Portraits in Polymer - Cherie Fretto

by Pam North

	When Cherie Fretto talks about seeing little people around her house, it's totally logical – she creates them herself.
	Born in Troy, New York, Fretto moved to Florida in 1995. As a divorced mom struggling to support her two children, she soon learned to channel her creativity to attain things that she wanted. Her first artistic endeavor was a Christmas project; she ordered a CD by artist Jack Johnston that contained instructions on creating a Santa Claus. Although she felt her first artistic attempt left something to be desired in its execution, it nevertheless hooked her on creating one-of-a-kind dolls, and she pursued learning more via classes by Johnston and other recognized doll artists, eventually achieving recognition as a Master in Doll Making from the Professional Doll Makers Art Guild, and winning three Diamond Awards through Dolls magazine this year. Like most beginning doll makers, she learned to persevere beyond failed first attempts.
	Fretto professes to have only a history of being “crafty” before her passionate pursuit of knowledge in doll artistry, but perhaps she may have inherited some of her interest in art from her father, who painted. 
	While she most enjoys portraying teenagers from 11 to 13 years old, finding her personal niche there, she has dabbled with all ages, and particularly found pleasure in making a doll portrait of her 96-year-old mother. She says she is always learning, and loves employing new techniques into her work. 
Her dolls are usually about 16” in height, made of polymer clay, with glass eyes and Tibetan lamb's wool hair. She makes her own armatures, using batting and a stocking overlay so that the dolls are poseable. She makes about 12 to 15 OOAK dolls per year. She says, “A lot of love goes into the process. I find my work to be very relaxing, but at the same time I am very driven. I often have two or three dolls going at once. When I sculpt, I try to make every doll unique, creating different expressions of innocence. Each doll is completely handmade from scratch – the only one in the world.” 
	Fretto's latest endeavors are two 18” resin dolls; one is a teenager, and the other is more sexy and shapely. She elaborates on her plans for these:  “I am presently learning mold making and casting, and this year I will be creating a new collection of double ball-jointed dolls (knees, elbows, and waist). with interchangeable faces, glass eyes, synthetic wigs, and shoes. I have decided to produce these dolls in resin to make them more affordable for my collectors. I will be doing all the production myself, instead of handing them over to a factory. I love my new challenge, and am excited about the outcome. My new collection will be unveiled at the Asheville NC show in June, 2016.” Fretto does shows, notably the annual one in June in Asheville, and she also uses her website to merchandise her dolls.
	Her other passion is her involvement in the Professional Doll Makers Art Guild, whose purpose is to help beginning artists grow to become world class doll makers. Fretto served as Vice-President in 2014, and became President this year. She also is Membership Chairman, and devised a Facebook-oriented program so that member artists could communicate and teach apprentices to graduate them to the point where they could post pictures of their work on the Guild website. Her program currently has 15 mentors and 20 apprentices. She describes her experience with the Guild: “When I first started sculpting I took classes, then came home and searched the Internet for ideas and tutorials. I looked for sculptors in my area, but couldn't find any, so I felt alone. I then attended my first show in Asheville, NC, in 2014, and I learned all about the Guild. I started talking to all of the artists who had attended the show, and found myself asking them to join the Guild. I spoke to Jack Johnston (my mentor) about my handling the membership, and I think he recognized my motor-mouth ability, so he agreed and nominated me as Vice-President of the Guild. During the last year we have grown to over 130 new artists in the Guild. In the past, the Guild accepted only qualified artists, so I wondered....well, what about myself and other artists who don't qualify? I then read the quote on the Guild website that said: 'We hope our efforts in working together to help each other, and those in the industry, will continue for many years to come, and through our efforts more artists will become stars in the doll making world.' It was at that moment I came up with the idea  of the Mentor/Apprentice program. Every new apprentice is assigned a master artist with whom to work over the Internet to achieve their goals. It has been a very successful program. Also, many years ago I was inspired by the movie, 'Pay It Forward'. In 1994, I was chatting with a girl about joining the Guild, but she was financially unable to do so. I then developed the 'Cherie Fretto Guild Scholarship Program' in which I select a person and pay for their Guild membership, ship them some clay and a tool, and select a mentor for them for the entire year. This year, when I posted the  information on the program, I received so many messages that I decided to select two people. After the posting, I received two requests from members to sponsor people, so we now have four for this year. I also created a Facebook page entitled 'Professional Doll Makers', where one-of-a-kind doll artists can communicate with each other. It has been a great success, with over 2,100 members at present. We not only have artists, but we have collectors and people who would love to learn the art of doll making. The Guild has changed my life. I have learned so much, and have made so many friends. I talk every day to them, and we love comparing ideas.”
	Fretto enjoys life in other venues, handling six of her own employment-related businesses that handle payroll for small businesses. She is self-taught in those endeavors, She started her first business in 1989, and says that by 1991 she earned the distinction of owning the third fastest-growing business in the nation. 
	Doll making is the great fascination in Fretto's life. She sums up her  main objective in that endeavor: “My lifetime goal is to put smiles on people's faces as they look at my dolls.”

Contact Information:
Telephone:  (727) 224-2509
Email:  cheriefretto@gmail.com
Website:  http://ooaksculptures.com