was doing the work for the house. That gave me the credibility and resulted in the referrals I needed to get a business going. It was also a perfect fit for my creativity and our families needs. At the time with 6 children, of his, mine and ours I needed to work from home and be able to schedule the work around what the kids needed and their activities.

What brings you to Bell Art Factory?

One of the reasons I decided to move to Ventura was the support for the arts that existed here. I was working so much for the first couple of years that I hadn’t actually gotten involved that much in the community. Then when I was laid off from my design position a year ago, I saw it as a chance to get established as an artist again. Still needing a job, I went to Bell Art Factory asking about WAV and looking for a position as a director for the center. I was offered a studio space instead.

What do you want people to walk away with when they see your work?

A smile. I truly want them to feel inspired to feel playful and laugh as they cherish the characters in their own lives. A doll can sit anywhere, sharing a special smile and giving companionship. To make a living as a doll artist dolls these little souls need to be valued as lasting gifts that will honor special events, while also saying what’s important to them as an investment; their love and sense of humor, representing their connectedness to special friends and family over a lifetime.

Bobbi Jo at home

Bobbi-Jo Free

P.O.BOX 29318

San Francisco, CA 94129

203-320-8163

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www.bobbijofree.com

Photograph by- Good Glass Photos