Susan Fosnot has been creating dolls since early childhood learning sewing from her mother and grandmother.  At the University of Wisconsin—Madison, she majored in Fine Arts with strong emphasis on drawing and portraiture.  Evidence of her skills in portraiture is apparent in every doll she creates. Although her artistic influences are the cloth dolls of the 19th Century, her work is exquisitely detailed and meticulous.

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UFDC describes Susan’s dolls as follows: “Susan’s dolls go far beyond most cloth dolls. The detailed construction and the portrait style painting of the faces make Susan’s dolls unique. The faces are flat, but the amazing painting makes them appear three-dimensional. Susan then dresses her dolls in antique fabrics and trims, which lift her dolls out of the contemporary context, and make them welcome additions to antique doll collections.”

 

Susan herself describes her work best: “Each of my painted cloth dolls is one of a kind—designed, sewn, and stuffed by myself. I paint the heads, arms, and legs using traditional brush techniques. The heads are round, but the faces are flat, with the illusion of eyes, nose, and mouth created entirely with paint. All hair and shoes are also painted. I like to use old fabrics for the clothing-anything from the mid 19th century up through the first decades of the 20th century. Those years were the hey days of cloth dolls, and the time period my dolls usually represent. Old dolls fascinate me. I see them as a true record of history. They are a record of how people envisioned themselves and their place in the world.”

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Susan is a member of the prestigious artist organization, NIADA and ODACA. In Susan’s own words; “Because I love rag dolls and antique fabrics- and love to paint… I make painted cloth dolls.”