Sadness in the Miniature Doll World

I am extremely saddened to hear today that Doreen Sinnet passed away on May 30, 2008. Doreen's was, I feel one of the greatest miniature sculptors of all time. Her dolls are really perfection in miniature. She was truly the Grandmother of miniature dolls and I admired her and her impeccable work deeply. Every time I saw Doreen at a show I would drool over her dolls knowing that I wanted one of her originals. I am so glad that I was able to buy one eventually. I purchased one of her little girls and am so glad she is still in my collection. The picture below is a doll I made using one of Doreen's perfect molds. Michelle From Doreen's daughter Drena:

Dear Friends;
I will try to keep this as brief as possible, and not too terribly sad.. Doreen passed away on May 30th. It was unexpected. Come to find out, she had a massive Brain aneurysm that had ruptured, so the diagnosis was not good. She basically went into a coma when it happened in the middle of the night, and never regained consciousness. My sister and I and one of my 2 nieces, Julie, were there with her until the end. When it was close to the end, we gathered around her in a circle and held hands and Julie said a very nice prayer, and now she is in heaven, hopefully happy. She was not very happy these last 4 years during her retirement. Since she wasnt able to do her passion in life, it really wasnt worth living for her. We all tried to keep her happy and busy, but we knew she wasnt. She tried really hard to be happy and not to be a burden for Joy and I, as she just didnt want to be any burden ... to anyone. She really missed all of you doll ladies and good friends, but couldnt bring herself to write or email, it just upset her too much. So, I want you all to know she thought of you often. Doreen had been creating her crafts since 1962. She started with Paper Mache boxes and published a book called "6 Sturdy Boxes" made out of the Paper Mache. She also dabbled in making paper mache bricks for the dollhouses. (I remember as a kid, I would be filling those plastic molds and swiping them flat and letting them dry...Oh, that seems like a long time ago.) She also made some cloth dolls and patterns to make them with. She produced the "Mini Hooker" rug punch needle for making miniature rugs. I know I am missing many of her little projects, but of course her passion was sculpting her miniature dolls. She was a perfectionist in that area. So much patience and persistence with getting them right. I, Drena, will still be operating the business as it has been for the last 30 years...I will continue to do shows and keep the website up and running of course. I have absolutely no plans of letting go of any of this, as it has also been my life for the last 20 years. Mom had wanted her business to continue on, and I am planning on doing so for her, and for all of those special Doll Ladies out there that want to make their own special dolls from Doreens original sculptures. Doreen used donate often to St. Jude Childrens Hospital. So, in memory of her, I set up a "Doreen Sinnett Memorial Fund" at this link: St Jude Children's Hospital http://stj.convio.net/goto/doreensinnett if anyone would like to pay their respects in this way. It is just one way to help others in need, as that was the way Doreen was herself. There are some pictures of her and her family on this fund page also. Thanking all of you for your kind words, thoughts and prayers. And, last but not least, I want to thank Dana and all of her staff for their support and kind thoughts in helping me to let everyone know, as, I just didn't know how to get it started... Kindest Regards, Drena West & Doreen :)