Large, wooden “Hitty” carved doll

Large, wooden “Hitty” carved doll

Doll. Large, wooden “Hitty”, chainsaw-carved and donated by Michelle DelValle in September 2005, clothes sewn by the artist's mother, and coral bead necklace made by Bruce Komusin. DelValle started out carving bears and figures, and began carving and selling dolls online in 2000. After many requests to carve Hitty and reading Hitty: Her First Hundred Years by Rachel Field, which is set at GCI's historic William Pitt Preble house, DelValle began carving small Hitty dolls. In the summer of 2005, work began on a life-size Hitty in the Crazy Mountains of Montana.  Hitty's head and torso were carved from a solid Douglas Fir log, her arms from Lodge Pole Pine, and legs of Douglas Fir. She was sanded, distressed, and hand painted, then drilled and pegged to fit the arms and legs to the torso. (See DelValle's web page: TreeFolkHollow.com.) Hitty dolls are usually small and flat; this is the only life-size model. Hitty has a large following including fan clubs with newsletters and websites, newly-made Hitty dolls and furniture, and modern day adventure stories. Devotees visit GCIHS in the summer. (See GCIHS.org and HittyPreble.com)