Dr. E's Doll Museum Blog: Seasons Greetings, Merry Christmas and Peace in 20...

Dr. E's Doll Museum Blog: Seasons Greetings, Merry Christmas and Peace in 20...: From a Facebook friend; Enjoy!!!

Miss Charlotte Bronte meets Miss Barbara Pym: Barbara Pym Doll by Debbie Ritter

Miss Charlotte Bronte meets Miss Barbara Pym: Barbara Pym Doll by Debbie Ritter: From our friend Debbie Ritter of Uneek Doll Designs comes this wonderful portrait doll of Barbara Pym. We love her creations, and own seve...

Miss Charlotte Bronte meets Miss Barbara Pym: Here and There, Pym does Mention her Dolls, Idols,...

Miss Charlotte Bronte meets Miss Barbara Pym: Here and There, Pym does Mention her Dolls, Idols,...: Marcia the Collector from Quarter in Autumn might approve: See below, written by Annetta Miller, a freelance writer who also wrote for New...

Dr E's Doll Museum in the News

See below, written by Annetta Miller, a freelance writer who also wrote for Newsweek wrote a very nice feature about us: When Dr. Ellen Tsagaris was a child in Greece, her mother presented her with a rubber yellow bunny doll that squeaked. “I liked it very much,” she recalled. Two Greek dolls dressed in national costumes followed that present. “By then, I was hooked. I remember saying, ‘I’m going to collect dolls.’” And collect she did. Today, some 50 years later, Ellen is not only the chair of multiple academic departments, but also one of the nation’s foremost collectors of and authorities on antique dolls. “When I was young, I loved portrait painting and I was interested in photography, costumes, and textiles, too,” she said. “I found that doll collecting encompassed all those interests. I’ve always loved having dolls, collecting dolls and reading about dolls.” Wooden dolls, porcelain dolls, dolls made of china and wax, Ellen has them all. And this year, she authored the first definitive book on dolls made from metal. Entitled With Love from Tin Lizzie, A History of Metal Heads, Metal Dolls, Mechanical Dolls, and Automatons, the book addresses the way dolls reflect cultures and civilizations, and how they have given rise to an international “doll economy.” Reviewers have described the book as an “academic text, a photo album, and book of memories all in one.” Ellen’s dolls hail from 50 U.S. states and most of the countries in Europe, Asia and South America. Her family–world travelers–have continued to bring Ellen antique dolls, folk dolls, costume dolls and souvenir dolls from all parts of the globe. One of her favorites is her ‘Vogue Baby Dear,” the type of doll that Communist Party Secretary Nikita Khrushchev took back to his grandchildren in Russia after his iconic “shoe-banging” speech to the United Nations in 1960. She received a Japanese Ningyo doll made of papier mache and covered in white oyster shell enamel when her Uncle Tom visited Japan as a U.S. Serviceman in the Korean War. At Knott’s Berry Farm in California, her father presented her with a strawberry blonde doll designed by celebrated ballet dancer and artist Suzanne Gibson. When she’s not collecting dolls, Ellen is something of an academic renaissance woman. She holds a law degree, a doctorate in Modern British Literature, a Master’s Degree in English, and a Bachelor’s Degree in English and Spanish. She is a member of the Phi Beta Kappa honorary society. A member of the Kaplan family for 15 years, Ellen chairs three academic departments, including Legal Studies/Paralegal Studies, Public Safety, and Humanities/Composition. Her interest in dolls has dovetailed seamlessly with her academic interests. She has researched and written about dolls in literature and about Anne Rice, who was an avid doll collector. Ellen’s next frontier: When she retires, she hopes to establish a non-profit doll museum similar to the one Rice established at the former St. Elizabeth’s orphanage in New Orleans. The museum will tell the story of human history through dolls, dollhouses, and related objects.

Writing your Memoirs: My Original Course-We're close to 10,000 Viewers!!

Writing Your Memoirs: We all have an Interesting life story to tell! Overview: In this course we will explore the genre of memoir. We will review the works of writers who have written about ordinary events in their lives which have inspired them in order to see that our own lives contain many meaningful experiences that will serve as inspiration for our own writing. Students will sample three varied techniques that will show them how to take their life experiences to create a memoir to record their events. Students will receive a packet of materials, samples, and other resources to help them continue with their project once they complete this class. Students will discuss classifying and organizing events and collecting artifacts and photos that will help them in their project. They will also be encouraged to discuss and reflect on the significance of remembered events and to keep a notebook of their thoughts and feelings. The instructor will share examples of memoir that she has taught and created in order in inspire the class. By the end of the session, students will have drafted an introduction and set of notes or outline to help them begin their Memoirs. Topics covered include: 1. Defining a Memoir, compare and contrast with biography and autobiography 2. What is an epiphany? What is a significant event to you and why? 3. Using treasured objects as catalysts 4. Writing around a photo, or using illustration 5. Using favorite recipes or patterns to tell stories 6. Organizing events around: a. Stages of life: infancy/childhood; adolescence/adulthood/family life/professional life b. Major life events c. Holidays and family/friend gatherings d. Emblematic moments e. Audience Objectives/Outcomes: The student will demonstrate: 1. Oral and written language skills to create, clarify, and extend their personal understanding of what they experience through their senses through introspection and interaction with others. 2. Practice and apply basic investigative techniques to generating material for memoir , including the use of questions Who? What? When? Where? How? Why? 3. ability and confidence to use oral and written language to the needs of their audience 4. Interest in writing and reading as a means to understanding themselves 5. creation of Memoir to record and preserve emblematic moments in their lives 6. Knowledge to help them complete their project and continue their interest through possibly joining a writers group that specializes in Memoir writing. Materials and techniques instructor will share with students include: Books, excerpts poetry, essays include: Marcel Proust, Remembrance of things Past Truman Capote, A Christmas Memory Barbara Pym, A Very Private Eye Annie Dillard, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek Joan Didion, On Keeping a Notebook Gunda Davis, Pumpkin Soup and Shrapnel Personal Memoir and Journals belonging to the author Works by Laura Ingalls Wilder The Journals of Sylvia Plath The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin Works by Maya Angelou Dolly Parton, Coat of Many Colors Works by Tasha Tudor Barbara Cooney, Hattie and the Wild Waves Jean Little Little by Little Robert Kimmel Smith The War with Grandpa Works by Ray Bradbury Works by Charlotte Bronte Crescent Dragonwagon, Home Place N. Scott Momaday, The Way to Rainy Mountain The Diary of Anne Frank Patricia MacLachlan, Sarah, Plain and Tall Students will also receive a bibliography of these and other works helpful to their interest in Memoir. Above works will be prepared and excerpted, where necessary, by the Instructor.

Message from the River

See below; here is a true collector's spirit; how Chad Pegracke started a Message in the Bottle collection from what he gleaned from the Mighty Mississippi: "In my work, I see thousands of plastic bottles out there. But I'm always scanning, looking in every bottle for a piece of paper. You get psyched out a lot because people have stuffed napkins or wrappers in there. You get kind of excited and then, "Oh no." It's the ultimate thing to find out there. When you're working, you don't use that time to open it right then. You put it in (the) boat, think about it and then open it up and read it. There's usually a lot of anticipation for it, especially at a big cleanup. It's a romantic idea. And truthfully, most of them aren't like a treasure map. Usually they're more intimate. ... They're sort of writing to the universe or the one above, just putting their thoughts out there."

Dr. E's Doll Museum Blog: Our Wishlist and some thoughts on Jimi Hendrix

Dr. E's Doll Museum Blog: Our Wishlist and some thoughts on Jimi Hendrix: As long as the big man in the red suit is coming soon, we will continue our museum wishlist. Wishes are, after all free, and sometimes, the...