The Art of Dollmaking - Lecture & Demonstration

with Junko Liesfeld

We invite you to join us at Yume Gardens for this special event featuring a live demonstration of dollmaking artistry. This immersive experience will be enriched with a fascinating lecture and an engaging discussion, offering deeper insights into this craft and the cultural significance behind it.

Junko Liesfeld is a highly acclaimed doll artist with over five decades of experience in the craft. Growing up in Japan, she was deeply influenced by her mother, also a doll artist, whose work she both observed and assisted. It was from her mother that Junko inherited her passion and refined skills, laying the foundation for her own artistic journey. Although Junko has developed a distinctive style, she continues to embrace her mother’s philosophy of "less is more," creating dolls with minimal modeling and painting to highlight pure form and subtle expression. Her work often features monotone color schemes with delicate hints of color on the cheeks, and without painted eyes or mouths.

Specializing in dolls crafted from washi paper and kimono fabric, she also creates figures from cloth with wire in the limbs and fingers, allowing them to be posed. While her older dolls are often dressed in traditional attire, her child figures wear modern clothing, reflecting the blend of East and West. This contrast highlights the gradual disappearance of certain Japanese traditions in favor of Western customs. Her work transcends traditional Japanese doll-making, showcasing a unique and original style that is distinctly her own.

Dates & Time: 

1/10

1PM - 2:30PM

Tickets*:

General Admission: $20

Members: $17

Children age 3-15: $5

Advanced ticket reservation is required. This is a limited admission event.

*Tickets for admission to the Gardens sold separately.