Artist Dolls: Barbara Buysse O il painted dolls that give flat cloth a three-dimensional quality are a common characteristic of the dolls created by Barbara Thiery Buysse from Kalamazoo, Michigan. She is especially known for her African American children, such as this 10-inch girl. Expressive faces are a signature for Barbara's work. The little girl is all cloth with brown painted movable cloth arms and legs. The face is flat on the front with seam lines running along the edge on the outside of the eyes. The hair is a thick impasto paint with added pigtails tied with pink ribbons. She holds in her left hand a cloth doll that has lost an arm. The right hand holds that missing arm, hence the tear painted under the little girl's right eye. 110 WINTER 2020