Page 20 - the NOISE January 2014

20 • january 2014 • the NOISE arts & news • thenoise.us
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the same joy she felt when she created them.
“I am inspired by the honesty of children, nature and the organic form,” says Ms. Ste- bila. “When I paint it becomes a dance be- tween the canvas and the paint, and I am the music.”
Mountain Oasis International Restau- rant, 11 E. Aspen Ave. (928)214-9270.
of ButtoNS ANd PeRSoNALitY
During the month of January, Gallery One13 will be chockfull of more Babel- dolls than usual. The soft, quirky art dolls by Carol Babel come in all shapes and sizes, each with their own personality and style (“Some a little hifalutin, some not so much,” chuckles the artist), and are as one- of-a-kind as every human being. Calling them “dolls” isn’t quite accurate because they aren’t exactly toys, although they could be. It’s clear the stuffed figures hold profound meaning for Ms. Babel, but the artist is aware that it might sound silly — or not be of interest — to others, so when she starts to wax deep about her medium, she checks herself until I goad her to con- tinue.
“There’s something so ancient about dolls,” she says. “There’s something deep about them — maybe it’s their simplicity
— like a loaf of bread. I like that they are three dimensional, that we can hold them, bend them, and squeeze them.”
Ms Babel bought an old doll in an an- tique store many years ago in Flagstaff. “From the moment I saw it, I loved that doll,” she says. “One day, out of the blue,
FROM LEFT: Sue Stebilla’s remarkable abstracts are at Mountain Oasis this January; Carol
Babel’s dolls are at Gallery One 13.
I decided to make one. Then I just kept sewing and couldn’t stop! I feel like I can make dolls for all of eternity, that I have so many more ideas than I do the time to put them into form. I have a strong con- nection to all the dolls I make — I don’t know how they’re going to turn out until the very last minute, and like any art form, when it’s completed I’m different. It’s like a healing.”Ms. Babel uses almost all recycled materials — fabric, buttons, beads, yarn, jewelry — to create her dolls and hopes it inspires others to realize they can make their own as well. If I can do it, a five year old can do it — it can be sloppy or fancy, whatever,” she says.
Ms. Babel may not want to make her cre- ations sound “more important than they are” but she speaks of it as any true artist does of a chosen medium. “I don’t want to get mushy about them even though that’s how I feel. I let the dolls speak for them- selves — and if people respond to that, great.”
Meet Ms. Babel and her little fabric friends during First Friday Art Walk at Gal- lery One13, 111 E. Aspen Ave. #2
ARtS BRiefS
The Artist Coalition of Flagstaff Gal- lery continues its holiday $25 and under gift show featuring the artwork of all their artists including paintings, photographs, ceramics, and fiber arts. New winter hours:
11AM-4PM Thursday-Monday, 11 E. Aspen St. flagstaff-arts.org
Beginning January 6, Brandy’s Restau- rant will be showcasing the work of the students of Flagstaff Arts and Leader-