SAINT DOLLS by Isabella

How long does it take you to make one?

On average, it takes me between 30 and 45 minutes to paint a saint. However, these days I do most of my painting in bulk, meaning I paint many saints at once, in layers. (First the head, then the clothes, then the hair, etc.) So this is just a rough estimate. If I made them all one at a time, I think it would probably take up to two hours.

 

Do you make them all yourself?

Hard to believe, right? But yes, I make all the saints by myself.

 

Do you carve the dolls, too?

Haha! No. I buy the blank dolls in bulk, online, from craftparts.com. They have a great selection of sizes if you want to try your hand at making some of your own saints!

 

What are they made of?

My media is acrylics on wood. That’s it. Just paint, and paintbrushes. I spray them with a clear vinyl finish that helps them wear better, especially if children will be playing with them!

 

How do you make them look so perfect?

My saints are not perfect! They are all handmade, so each is unique and will have slight variations. But that’s part of what makes them special. The rest is just practice. I also like to think that the saints are up in Heaven, helping me represent them beautifully to the world. I will be honest with you, even I am surprised sometimes at how well they turn out. :)

 

How do you decide what to put on them?

The first step of the process with any saint that I haven’t made before is to do some research. I learn about their life, their story, and what they did. I also look for information on their attributes (symbols associated with them), to make them easier to identify. Often I look at icons or other saint dolls that others have already made for inspiration. Then I make a sketch, or sometimes multiple sketches, of what I want the doll to look like. That’s not always the final design that makes it onto the doll, but it’s usually pretty similar. If the saint is recent, I try to find photos of them, so they look as close as possible to how they did in life.

I also try to make my saints consistent and historically accurate. For example, to the best of my ability, habits are accurate to the time period the saint lived in. This is often difficult, and at times I do take artistic license and overrule historical accuracy in favor of ease of identification, but I do try. My more recent saints are more historically accurate than my early ones. As far as consistency is concerned, I have created basic designs for different kinds of saints- priests, Carmelites, virgin martyrs, etc.- that I try and stick to.

 

What can you do with saint dolls?

Great question! Many people like saint dolls to give as gifts for Christmas, birthdays, Confirmation, and other sacraments. They are also quite popular in Catholic homeschooling circles to teach children about the saints. In general, saints are meant to be teaching tools, treasured keepsakes, or whatever you can come up with. Since I have a large collection, I like to challenge visitors to guess the saint! It’s a great party game (for Catholic parties, at least.) And some people just like to have their patron on their desk, praying for them all the time!

 

Who is your favorite saint?
It’s a tie! St Joan of Arc, my confirmation saint, and St. John Paul II, my “spiritual grandpa” (stole that phrase from a friend of mine.)

 

How long have you been doing this?

Almost three years! I painted my first-ever saint in December 2013.

 

Who was your first saint?

St Joan of Arc!  

 

What if I want to try and paint my own saints?

Go for it! There’s nothing more rewarding than challenging yourself creatively. I would encourage everyone to give it a shot. Feel free to use the pictures of the dolls on my website as a jumping off point, but don’t be afraid to add your own personal creative touch!

 

Where do you get orders from?

Since my business is online, I get orders from all over the country! A lot of my business actually comes from Italy. I have lots of family over there, and they are enchanted with my creations. I even sent some to Pope Francis once (free of charge, of course, though unfortunately I did not receive a phone call about them.) I have also attended craft fairs with the saints, where they were very popular.

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Please don't hesitate to email me using the contact page if you have any other questions!