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Akira Blount dolls on display
Dolls made by a Bybee woman who died in 2013, soon will be on display at the Nashville Public Library and then permanently at the Tennessee State Museum. Akira Blount succumbed to cancer at the age of 67, after 50 years of doll making. Her widower, Larry, says she likely made nearly 2,000 dolls in her lifetime, each of which was unique. But these are not dolls to play with...they are collectibles, in the average price range of $2,000. One art piece sold for $7,500. The Blount's moved from Chicago to Bybee in 1979, with Akira making dolls in her home studio. Larry joined the doll making in 1991. "She started making dolls in 1970. She was an early pioneer in cloth doll making, and was self-taught. She learned to make doll clothes from her grandmother, then around 1970 she saw a pair of nylons, and it occurred to her that she could make dolls out of them," Larry says. In recent years, materials used in her Akira's doll-making were picked up on her Cocke County farm as she walked her dogs. She utilized natural materials such as pine cone scales, pine needles, twigs and other natural. She also made paper from her Iris plants, and then incorporated it into her dolls. At one time she was President of the National Institute of American Doll Artists(NIADA), an international doll artist organization. Her art work is a part of a number of major displays including the White House Collection of American Craft is housed at the Clinton Memorial Library in Little Rock. The Tennessee State Museum has several pieces, and 13 additional early pieces by Mrs. Blount will be donated to the museum following the upcoming Nashville display. Another doll is housed at the Museum of Decorative Arts in Paris, which is a part of the Louvre Museum, and another at the Sekiguchi Doll Garden in Japan. Exercise Guru Richard Simmons has a number of the dolls, and her works also are a part of the permanent collections of the Southerland Highlands Craft Guild, as well as the Arromont School of Arts and Crafts in Gatlinburg. Several of Akira's dolls are centerpieces in major businesses around the country including the Meadowview Conference Center in Kingsport Akira also frequently showed her dolls at the Africa to Appalachia Foundation Exhibit at the Rose Center in Morristown. The Nashville exhibition on September 1, 11 am till 4 pm, is associated with the NIADA conference in that city. Conference organizers wanted to showcase Tennessee artists, including Akira and Larry Blount. A presentation is planned as well. Larry Blount's personal collection which goes back to 1984, extends through recent years, will be on display, and then will be presented to the museum curator for transfer to the museum. Akira also is survived by two children, Rachael who lives in Maryland, and Chris and his family who live in Brentwood,TN.
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Return to Today's News Stories - Front PageThursday, April 29, 2021
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