Floral Brides Paper Dolls
Growing up in Frankfort, Indiana, Brenda began drawing as soon as she could hold a pencil and she hasn't stopped since. As a shy kid who never seemed to fit in, Brenda created her own wonderful world on paper. Her earliest interests were ballerinas and Cinderella, the latter was practically an obsession most of her childhood. Paper dolls were also a favorite pastime, her mother keeping Brenda well supplied with store bought books. Brenda often enlarged their wardrobes with costumes of her own, and of course created entire sets of her own. She delighted in dressing her paper ladies in elaborate dresses with fanciful trimmings, like glass lamp prisms!Upon entering junior high, Brenda virtually left paper dolls and Cinderella behind. However, her interest in fancy clothes did not wane. She began studying period fashion in order to draw more authentic looking clothes and continued to refine her skills throughout high school. After earning her degree in Fashion Illustration at the Art Institute of Ft. Lauderdale, she returned to Indiana and worked as a free-lance artist for a few years. The income was sporadic at best and Brenda seldom drew anything she was interested in. Fashion-related jobs were virtually non-existent.Paper dolls reentered Brenda's life in 1985 at a vintage clothing show when a paper doll collector suggested she try drawing paper dolls with a vintage theme. She soon joined the Original Paper Doll Artist Guild and it changed the direction of her art career for the better. Brenda could at last draw old clothes to her heart's content and share her work with people who were truly interested in it.The real clincher was attending her first National Paper Doll Convention in 1988, where a whole world of collectors and artists that she never knew existed was opened up for her. Brenda had truly found her niche.In the years since, Brenda's work has appeared in several doll publications such asDoll NewsandContemporary Doll Collectorand she has illustrated more than a dozen paper doll and coloring books for Dover Publishing. Her titles for Paper Studio Press includeCinderella Paper Dolls & 17th Century Costumes, Love of LaceandThe Changing Shape of Fashion. Brenda is a managing editor ofPaper Doll Studio Newsfor the Original Paper Doll Artists Guild (OPDAG).Brenda and her husband Brian enjoy their lifestyle in a restored 1891 Queen Anne house in Plainfield, Indiana.