Beadwork, basketry, pottery, sculpting, quilting, patchwork, dolls, and clothing help to preserve the Native American heritage and culture. For the next few weeks, we will share the stories of these gifted artists.
This week we feature a woman who makes traditional Seminole dolls and crafts patchwork.
Judy Baker – Seminole (b. 1943)
During the last few centuries, the Seminoles participated in the economic and cultural development in Florida. When the hide trade declined during the Depression they turned to other occupations for income.
The ones who were living in the tourist villages could make money selling handcrafted items such as patchwork clothing and dolls. They had already been making dolls as toys for their kids; now they began making them as a business. Visitors could walk through the Seminole villages and learn what daily life was life for Seminoles. They could purchase these special dolls and patchwork.
Judy Baker learned how to make the dolls from her mother and grandmother when she was around ten years of age. I will let her explain how they are made in her own words:
Seminole doll-making may look simple but it is really an intricate art. The dolls are “made from fiber found in the middle of palmetto bark,” she explains. “It’s brown in color, stretches after being cut, and after it is dried, it can be fashioned into dolls. Palmetto grows in thickets, and is harvested with tools including axes, knives, saws, and sometimes files. One palmetto plant can yield between four and five dolls. The first Seminole dolls were made around 1900. They were toys for children and were not clothed.”[1]
“The head is made first,” she continues to explain “and stuffed with palmetto fibers. The body was traditionally stuffed with palmetto fiber, although sometimes cotton is used now, and a circle of cardboard is cut for the bottom to keep the doll steady when standing it.” She further explained that the face is fashioned by embroidering or sewing on the eyes and mouth.
The Seminoles mixed Euro-American materials with their traditional styles for the dolls’ clothing. The hair portrayed hairstyles worn by Seminole men and women.
Judy explains that fashioning the hair can be a bit more complicated: “Sometimes the doll’s hair is crafted in the ‘board’ or ‘bonnet’ hairstyle that is rarely seen now: Seminole women would fan their hair over a tilted cardboard disk-shaped frame that was stabilized by the hair once in place. The doll’s hair may also be fashioned from yarn in ponytails and braided styles.
“When the tourist boom began in Miami, Florida, around the 1920s, visitors loved to see Seminole villages. Alligator wrestling, souvenir beads, earrings, and other crafts were always a big hit, but palmetto dolls were the best sellers.”
Soon the doll makers found a brisk trade. “Doll-making quickly became a cottage industry that earned income for the Seminoles,” Baker says. “Clothing was added in colorful, elaborate patchwork and traditional designs.” But Judy Baker and other doll crafters sometimes make these highly prized items by special request.
Here are several websites you can visit to get more information and see many beautiful pictures of the dolls:
https://www.floridamemory.com/learn/classroom/learning-units/seminole-dolls/photos/
https://doubledranch.com/blogs/double-talk/artifact-education-seminole-dolls
For good information on how the dolls are made as well as some beautiful photographs:
https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/sflarch/ethnographic-collections/seminole-dolls/dolls/
KB Schaller also gives us a picture of the Seminole art of Patchwork.
“The artistry of Seminole Patchwork began during difficult times for the Seminole when women used scraps and leftover fabric to fashion into hand-made clothing. As early as 1880, Seminole seamstresses acquired hand-operated sewing machines that made their labor easier and its output quicker.
A dozen years later, an explorer spotted the machines in every Seminole camp he visited in southeast Florida. Shortly before 1920, the colorful patchwork garments were made from strips of cloth in horizontal patterns of contrasting colors for both men and women. They eventually evolved into a series of “stock” or “traditional” patterns, including the diamondback rattlesnake; rain; lightning/ thunder; broken arrow; man on horse; bird; and the four directions colors.
Designs may also symbolize Seminole clans, which are matrilineal, passed down through the mother: Panther, Bird, Wind, Otter, Bear, Snake, Deer, and Toad/Bigtown. As time passed, creative symbols unique to the designer also became a trend.
Seminole patchwork designs are seen on skirts, jackets, vests, and other types of clothing. It is also used to fashion potholders, bonnets, purses, totes, towels, quilts, and many other items.”[2]
Originally, patchwork was done in two colors. Artists made geometric patterns. Over time the patterns got more intricate and colorful. Like the doll-making, patchwork is deceptively simple. It takes a lot of skill and artistry to create the beautiful work from strips of cloth.
Here is an interesting website to visit for more information on Seminole Patchwork:
https://floridaseminoletourism.com/seminole-patchwork/
And if you visit Florida be sure to visit the Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum
https://floridaseminoletourism.com/ah-tah-thi-ki-25th-anniversary/
Many of the patchwork pieces have names. Some are created for contests. Many are worn by the crafters. The designs have meaning for family and clans. “Where meaning in patchwork comes from is in a sense of history and pride. Patchwork is integral to the identity of the Seminoles. Unlike costumes worn by other cultural representatives – for example, the dresses of Irish Step Dancers – patchwork is worn as everyday clothing. It is not a costume donned solely during holidays or public displays. Outfits meant for more special events are made with practical considerations. For most Seminoles, patchwork clothing is hung in the closet with all the other solid foundation pieces of a good wardrobe.[3]
The Seminole people design their dolls to represent special characteristics of their culture. They do this by dressing them in traditional clothing. Many of the garments are created by use of patchwork. If you can’t visit Florida there are many for sale on the web.
[1] KB Schaller. 100+ Native American Women Who Changed the World. (Sarasota, FL: Peppertree Press, 2014) p. 91.
[2] Ibid, p. 92
[3] “It’s Not a Costume – Modern Seminole Patchwork”. https://www.ahtahthiki.com/its-not-a-costume/
