VALLEY OF THE DOLLS

MAT-SU — A special doll or action figure can be a child’s best friend. As a girl, Meaghan Folk spent many hours playing with her dolls.

“I had every doll you could imagine,” she said. “I was a doll girl, but I liked the Barbies and I’d cut their hair.”

Now a Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) worker for Valley Community for Recycling Solutions, Folk is still playing with dolls. Along with fellow VISTA volunteer Liz McKinley, the pair are helping organize Dolls on Parade, a collaborative fund-raiser for VCRS and Valley Arts Alliance.

“Well, we got this donation of dolls, 1,800 dolls,” Folk said, adding that for awhile the medium-sized figurines packed her living quarters.

The dolls stand about 16 inches tall and have porcelain heads, arms and legs, and cloth bodies, but are otherwise unfinished. This gave the folks at VCRS an idea. Similar to Anchorage’s Salmon on Parade or the Moose on Parade in Talkeetna, all are invited to create their own unique dolls.

After submitting a proposal, 30 entrants will be chosen to create their dolls, said Mollie Boyer, VCRS director. That’s when the artistic expression takes over.

“You’ve got to think outside of the box with these dolls,” she said. “They can be action figures or angels or anything, really. It could be butterflies, or it could be the Man on the Moon, a whale, a person in a tree. There are no limitations on this.”

Well, maybe one, Folk said. “Any kind of artist can do whatever they please with the dolls — as long as it’s not something creepy.”

McKinley, who hails from New Hampshire, said the contest brings to mind one of her favorite dolls.

“I liked those American Girl dolls,” she said. “I had one, and I think I still have it in a box somewhere. I think her name was Samantha.”

Because the dolls are porcelain, painters can make them male or female, young or old, and with any features they want, Boyer said. And because the bodies are cloth, artists can get as detailed as they wish in making clothing and altering the length of the doll’s body or limbs.

While Folk, who is visiting the Valley from New York, and McKinley fondly remember their dolls, Boyer said she wasn’t big on dolls growing up.

“Well, you know, I did have some, but they broke a lot,” she said. “I was hard on dolls. I don’t know that I had a favorite. I did like for them to fly. They were super dolls.”

Creating a doll can also be a way for some non-traditional artists to spread their wings, Boyer said. Along with painters, the project would be good for fabric artists, sculptors, metal workers, knitters and even those who like paper mache.

“It’s about the creative process,” she said. “We want people to enjoy the experience, that’s the main thing.”

Applications are available now online at www.valleyartsalliance.com (click “Download an application here” in the right sidebar) and are due May 7.

A panel of judges will select 30 to create their proposals and the finished dolls are due in by July 10. From there, it’s a whirlwind tour. The dolls will be on display at Madd Matters in Palmer until the Alaska State Fair, then at the fair. After the fair, they can be viewed at 10 locations around the Valley.

“They are going to get lots of show and tell,” Boyer said, adding that the finale will be an auction at the grand opening of the recycling center’s new building in November. Proceeds will benefit VCRS and VAA.

The groups haven’t set a target for how much they want to raise through the auction, but they’d like it to be “a lot,” Boyer said.

Contact Greg Johnson at greg.johnson@frontiersman.com or 352-2269.