ARTICLE - DOLL SOW NOT ALL CHILDS PLAY (WITH VIDEO)

Doll show not all child's play

Updated Mon Aug 27, 2012 

It is a dying art in other parts of the country but in Tasmania, the craft of doll making is still going strong.

Organisers of Australia's largest doll show, being held in Hobart, received 207 entries this year from Tasmania and across the country.
It took judges two days to inspect every detail of every doll.
Most are extensively researched, then cast, painted, and sewn by hand.
"We look at how well the shoes have been made, how well the wig's been made, how the costume comes together, as well as the painting," doll judge Leanne Vassallo said.
Most of the dolls came from Tasmania but some entrants travelled from New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia.
"We're actually the biggest in Australia at the moment," Sue Lyden from the Hobart Doll Club said.
"Melbourne's down to about 20 dolls so we're doing very, very well."
This year's theme, stars of the silver screen, and attracted entries from dolls dressed as Elizabeth Taylor in her role as Cleopatra and Glenn Close as Cruella de Ville.
Some of the dolls are so lifelike they have been mistaken for the real thing.
"People have gone past and seen the reborn dolls in the car and thought they were real children and rung the police," Ms Lyden said.