Isabel Lino (Isabel Mendes Lino da Silva) always remembers the dolls she used to make as a child. “When we wanted to play, we made dolls.” Born on the Areial (PB) smallholding in 1944, she grew up and left the dolls behind. She learned to sew because she enjoyed making clothes for the dolls. She got married, had children, and after they grew up she caught herself thinking about the dolls once again. “I wondered if I could make them like before. So I gave it a try. The first attempts didn’t work very well, but were already better than the ones I made as a kid. So I carried on. I made women and men I saw around town, on TV, in magazines. It’s a lot of work, because they really look like people. If only they talked! I enjoy it so much I never stop before I finish a piece. I want to see them finished. And I love each one, man or woman.”
ISABEL LINO
LACE MAKER
Fabric scraps, ribbons and
cotton thread, 15 cm tall
MODERN WOMAN
Fabric scraps, ribbons and
cotton thread, 15 cm tall
AFRICAN WOMAN
Fabric scraps, ribbons and cotton thread,
20 cm tall. Private collection
