Human babies can produce “Witch’s Milk” shortly after their birth. It odd, but true, and not something to be alarmed about.
While a baby develops in the womb he/she is exposed to a lot of estrogen. Estrogen causes the Mother's breasts to swell and get ready to produce milk for the baby. The baby, being directly attached to its Mother, also has estrogen in its body. Sometimes this causes the baby's breasts to swell and after birth they can leak what looks like milk. Its just short term, gone in a couple of weeks as the estrogen leaves the baby.
Of course, in the Middle Ages, people did not understand how or why this happened. It seemed to them witches must cause this. Intending to use the milk as a particular treat for their familiars, demons, or anything else that looked a little suspicious. Some parents created baby sized rag dolls to sleep in the crib with the baby, hoping to trick the Witches.
Which makes me wonder... were these the first rag dolls? It seems possible.
I was a child in the 70's. I still like 70's music more than any other. I remember my bedroom being decorated with huge flowers - the wallpaper and curtains matched. At the time it didn't seem at all retro or vintage. It takes time for anything to look kitschy after all.
There were so many little things I had back then that are prized artifacts now. I wish I had been able to keep more of them. But, we moved a lot. Then I grew up and started moving a lot myself.
One thing I miss are the big eyed girls I used to have on my walls. I didn't get them new, even back then. I had to wander into them at yard sales and thrift stores. That's still the only way I seem to find them now. But, I hardly ever find them these days.
I used to have about half a dozen of those sloe eyed girls. I liked the ones in the jester outfits, the girls who didn't look like children but could have been teenagers. I had a few in jester clothes and at least 2 others which were ballerinas. My little sister liked them too. She took a couple of mine and wouldn't give them back. Sisters...
Anyway, these days I only have one big eyed girl print left. I don't even have her up on a wall. I keep her packed away. I guess I either don't want to lose my last one or I want to make sure she isn't left out during the next move (whenever that will happen along).
Big Eyed Bradley Dolls
If you're a child of the 70's too, do you remember Bradley Dolls? They were another type of big eyed girl but not in paintings or prints. They were actual dolls.
Margaret Keane Links and Resources
Big Eye Girl Art
This could also be by Ward. The artist name was removed if it is.
Big Eyed Girl Artists
Street art dioramas could be right under your foot and you might not notice. They are tiny, miniature people posed in the great, big, real world. Some are tiny people, some are model trains and some are buildings. All are varied ideas on the same theme of taking miniature art into the street, the outdoors, and posing to interact with the great big world out there.
I'm not a professional photographer. I like creative photography. There are so many things we can create but it's the photograph that keeps them around, remembered and shows them just like new long after the original is gone. Like making a sandcastle on the beach and taking a photo before people walking on the shore and the waves come in to sweep it away. A photograph preserves art and showcases art too.
I photograph old, abandoned and derelict buildings to keep something of them in the world, remembered. However, I love to see other art in photos. I've been watching for different ways to be creative with a camera. There are endless ways and means and styles.
One form of art which is captured by the camera are miniature dioramas created in the street, in public places. Some are in places people walk around all the time, but they might not notice them. Some are outdoors where people might only see them in a photograph.
I wasn't especially interested in art with miniatures. I saw model railways with whole towns and the little people in them. I admired the work, the imagination and creativity. But, I wasn't inspired to try it myself. For one thing, I knew I wouldn't have the patience to assemble an entire miniature village.
Then I found The Little People Project. I loved it. I went out and bought the smallest dolls I could find at the thrift store (2 Bratz Barbie-sized dolls) and started to try the idea of posing little people myself. I did it for awhile but I didn't have the right dolls, the right little people, so I put that project on the back burner. I still have the dolls and the photos I took.
Find Some Little People
Do you remember the big eye art from the 1970′s?
I have a few prints. Still among the packed up stuff from my last move a few years ago. (Yes, we all seem to have stuff we carry around that way). Even though I don’t have my big eyed girls up on the wall I won’t be donating or selling them. They were a feature of my childhood bedroom, one of the few things I have been able to keep all these years.
The artist of the original big eye art was Margaret Keane. But, she wasn’t the only one producing the style. My favourites come from Maio, Eden, Goji and Ward. These seem harder to find.
Big Eye Art is Becoming “Collectible” Due to the Movie about the Life of Margaret Keane
As I began looking for fresh links for the big eye girl art I discovered a movie coming out about Margaret Keane and her husband Walter, who had long taken credit for the art. Likely due to the upcoming movie there has been some new interest in big eye art and the prices on eBay have gone to less than $10 for a single (or even a set of 2 or 3 prints) to over $30 for one print. Most of the prints for sale on eBay looked rough. Big eye art was not hugely collectible, until now it seems. So the prints were not given much tender, loving care.
The New Big Eye Art
New artists have taken up the style (genre) of big eye art. Most of these have taken the sad big eye look and spun it into fantasy or horror. For me this does stray from the original art because they lose the mystery and simple sadness of the original theme. If you can see what is making her sad the art doesn’t have that allure of mystery and wanting to see deeper, to know what is behind those sad eyes.
Of course, the new art is beautiful with a lot of fantasy and creativity. Now and then I do find an artist who captures the original qualities too. I think it is more fun or just easier to sell the art which includes things people know (old horror stories, science fiction and dragons, mermaids, etc). So although there is a renewed interest in big eye art it has lost something in the transformation.
A long, long time ago my Mother bought me a doll, a bed doll. It was a beautiful doll with an elegant white gown, ribbon flowers and her hair done up in a fancy way. I kept her for a very long time, but she was always made me sad. No fault of the doll. It was one of the things I did which I later regretted.
When we bought the doll my Mother explained that she was meant to be kept on the bed to look pretty. You don’t play with her, you don’t undress her (some of the dress was not meant to be taken off it was sewn on the doll body to an exact fit), most of all, you don’t un-do her hairstyle. I said I would remember all that and just have her sit on my bed. My Mom was hoping this would be another reason for me to get into the habit of making my bed each morning. Sadly, it didn’t work out.
I never get into the bed making habit. Worse, it was not long before my curious mind had to get to work on her hair. Well, some things you just can’t ever fix or put back the way they originally were. She wore the same dress, mostly untouched but her hair was never the same again. So, I always felt a bit bad for letting my Mom down.
Bed dolls seem an old fashioned thing now. But, I like the old fashioned, romantic things. I was glad to find a bed doll with a home made crochet outfit on Etsy. There were a few of them. I wonder if they sell well or hang around, waiting for some silly curious girl to come along and mess up their hair.
