If you haven’t heard of them, or haven’t actually seen any Willow Tree figurines, you might think miniature people with no faces sounds frankly just a little bit eerie. The figurines are in fact, beginning to be one of the more well-loved lines of gifts in the USA and their popularity is starting to spread worldwide. This article is written to explain why they have no faces, what the real point of them is and what people do with them once they’ve bought them. This should give you a clear idea of what the line is about, and maybe even inspire you when you are next buying a gift or an ornament for your home.
The artist Susan Lordi has gone on record as saying one of the sources of inspiration for her creations were dolls made for children by women from the Amish communities. Within these communities, religious observance means that the dolls are made without facial features and this gave the artist a winning idea for a range of figurines. With the face as blank canvas, the expression is left to body language instead with remarkable effect. Simply by the way a figure is sitting, or inclines their head, without needing any more information, the viewer can connect with the real purpose of the pieces. .
Whilst initially, a faceless figure maybe sounds spooky, nothing could be further from the truth. They are all about expressing many warm human sentiments of love and capturing aspects of loving relationships. There are figurines which embody mother and daughter relationships, father and daughter relationships, aspects of grandma and grandpa’s kindly wisdom and the zest for life of children. There are also angels and some nativity figures for Christmas, including Mary and Joseph, attendant animals and a backdrop piece to represent a stable, so they are suitable gifts for Christian and Catholic people. Whilst they will make a resonant gift or ornament for people in family situations and within Christian or Catholic homes, however, they also have a wider appeal especially for collectors.
Precisely due to their ‘blank canvas’ for the face, their appeal is fairly universal, and many people have begun collect them. The range of figures available changes every year, some become ‘retired’ as new ones are introduced. Since they do not narrowly define relationships, they can appeal to an enormous range of people. People probably find they add to their collection as they themselves move into new emotional territory and new relationships and are then drawn to particular new figurines.
The ability to move with the changes in peoples lives is probably one of the success factors of the range. Another may be their ‘fit’ with many occasions for giving a gift – housewarming, sympathy, birthdays, Christmas, weddings and as friendship tokens. Understanding despite their expressionless faces, they are full of emotion might help the next time you need a gift or a new ornament – you may well want to have a look at the line to see what all the fuss is about.
