|
from The New Golden Song Book |
Occasionally I am asked about artistic influences for my peg doll
designs. Certainly I'm inspired by lovely traditional Waldorf
designs and also by figures from
Wendt und Kuehn;
however I never felt those sources completely captured what has influenced me
most. I couldn't put my finger on where my inspiration was truly coming
from until last March when I saw a newspaper article about
a museum exhibit of work by
Mary Blair. Suddenly, it clicked, and I knew, on a deeper level, where much of my inspiration lies.
|
from The Golden Book of Little Verses |
The answer was the art and work of Mary Blair.
Mary Blair was one of the chief designers on the ride
It's a Small World
at Disneyland. She also designed murals for the Disneyland
Parks, illustrated children's books and created endless sketches which
influenced the colors, tone and overall aesthetic of Disney's animated
movies through the 1940's & 50's.
I grew up in Los Angeles, and so visits to Disneyland were an exciting part of my childhood. My favorite ride has always been
It's a Small World, and I remember, as a child, admiring the murals Mary Blair designed. Sadly, those murals at Disneyland are now gone but Mary Blair's design influence remains).
Even at home, I had books and albums of music with artwork by Mary Blair.
|
design sketch for Johnny Appleseed |
If you'd like to read more about the design of
It's a Small World you can have a look
here.
|
design sketch for Cinderella |
And to learn more about Mary Blair,
this is a good place to start...