Mandleberg receives top prize in US Artisan Guild Doll Convention
Christine Mandleberg has won the top sculpting award for one of her original porcelain dolls at the latest Artisan Guild Doll Convention held in Chattanooga in Tennessee. The Doll Artisan Guild of America is the largest association for porcelain doll artisans in the world. The theme this year was ‘Children of the World’ and Mrs Mandleberg entered a handful of dolls.
The doll conductor received the main prize and the other three dolls all received a highly commended. In total she entered four dolls in this category.
“I was up against all the best artisan porcelain doll-makers in the world,” she said.
Mrs Mandleberg was also pleased that the Gibraltar National Doll had received a Highly Commended.
The small ‘googly’ doll, she explained, was a reproduction of a German Googly Doll which was all the rage in the 19th century.
With a pre-convention tour of the scenic Tennessee Valley Railroad through the Cherokee National Forest to the historic mining town of Copperhill, Tennessee, Mrs Mandleberg decided to create one of her dolls and produce a Chattanooga Train Conductor.
The venue for the US Doll Convention was Chattanooga, home of the Glen Miller song “Chattanooga Choo Choo”, she explained and on the theme of Dolls of the World decided to do something which was typical for Tennessee and created a doll depicting a ‘Country and Western’ singer with typical outfit and guitar. This doll was marked as “just gorgeous”.
“I feel I did myself proud with her outstanding talent for sculpting dolls and won the main prize for original sculpting!
