BY DICK ANGLESTEIN
HARRISBURG - Mary
Winsheimer, of Pine Grove,
does some amazing things
with a golden Delicious
apple.
While most of us are
satisfied just to sink our
teeth into the succulent
yellow fruit, she’ll work with
a single apple for as long as
two months to turn it into a
unique and beautiful work of
art .
A retired art teacher,
Mary has carried the cen
turies-old craft of apple doll
making several steps beyond
anything the Seneca Indians
or pioneer wives ever
dreamed of doing.
In her bands, a common
ordinary apple fresh off a
tree becomes highly artistic
figure sculptures, ranging
from Jimmy Carter at his
desk in the Oval Office or
King Henry VIII in full
regalia to a pair of elderly
matrons making apple
batter or an aged farmer in
bib overalls showing off his
prize pumpkin at the county
fair.
Apple dolls are not un
common in this neck of the
woods but Mary’s are quite
different in many ways.
She applies special
treatment to the meat of the
apple to preserve its original
white coloring and prevent it
from turning a discolored
brown.
Her figures don’t have the
customary com husk dress
but are “all dolled up” in
authentic handmade
costumes, complete with
miniature accessories.
These figures are then
placed in realistic sculp
tured settings, which can
vary from the Pope giving
his papal blessing to a farm
wife coring apples or
preparing to snap beans.
“I started about seven
years ago after retiring as
art teacher at the Pine
Grove Middle School to help
relieve my boredom,” Mrs.
Winsheimer explains.
“I saw pictures of the
traditional apple dolls and
hit upon the idea to go a few
steps farther and place them
In foreground is pair of apple butter making
matrons; while in background are King Henry VIII
and Anne Boieyn.
For her an apple a dap means a near work of art
Goob-a-mal-doh
♦* <
Marketing couple stand in front of Mrs. Win
sheimer.
in settings, making
something pleasant and
comical.”
Mrs. Winsheimer makes
the apple art caricatures
based on historical per
sonages or people from real
life. Her historical figures,
which are researched first,
have included Henry VIH
and one of his wives, Anne
Boleyn, Abe Lincoln, Santa
Claus and more con
temporary Alfred Hit
chcock, Arthur Fiedler,
Jimmy Carter and the Pope.
“One of my figures from
real life was patterned after
an aunt,” she said.
“This aunt was about 300
pounds and really filled a
bench when she sat down. So
that’s the figure I made.”
Mrs. Winsheimer starts
with a golden • Delicious
apple, as big and as per-
fectly shaped as she can
find.
“I like the golden
Delicious because of the
smooth texture, which
makes it easier to paint,”
she said.
“A big apple is easier to
carve and when finished it
will shrink down to about a
third of its original size.”
After the apple is peeled, it
is dipped m lemon juice to
retard discoloration.
Next a hole is bored up
through the center of the
apple with an ordinary
screwdriver. The core is not
removed.
Then, fill the hole with
sublime sulphur purchased
at a drugstore to prevent
rotting during the drying
process. Place a pipe
cleaner through the hole.
Divide the apple into
approximate thirds from top
to bottom. Top for forehead,
center for nose and cheeks,
and bottom for mouth and
dun. Leave more space for
the feature to be stressed.
Then, carve the face like a
block of wood, using a small
penknife or even a toothpick
for more refined shaping.
Carve the features a bit
larger than desired to
compensate for the
shrinking.
“In carving the face, I try
to achieve figures of
humorous little people, but I
still want them to look like
real people,” Mrs.
Witsheimer explained.
Then, salt is sprinkled
over the carved face and
brushed with more lemon
juice to complete the
preservation.
Now, the drying begins.
Mrs. Wmsheimer hangs her
apple heads about three feet
above the range burner. Or,
they can be put m an oven at
100 to 125 degrees. About 40
hours are needed for drying
The pipecleaner and
sulphur is removed from the
Apple doll figures include, from the left, checker players, Abe Lincoln, farmer
with prize pumpkin and the Pope.
center, which is packed with
cotton to help retain the
shape.
The head is allowed to dry
at room temperature for
some four weeks to complete
the shrinking process.
The faces are then tinted
with acrylic paints and
sprayed with a light acrylic
varnish.
Eyebrows and hair are
applied. Tight curly hair can
be sculptured or yarn used
for braids. Fake fur is
another suitable material,
along with wig hair or cot
ton.
Bodies are made in three
sections, using pipe cleaners
to shape the figure. The
cleaners are covered with
cotton, which is tied tightly
with string.
Panscraft, the same
material used for making
casts, forms the final body
covering. It is wrapped
around the cotton, leaving
joints free in order to
position the figures.
Authentic dress is then
made for the figures and
they are placed in ap
propriate sculptured set
tings.
Sculptamold, a modeling
powder, is used to make the
settings and minute ac
cessories. Mixed with water,
it can be molded like clay
and does not require firing.
Accessories from the
sculptamold can include
shoes, tiny apples complete
with stems, string beans or
even the hair.
Here's a variety of apple dolls, including heavy lady at bus stop, which Mrs.
Winsheimer patterned after an aunt.
Apple sculptress work on new head
From start to finish
requires about six to eight
weeks, primarily because of
the drying time.
“The Bicentennial year
prompted a spirited revival
m crafts such as this,” Mrs.
Wmsheimer said.
“I started attending
exhibits and giving
programs at that tune.
“The best way for anyone
interested is to watch
someone doing it and then
just try it.”
Mrs. Winsheimer’s apple
art sculptures range in price
from about $3O to $5O. She
had about a score of dif
ferent sculptures at the craft
show held Sunday in the
Farm Show Building in
conjunction with the
Keystone International
Livestock Exposition.
Subjects for the apple
sculpturing are nearly
limitless, the only restriction
being older figures since the
shrinking process applies
natural lines of aging and
character to the faces.