In the meantime, I decided to make a start by searching for the British Doll Association website and perhaps make contact with them; see if they have any records of Sarah Jane Fisher in their archives.
I've hit a brick wall. The BDA no longer exists and the founder of the company died in 1992.
This is what I found, from Brighton and Hove City Council in relation to some sort of 25th anniversary exhibition of dolls. There is no date, so I'm not sure when this exhibition took place:
"The British Doll Artist Association was founded by the late Ann Parker in 1979 in order to enable the many artists working in isolation to get to know each other and to combine to exhibit their work. Ann was a world-renowned doll artist and a Foreign Associate Member of the National Institute of American Doll Artists. She worked unceasingly for the benefit of the BDA and in gratitude for all her efforts, on their behalf, she was made President of the Association shortly before she died in 1992.
In the early days of the BDA one of the difficulties was to separate original work from reproduction antique dolls. A reproduction artist doll is one made from a mould that has been made available either directly or indirectly from the artist who was responsible for the original sculpture of the doll. An original doll, on the other hand, is one made entirely by the artist the sculpture, pattern drafting, painting and finish all by the artist concerned.
The BDA disbanded in October 2005 but the role of the original doll artist continues to diversify. While most still produce complete and finished dolls, some now also produce dolls in kit form for others to assemble some design patterns for publication or write books some produce sculptures for commercial doll makers or mould makers and others offer classes and workshops in various aspects of doll making."
I have looked up British Doll Artist Association and that no longer appears to exist either.
Any suggestions on leads to follow from this?
4 comments:
Thanks Sam...I'll try the NIADA, and I think I'll follow the lead for the Doll Reader magazine as it still appears to be going. Maybe, in time, I could get them to print an article to appear in the magazine...see if anyone makes contact. David said earlier that mum kept some cut outs of her features in the BDA magazine so I'll put them up here.
Hello,
I don't know if you are still looking for information about the BDA, but I may be able to put you in the right direction if you are.
I have left my email for you by subscribing to your blog, as I didn't want to put it here.
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Christina
Hello
I'm looking for British Doll Artist Jane Davies, also member of NIADA and their president for some years. As she does not answer my mails for some time, I hoped to find her through BDAA and know now, that this does not exist anymore. how sad. I know that she had moved North near where her son lived, but never gave me her address.
Elisabeth Flueler-Tomamichel
Doll Artist, Switzerland
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