Jeff Colbourne
Northern News Services

NNSL (Jun 10/98) - Yellowknife's artisans gathered over the weekend to try their hand at a unique and challenging craft -- doll- making.

Edmonton's Tracy Tremblay, a doll artist, was in town teaching the group of 10 women the basics skills. They were set up at the Inukshuk Housing complex on the corner of Williams Ave and Range Lake Road.

"This is my first time teaching doll-making here," said Tremblay on Sunday.

As long as she remembers Tremblay has loved dolls.

Six years ago she took her passion to the next level and began designing and creating dolls, many in the form of circus characters including clowns and jesters. From her creations she derived a name for her business, The King's Court Creations, from which she now makes a living.

In the past couple of years she has been making doll portraits of people. She has designed dolls of all sorts of people, including football officials, a celebrity radio announcer in Edmonton and a car dealership owner who's retiring.

"I was a typical little girl who played with dolls and never grew up," said Tremblay. "I have a ton of dolls."

Tremblay was invited to Yellowknife by her long-time friend, Sharon Evelyn, who is a member of Yellowknife's Quilting club, Falling to Pieces. Evelyn thought it would be a good idea to bring her friend to Yellowknife and have her teach the quilting group something a little different.

"Everyone's really enjoyed the course," said Evelyn. Everyone's quite pumped and excited to have someone in to inspire them."

The doll-making group consists of Linda Kallos, Pat Winter, Patti Jasper, Linda Tremblay, Lori Twissell, Barb Round, Mary Bryant, Emily Morash and Sharon Evelyn.

"They're really such a creative bunch of people," said Tremblay.

Tremblay can do doll portraits of anyone as long as she has a few photos to go by and a character sketch to show their interests and personality.

Portraits stand about 43 centimetres tall and have to be exactly like the way that person is, right down to the way they wear their hair to their clothes.

Evelyn hopes to have Tremblay back next winter to teach another doll-making course. Tremblay said she would love to return.