Showing posts with label Folk toys. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Folk toys. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Ana can't stay away from the Folk Toys of the World exhibit



Unless you're a first-time visitor to this blog of our dear extraterrestrial Ana Darcy, you already know that her ancestors, when they were delivered to the planet Thomo some 3000 years ago, died in droves.

The ultimate survival of our distant cousins was due partly to luck, partly to the aid provided them by whoever or whatever it was that took them there, but mostly by their own determination and cooperation, especially in the matter of the nurturing of families and raising of children.

Like most all Thomans, then, Ana retains a love of children, and because of that, a recent exhibition in a local art gallery of folk toys of the world, made by parents and others for their children, often from the most humble of materials but with abundant and obvious love and imagination, captivated Ana completely. She has returned to it over a half dozen times.

In an earlier post we have shown some photos of various displays from this exhibit. Now we shall concentrate on closer views of selected items. What child would not love these toys?

(These photos are generously sized. Click on any photo to begin a slide show.)



































Thursday, October 4, 2012

Still MORE Dia de los Muertos, Molas!

The items below were a part of the Folk Toys of the World (more here) exhibit which thrilled Ana Darcy so much. Her own people, on the planet Thomo, are not so exuberant nor whimsical in their art--except in their children's toys. Now that Ana has her own children and has worked and played with children around the world, she has found her soul opening to embrace the sheer, public joy of these creations. She's glad to share them!

These photos are generously sized to show details. Click any to start a slide show!


A detail from the above. These musicians are tiny!


Molas, as mentioned elsewhere on Ana's blog, are created from layers of material, intricately cut and stitched to make textile "paintings." They are made by the Kuna Indians, living on islands off the coast of Panama. Here we have birds, one with a broom and one with a fish! Amazing!









Monday, October 1, 2012

Ana's delight: folk toys from around the world (ours, not hers)


Ana was utterly charmed by an art gallery show of folk toys from around the world. She said some resemble toys people make for their children on her own planet. (Thomans do not have a gigantic toy industry like we do.) It took her three separate visits to look closely at all the toys. A couple of the dolls (the Family of Man, above) were so close to several she remembered as a child as to bring tears to her eyes.

Below you will see examples of animal toys, vehicles, airplanes, and more. Toys from the Mexican Dia de los Muertos and the molas from the Kuna Indians of Panama will be posted soon. Click any for a full-size slide show!