Darlene Jones
Darlene
Jones is the newest talent to join the ranks of paper doll artists
creating new works for Paper Studio Press. Although she says
she’s a late bloomer and didn’t feel like “an
artist” until she was nearly seventy years old, Darlene
seemed destined to design paper dolls. As a little girl, she
loved books and loved drawing, being fascinated by the colorful
line drawings used as illustrations in the books belonging to
her grandmother.
Paper
dolls played an important role in Darlene’s childhood and
her favorite was “Mopsy,” a syndicated cartoon that
appeared in the Sunday newspaper’s comic section. Soon
little Darlene had a shoebox filled with outfits for Mopsy that
she drew and colored. Katy Keene ran a close second in her collection.
As she grew older, her passion for art never waned and led Darlene
to major in art at her hometown college, Sacramento State,
where she earned a BA in art. However, she did not pursue artistic
expression for 35 years which she spent devoted to her husband
and four children. During that time, she was a volunteer docent
at Bowers Museum but did find time to create two Tutankhamun paperdolls
for that establishment’s education department.
With
her children grown, Darlene finally found time to return to
the drawing board. She designed greeting cards, invitations,
miniature paintings and books including Taking Tea with Alice for Warner Books. It wasn't until 2006 when she
was introduced to the international family of paper doll collectors
and artists that Darlene found the perfect niche where she could
nurture her talents in a genre for which she had always had
a passion.
Her
first endeavor for Paper Studio Press, Nancy Drew Classic Paper Dolls, celebrates the clever girl detective
whose sleuthing has delighted young readers for decades. The popularity of this paper doll soon led to a sequel, Nancy Drew and Her Friends Paper Dolls.