Biography
Gloria J. "Mimi" Winer has been an original cloth doll
artist since 1983. She has studied fine arts at the National
Academy of Arts and Design, the School of Visual Arts,
the New School/Parson's School of Design, and with Pe Ling
Liang of NYU. She studied sculpture at Monmouth College.
She has studied dollmaking with NIADA artists Lisa Lichtenfels,
Bob McKinley, Martha Armstrong Hand, Mr. George Stuart, Antonete
Cely, and many others.
Gloria was a member of the Society of Creative Designers
for 25 years before it was disbanded in 2007. She is an artist
member of the Original Doll Artists Council of America (ODACA),
the Canadian Doll Artists Association (CDAA), the Textile
Study Group of New York City, and is Past President of the
National Doll and Toy Collector's Club of New York City (UFDC).
Her business is a member of the Creative Industries of America
Association. She is or has been a member of the Board of
Directors of several Doll Art Organizations.
Her work as a doll artist represents the leading edge of what
can be done with her medium. She is constantly seeking out and
testing new materials, has developed many new techniques and invented
some exclusive tools. Gloria shares her information with the doll
and craft world through her (retired) quarterly magazine, Let’s
Talk About Dollmaking, columns and frequent articles in many
Doll, Art and Craft magazines, her web site at Mimidolls.com,
and through the books and patterns she writes with her husband
and partner for more than 30 years. Among their publications are
many instructional patterns and an in-depth study of the new clays,
Mimi's New Clays for Dollmaking.
Gloria's doll patterns include lengthy step-by-step instructions
so that even beginning dollmakers can successfully complete a
doll. Effectively they are instructional books that allow many
variations over and above the specific doll. They typify her outstanding
ability as a teacher. She loves sharing her techniques and it
shows in all her work. Gloria is in constant demand throughout
the U.S.A, Canada and Australia to teach at conferences, seminars,
and doll clubs.
Gloria Winer's work has been well recognized by her peers. She
received a special award for her contributions to cloth doll making
from the National Cloth Doll Makers Association, and
a Presidential Award from the National Institute of American
Doll Artists ( NIADA), and for her contributions to that
organization. Most recently she received the First Award in Excellence
for the significant contribution made in the development of the
first Masters Magic and Apprentices Workshops held at
Maroochydore, Australia in 2005.
Gloria's prizes for her original dolls include a 1st and 2nd
award in the Artist Division at the UFDC National Conference
in 1994 and 1993, and 1st place in the 1994 competition at Dimensions
in Cloth, an annual exhibit and competition for cloth dollmakers.
Gloria's work has been part of Dollmaker's Magic and
The Figure in Cloth; shows that traveled throughout the
United States to galleries and museums. Her work has also been
on exhibit at the Wenham Museum, Wenham, MA, in two exhibits
of Dolls of the 21st Century at the Springfield Museum,
Springfield, OR, and by invitation at the Musée des
arts décoratifs, Palais du Louvre, in Paris.
Gloria’s work has been featured in several books by her
peers including: The Anatomy of a Doll by Susanna Oroyan,
Mother Plays With Dolls, by elinor peace bailey, Cloth
Dolls From Ancient to Modern, A Collector’s Guide with Values
by Linda Edwards, and in numerous doll magazines.
Since 2004, Gloria has created and donated a yearly bear to the
Broadway Bears Annual Auction, a part of the Broadway
Cares, Equity Fights AIDS Foundation. This charity raises
funds for Broadway theatrical employees suffering with AIDS and
HIV by auctioning teddy bears dressed in recreations of original
Broadway theater costumes.
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