Monika Mechling

Monika Mechling’s earliest artistic endeavors were two dimensional: she painted in oils and watercolors. she found her way to the doll world by creating historical costumes for cloth dolls. She and husband Bob, a graphic artist, showed these cloth and lace creations at several art shows, where the dolls were very well-received. After nine years of creating these cloth pieces, Monika felt her creativity was not being used to its full potential. In March of 1989 she began sculpting dolls. Two years later at the American International Toy Fair in New York City, she first exhibited her dolls. They became instantly popular among collectors.

For years Monika created a small handful of designs per year, each doll in a very limited edition of only 35 pieces, much to the delight of collectors worldwide. More recently, Monika has been exploring the bronze medium. However, she missed creating dolls in porcelain and creating fabric costumes. She approached us here at Dear Little Dollies with a group of one-of-a-kind pieces and we eagerly took them all.

Monika’s unique, ethereal style has crystallized in these one-of-a-kind dolls. They are the epitome of the Monika style. The phrase “hauntingly beautiful” has been used often in reference to Monika’s ladies and her recent works fit well in this descriptive category. This is an apt description, as the artist has expressed that her dolls are an exploration and expression of her own femininity. These dolls appeal to a wide range of collectors. They cross all lines, finding places of honor in varied collections all over the world.

The artist sums up her work perfectly:

“To me the entire doll is important. The face, the pose, the costume, the movement of the hands, all combine to tell a story or evoke an emotion. These ladies have been stopped in mid-motion. To know the emotions my dolls evoke is to know me.”