caption website nationality known_for image article_title name
ana karen allende painting a doll http://retacitosjuguetes.blogspot.mx/ mexican cloth dolls and figures retacitos43.jpg ana karen allende
 ana karen allende
ana karen allende

ana karen allende is a mexican artisan from the mexico city borough of coyoacán , who specializes in creating rag dolls and soft fabric animals .
the tradition of making rag dolls in mexico extends back to the pre-hispanic period with the making of rag dolls reaching its peak in the 19th century .
allende 's first doll was made when her sister was about to turn fifteen .
for quinceañera celebrations in xochimilco , it is customary to give the girl her `` last doll '' as a means of marking her transition from child to adult .
allende decided to make this doll herself , using sewing skills taught to her by her grandmother .
soon after , she began to make dolls for her friends and family , and the attention they received prompted her to think of selling them .
allende started her own small business called retacitos -lrb- scraps -rrb- in 2002 involving other members of her family , such as her husband sinhúe lucas , along with contracting various single mothers in her area to work .
she sells directly to the public only on saturdays at the art bazaar in the san Ángel neighborhood .
her other sales are mainly to stores and museums .
she receives a number of custom orders including making dolls that look like famous people such as frida kahlo and even those that look like the purchaser .
allende states that her goal is to revive the craft of doll making but in a more modern form .
she generally sticks to forms familiar to mexican concepts of cultural identity such as lucha libre wrestlers , angels , traditional rag dolls , horses , mermaids , rabbits , etc. .
she has been recognized as an authentic mexican craftswoman since 2010 by the government of mexico city , her work has been exhibited in various museums and cultural events and has won the 3rd place at the vi bienal internacional de arte textil contemporáneo wta -lrb- 2012 -rrb- and the 1st place in the toys category at the gran premio de arte popular of fonart -lrb- 2006 -rrb- .
