Halloween Spirits: Marguerite Noschese’s Dolls Combine Whimsy, Scariness, Humor

By Marguerite Surich Noschese

I came to the business of creating art dolls along a very circuitous path — I had been a dealer in antique dolls, children’s toys, and antique baby clothes. I was also an avid quilter and creator of fabric dolls, while later I worked as a child portrait artist. While I loved all these different artistic pursuits, it all came together for me artistically when I began making art dolls. My passion for fabrics, design, and portrait painting were now all incorporated in one discipline: art dolls!

She Herself Is a Haunted House, 23 inches.

Her witch hat is a miniature haunted house scene that lights up, and she stands over another, larger, haunted house that also lights up.

There is a magic in the creation of these dolls, something unexplainable that happens in the studio when the personality of a doll comes through. Enchanted from childhood by the lore of Halloween, I have used that sense of childhood wonder as a focus for my dolls.

My doll creations are combinations of all the treasures I have found throughout my travels — antique laces from Paris, ribbons and scraps of vintage quilts from my many antiquing jaunts throughout places like New Orleans, Mississippi, and New England. I try to capture a little of the spirit of Halloween in my creations by combining the whimsical, the scary, and the humorous.

Poor Ghostly Miss Havisham from Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations is a seated doll on an antique architectural wood base approximately 19 inches tall. She is dressed in antique laces and fine antique silks, antique water pearls, and satins.

Her clothing is all hand-sewn due to the advanced age of the laces. She holds a bouquet of antique silk flowers and a framed photograph of her beloved.

I enjoy the detail work of dollmaking and try to include the tiniest details in each work. Even when I know that such detail (especially undergarments) may not be noticed, I know that my doll has been crafted to the best of my abilities.

Recently, I’ve been busy preparing for the Bewitching Peddlers of Halloween art show in Marshall, Michigan, at the end of September. It’s a large show featuring some of the best Halloween artists in the country. Needless to say, I’ve been busy, and the current condition of my studio is a reflection of that!

I have found that many of my collectors like my framed witches, as they don’t take up too much space and many leave them up all year. Here is a work in progress (above) — this little lady isn’t having a very good day; a witch with her cat; and my 1920s Old Flapper Witch, sort of a cross between Mae West and Jean Harlow.

When I am finished with the Halloween holiday season, I’ll spend some time reorganizing the studio, then back to work. I always have ideas for new dolls and keep a small sketchbook with me to jot down ideas and sources of inspiration. I have several commissions that I must begin right away, then on to new witches, vampires, or fairies.

Esme the Gypsy Witch, 25 inches, is sculpted from polymer clay over a wire armature. Esme is dressed in antique and vintage materials and placed second in the International LightSpaceTime 3 Dimensional Art Category Competition this summer.

This year I am offering a line of hand-poured organic candles bearing my studio name: My Witchy Women. I also have designed amulet necklaces and Spell Jars filled with flowers, herbs, and crystals. Most of the herbs and flowers are from my own garden. I have a large lavender garden, and I also grow lemon grass, white sage, lemon thyme, rosemary, and catnip.

Every doll that I work on becomes my current favorite, but there are always one or two that just stay in your heart. These are mine. The first is The Count (above). There is just something so sweet and funny about his face that I just love looking at his picture. The second is Bridget, the Tipsy Fairy Godmother. Bridget was so much fun to create! Her face is so friendly everyone that saw her commented they wanted her to be their fairy godmother!

Although this year I did not have the time, last year I offered a line of handmade Witch Brooms. All the wood for handles was foraged in the forests near my home, mostly old-growth sycamore whose branches were felled by storms. Those branches have been curing for the last several months, and I hope to have brooms ready to fly next season.