THE BEST OF THE WEST

Two of his dolls stand to-
gether, a mother and daughter.
The woman holds on to a basket
of personal items, a photograph
and letters tied together with
string. The child, her teddy bear
in a crocheted backpack and a
toy giraffe peeking out of her
coat pocket, holds on to the
woman.
Another doll, no more than a
few years away from being a
child herself, wears a yellow star
on her coat and clutches her own
thy baby doll.
The dolls' bodies are made
from cernit and fimo clays. The
clothes are sewn from authentic
fabrics the artist tracked down
after studying styles of the time
period.
"When I saw and read how
these people were sent from their
homes, I thought how I would
feel if my family were in that
same situation," said the artist,
who is married and has two teen-
age sons.
"The dolls, individually and as
a group, portray these emotions.
I tried to capture the effects of
their ordeals through the ex-
pressions on their faces, and each
sheds a tear."
Riki Schaffer, who has had her
gallery for 17 years and consis-
tently stocks at least 50 original
dolls from various dollmakers,
revealed the perspective of one
Holocaust series buyer: She was
a woman who was emotionally
drawn to the imagery and is sup-
portive of an artist who is sen-
sitive to these kinds of issues, she
said.
"I make basic planning sketch-
es of the dolls and their clothes
before I begin shaping the clay,"
disclosed Robertson, who holds
an associate's degree in graphic
communication from the Amer-
ican Academy of Art in Chicago
and bachelor's degrees in busi-
ness and fine arts from St.
Joseph's College in Indiana.
His interest in art goes back
to age 5, and he credits his fam-
ily for nurturing his enthusiasm,
which he now focuses on his doll
making.
"For centuries, dolls have
been used to depict different
ideas, and I wanted to see the
medium used for something se-
rious," he said. ❑

0 "Fragments of Memory:
Reflections of the Holocaust"
and other David Robertson
dolls will be at the Riki
Schaffer Gallery, Oakland
Arts Building, 7 North Sagi-
naw, Pontiac, through March
27. The gallery opens at 11
a.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays
and closes at 6 p.m. every
day but Friday, when hours
extend to 8 p.m. (810) 745-
9494.

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