most of us have played with dolls in our childhood. we play-acted with and through them and for some of us, the experience helped prepare us for adulthood... or not! even today, Opie still has his aunts 1930's Shirley Temple doll, who sits in her place of honor, on our antique pump organ. my Aunt Fran worked for the government and lived in many countries throughout my growing years. she was my mentor and biggest source of encouragement until she passed at age 91. she started my collection by sending me a doll from every country she visited and i became intrigued by the history attached to some of the dolls in particular. i felt an affinity with fetish dolls, minkisi, ritual and burial dolls which Opie and I collect to this day, and it is the essence of these dolls that we want our work to express. we call our dolls DADA dolls and have created an entire on-going series featuring tin cans ~ wood ~ altered book & box constuctions ~ metal ~ paper ~ gourds ~ fabric ~ found materials and more.