Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
Fond du Lac Arts is a series exploring the stories, creative expression, and craftsmanship of Fond du Lac artists from a range of disciplines.
This project is produced by AMPERS, Diverse Radio for Minnesota’s Communities in partnership with WGZS, the Radio Voice of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, with support from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.
INTRO: You are listening to Fond du Lac Arts: Community through the Creative Arts.
NARRATOR: When Joyce LaPorte was five, her grandmother showed her how to use a needle. The work wasn’t easy for little fingers.
JOYCE LAPORTE: I said, “Well, it's hard, you know, it's hard. I want it to be right.” And she said, “Just let the needle work for you.” And I understood then. And with that, I completed a doll, and we stuffed it with cat tail from the swamps, and then she put her own hair on it.
NARRATOR: But the granddaughter wanted to know why the doll didn’t have a face.
JOYCE: She grabbed my hand and took me down to the creek and knelt there and asked, “Which of our reflections should she take from the water and put on the doll?” She had already told me the legend that that's the only place you're supposed to see your face is in the water, and it's got to stay there with the water spirits. SFX walk through grass, water, nature
NARRATOR: Many years later, when Joyce had first granddaughter, she made another No Face Doll. And she continued making them and teaching others how to make them, just like her grandma taught her.
JOYCE: But I don't use the cattail because I can't get out into the swamps in the wintertime. I'm old now, so I had to think of something that was just as soft, and I chose buffalo hair to stuff the dolls with. And then I use horse hair on their heads, for their hair, and buckskin for their clothing. Music
NARRATOR: The body is made out of deerskin too but split skin, which is tough and soft and allows her to stuff the doll with lots of buffalo hair so it will keep its shape. Joyce’s No Face Dolls are now in the collections of museums here and abroad, including the Smithsonian in Washington DC and the Minnesota History Center. And she still lets the needle guide her.
JOYCE: And it does. It's just smooth once you put your mind to just the task of sewing it, to creating a little image for somebody to enjoy,
OUTRO: Fond du Lac Arts is produced by AMPERS and WGZS, the radio voice of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, with support from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.