Mimi Kirchner

Mimi Kirchner needs no introductions because she is very well known in the world of soft dolls. I love her work so much.  The shapes of her dolls are great----especially the broad chested fellows above and the big sweater grandmas.  They are just so comical, and they easily become animated in my mind.  I can imagine those sweater grandmas watching Wheel of Fortune and practically becoming one with the couch they are sitting on.  The men I see walking around in a manly manner and tipping their hats to any ladies in sight.

Here is a short bio that she wrote for her blog:

I am a Boston-based fiber artist. I live with my husband- Ben Hyde- in a Victorian era (1892) 2-family house. I have 3 kids who are mostly grown up and doing their own things. I graduated from Carnegie-Mellon University in 1976 with a BFA.

Her craftsmanship is unmatched.  She is just so, so, so good and exact about everything.  And all the little details send my heart aflutter.  People tell me they wish they had my patience, but there are various degrees of patience, and in the doll making realm, I think hers is the highest.  Look at that naked robot!  Yoinks!  So incredible!

I could snoop around at this photo for hours.  What are in all those drawers?!  Maybe things only Mimi sees the potential in.

She sent these foxes for the show as well as three others.  With Mimi's work, you can look at it for a very long time and keep discovering new things, which is one of my favorite parts about art observing, the continual surprise.  Her characters are so specific, you can spend a lot of time developing their stories in your head.  Do you know that the girl fox has a pig inside her purse?  A tiny pig!  I peeked inside it when I was hanging the show.  That had me smiling all day.  My goodness.

That black object on her table with the strap is some sort of magnifying goggle contraption.  I saw her using them on her Handmade Portraits video on Etsy.  Also, I think you really know your craft on a personal level to have so many scissors!  I really aspire to be at her level one day.  I think lots of soft artists look to her as their model for craftsmanship.

Thank you to the fabulous Mimi Kirchner!

Mimi's blog
Mimi's shop.