JOANN MATHIAS
of Virginia Beach, Virginia is doll conse
rvator at the Daughters of the American
Revolution Museum in Washington, D.C. Author of video, Restoration
Techniques: Broken Bisque Head, Building Sleep Eye Mechanisms, Broken Blown
Glass Eyes, JoAnn is co founder
and Past President of the
Doll Doctors' Association
and listed in the Doll Hospital Directory.
She has authored several slide presentations including "Kestner, King of
Dollmakers" and "The History of Dolls". She has presented a
study on Dolly Laundry to eBay Doll Club and appeared on Collecting Channel
television show "Antiques in the Attic" giving a brief history of the
development of dolls.
My Philosophy
Doll Doctors should be called doll restoration artists as it takes an artistic ability to restore a doll to its former beauty but still maintain the integrity of the doll. My philosophy is to do as little repairs to a doll as necessary to insure that the doll will survive many more generations of loving. With attention to detail, it is possible to just do a small repair such as replace a missing finger while leaving the majority of the original paint intact on the hand.
Invisible Repair and Reversible Restoration
Most doll doctors speak of "invisible repair" and any good doll doctor should be doing restoration work that is basically invisible, that is the restoration cannot be seen from the outside. More importantly, the restoration should be a "perfect match" to the old paint. We strive hard to develop that perfect match but all new paint placed on a restoration will begin ageing and consequently minute changes begin immediately. At some point later following a restoration, a repair may need to be tinted over to maintain that perfect match. Absolutely no one or any material is not affected by these facts. As professionals, we are more comfortable with the term "perfect match".
Reversible restoration is the use of modern materials and paints that can be removed so a new restoration can be applied. Materials used in our restorations can be reversed so the new repair can be accomplished without compromising the integrity of the doll. These materials do not contain any oils or waxes which can damage the wood base on composition dolls.
Biography
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