African American Dolls

"The Vegetable Lady"

This original African American Doll pays tribute to the older slaves who were no longer able to work in the fields.  Plantation owns sent them to the streets of New Orleans to sell the surplus vegetation. Vegetables were fresh and the cost of the produce was open for discussion. The housewife of the era depended almost solely on the street vendors of New Orleans.  The Vegetable Lady Doll is another of the New Orleans Street Vendors of the 1800's Series.  The doll is pictured above holding a basket of vegetables on her lap. The vegetables are hand-sculpted and painted. A hand-sculpted garlic cluster is placed in her right hand. She is seated on a hand-crafted replica of a cotton bale designed by Brian Bernard. The Vegetable Lady Doll is 18 inches in height and is dressed in a  white peasants blouse and a green and cream gingham  print .  (Note: Jewelry and dress fabric/print may vary depending on availability). JoAnn has made a handmade wig from gray mohair strands. The mohair wigs lend a natural authentic African American appearance to each doll.  A white tignon (bandanna) is worn on her head. In 1792 a law was enforced in New Orleans that called for all women of color to wear a tignon on their head. Accessories are gold hoop earrings, a gold brooch on her blouse. Notice the detail carving of the hands and feet of the Vegetable Lady Doll. JoAnn's unique doll body design allows the Vegetable Lady Doll to be positioned in various ways by bending at elbow joints and knee joints. This feature adds to the lifelike quality of the pieces. Accompanying this African American heritage doll is a booklet and display card designed by JoAnn to include; the number of the piece, the inspirational sketch, a short bio, and a story about the character. All clay pieces are limited editions of 500. A numbered and signed Certificate of Authenticity is also provided with the character doll.

JoAnn's Comments: My favorite feature about the Vegetable Lady is the hand-sculpted vegetables. I love the garlic clusters and the turnips. My sister-in-law Charlene Bernard Hass created a few of my first vegetable baskets. She is the reason the vegetables are so realistic. I would like to thank her for helping me improve my vegetable sculpting techniques. She is a very talented lady.

African American Dolls

by JoAnn Bernard

Original African American Dolls recreating Louisiana Life in the 1800's.  Learn about Louisiana Culture through this African American Heritage Doll collection inspired by sketches, photographs and stories of the 1800's.  These African American life like hand made dolls have attached booklets and display cards with short historical essays about the character.  All dolls are reproduced in clay using JoAnn Bernard's plaster molds developed from her original doll designs. Doll wigs, clothing, dress designs, and props are all handmade by the artist.

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