Neverland In Newtown,

Where Ethereal Earthlings Dwell

By Dottie Evans

A winged wood nymph peeks out from a cave of soft moss. A cheerful dwarf carries a string of colored Christmas bulbs. Dragons prance and faeries dance. Wizards, gnomes, and bears hold court in the company of snails and mushrooms near fern-lined waterfalls.

When Joy Knapp, creator of the Ethereal Earthlings collection of fantasy dolls, looks around her living room she sees a host of otherworldly creatures looking back.

Ms Knapp may have only moved into her Gray’s Plain Road home a few months ago, but already the house is filled with fanciful, whimsical figures that seem to have sprung of their own accord out of her fertile imagination.

“It all started with Tinkerbell,” claims Ms Knapp who, although she is a grandmother several times over, has not forgotten what it is like to be a child and to believe in faeries.

“I saw the original movie with Mary Martin playing Peter Pan, and I remember being upset when I found out she wasn’t a boy.

“I guess I loved Tinkerbell the most because she was so mysterious. She was cute, free, and sassy, and very loyal. She was a faerie, but she felt human emotions like love and jealousy,” said Ms Knapp.

When Tinkerbell spreads her pixie dust, “magic happens,” she said, pointing to her own use of glitter freely sprinkled onto the figures.

“All my dolls have personalities, whether they are serious, friendly, silly, or contemplative. My children say that some of them look like me. I do know they seem to listen to people, which is what I like to do. They evoke an emotion and draw you in.”

Letting The Magic Out

Ms Knapp has only recently begun to exhibit and sell her one-of-a-kind Ethereal Earthlings in local craft shows, mostly at the urging of her family.

“Besides, you know you can’t keep them all,” she admitted.

She and her husband, Ed Knapp, who is a project engineer for the Point of Purchase Displays Company in White Plains, moved to Sandy Hook from Norwalk in May, and she already feels “at home in Newtown.”

“I absolutely love this town. The people are really nice and it’s easy to decompress here.”

At the same time, she is beginning to look around for ways to put the Ethereal Earthlings collection out into the community where they can be seen, appreciated, and possibly purchased.

“My daughter and son are pushing me forward, and I’m thinking I could begin to sell them. I’ve done three shows so far and people have been very receptive. They might not buy, but they will stand for a long time and look. That’s how I know these little dolls are saying something, putting little messages out there,” Ms Knapp said.

Over time, her motives for making the unique, one-of-a-kind dolls have changed.

“At first, it was to satisfy myself. I felt I had to create them. But they are not just for play. I believe they are more like folk art, and I hope others will feel the same. Showing them and selling them validates their identity.”

The figures are being sold at prices ranging from $12 to $125.

Barbara Bloom of Philo Curtis Road is one fan who cannot say enough about the Ethereal Earthlings –– especially about the effect they had on her son, 10, when he saw them at a recent show at the United Methodist Church in Sandy Hook sponsored by the Canine Advocates of Newtown.

“My son just went crazy for them. Making the decision about which one to buy was tough,” said Ms Bloom, adding he finally settled on a baby dragon.

Starting Out With ‘Stuffies’

“At first, I was very busy making stuffed animals for my children, often to match stories we were reading together.

“I enjoyed doing that, but soon I was feeling they weren’t real enough. So I began sculpting dolls out of polymer clay. I give them expressive hands, faces, and feet, and I keep working at them until I feel they are right.”

She said she might sit a doll on the kitchen counter and look at it for a while to be sure it is “right” before baking and painting it.

“When I make the costumes, I reuse materials that I have around the house.”

She likes knowing that her dolls are finished with bits and pieces of material that have a past history. This, too, adds validity. And they are not really complete in her eyes until a bit of cat or dog hair has inadvertently become a part of the final product.

As for their stands and manner of presentation, “My husband helps enormously,” she said.

Ed Knapp also assists in transporting the Ethereal Earthlings and arranging them for show, she added.

Asked why she dedicates so much time, energy, and space to the creation of the Ethereal Earthlings, Ms Knapp did not pause long before answering.

“People need to find something that makes them happy and then run with it. It should be something that enriches you and gives you solace.

“Things are so difficult today. When I’m making the dolls, I feel like it is a process of receiving and giving back. I’m sending little messages out. I love it when people stop and look at them for a long time. I can tell that they are somewhere else,” said Ms Knapp.

Transported to Neverland, perhaps.

More information may be obtained from the website: etherealearthlings.com, or by calling Joy Knapp at 426-3875.