Lifestyle

Country folk art festival this weekend at Kane County fairgrounds

Posted September 18, 2009 11:00 pm

By Deborah Donovan

Details are very important to this Mount Prospect artist. Bill Zars | Staff Photographer

A reproduction antique doll should be authentic down to her corset.

That's the way Robin Thompson makes them. Honest.

"I'm a research junkie," said the Mount Prospect artist. "It comes from being a student at the Art Institute. You use the proper materials." Thompson will sell her dolls and their furniture at the Country Folk Art Festival Sept. 25-27 in St. Charles.

Visiting Thompson is a living history lesson. She takes her details, which can include clothing made from antique fabric and fired enamel-on-copper eyes, very seriously.

"People want to know. The (separate) pockets and corsets are hand-tied in the back. The 18th century silk fabric can have some little holes and tears. People love it."

Why is old, fragile material such a draw?

"The antique fabrics are in the right colors," she explained. "It's hard to find a mustard yellow - they loved that color. There are good new fabrics, too. But the older stuff has a different feel. For some reason it looks completely right."

Thompson has also invented her own way to make enamel eyes, saying the original methods have been lost.

"If I can make it right, why use something that isn't right?"

Some of her dolls are wooden in the manner of William Higgs, an important 18th century doll maker. Others are so-called milliner dolls from the era of the U.S. Civil War. Milliners, or dress makers, made these dolls with hand-stitched leather bodies to model samples of the latest fashions. She specializes in black dolls because not many people make them.

Collectors really search Thompson out for her doll furniture in styles from the 18th and early 19th century. While she also tries to make her furniture authentic, she varies the sizes to fit particular dolls. Chairs and tables can be copied from real antique pieces or pictures of them.

Her first chair, made just for fun, sold to the Old Pretenders, two Canadian men famous for their dolls and their work restoring old dolls.

She makes chairs of all styles from Chippendale to country with hand-woven rush-seats to carved 17th century William and Mary or fancy painted 19th century versions. Working tilt-top tables stand out among her creations.

Inspired by "baby rooms" of the 18 century and the Art Institute's Thorne rooms, Thompson has made an elaborate room setting to display her dolls and furniture. She laid the wood floor herself, and accessorized with expensive little antique miniatures like the clock on the mantel.

Here's a trick: The carved woodwork in the room is plaster-like material cast from old cookie molds. And she is still working on the lighting.

"I liked little stuff as a kid. I guess I was destined to make all this small stuff. I just love it."

And others share her passion.

Collectors pay $1,000 and even double that for her dolls, but she said originals can cost as much as $16,000. The furniture starts at $100.

"People have always collected miniatures. They didn't have television or anything like that. They collected miniatures and had rooms created by carpenters."

If you see her at the festival, be sure she shows you how the shoes come off those tiny feet.

Dressing a witch from centuries ago in authentic costume represents a challenge for Robin Thompson. Bill Zars | Staff Photographer

Robin Thompson turns a doll body on her lathe. Bill Zars | Staff Photographer

Robin Thompson makes miniature chairs in many different styles. Bill Zars | Staff Photographer

Robin Thompson, who uses authentic materials and research made this room for her dolls and furniture. Bill Zars | Staff Photographer

Hand-fired enameled eyes are authentic, says artist Robin Thompson of Mount Prospect. Bill Zars | Staff Photographer

Robin Thompson of Mount Prospect uses authentic materials and a lot of research to reproduce antique dolls and miniature furniture. Bill Zars | Staff Photographer

Country Folk Art Festival When: Sept. 25-27; 6-10 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 27. Where: Kane County Fairgrounds Convention Center, Randall Road between North Avenue (Route 64) and Roosevelt Road (Route 38), St. Charles. Admission: $8; under 15 free. Special events: 2 p.m. Saturday talk, "American Quilts - A Women's Art," followed by $10 quilt appraisals. Information: (630) 858-1568 or <a href="http://folkartfest.com" target="new">folkartfest.com</a> Robin Thompson: <a href="http://Robinsminifurniture.com" target="new">Robinsminifurniture.com</a>

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