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P. 417
A Artist Profle
When I was a student at Harrity Elementary School in Philadelphia, one of the most popular class activities was
Friday show and tell. Little did I know that my favorite presentation would one day become my profession. I anxiously
prepared for show and tell for weeks in advance. My presentation was always a hand-sewn “couture” line of clothing for
my Barbie doll, one that I had designed myself. My mother would not allow me to use the large, power sewing machine
at that early age, so all my work was done by hand with a needle and thread. My mother was an excellent seamstress
and she taught me how to sew. She worked in a clothing-manufacturing factory, so I always had lots of scraps from
odds and ends that were left over from whatever lot they had been working on that day. At that stage of the game, I
didn’t know the diference between dress fabrics and casual fabrics. Even more so, it really didn’t matter. I can still
recall my favorite Barbie gown, which I fashioned after a beautiful “fshtail” dress that I had seen in an old 50s movie.
The only diference between the original and mine was that mine was made from a fne, green-and-white gingham fabric.
Well, at least it was an original.
I would stand there in front of the class and change Barbie’s clothes, one outft after another, until the teacher
inevitably said, “Okay. Thank you, Patricia. We’re just about out of time.” And I would be genuinely upset because
I wasn’t quite fnished and had been building up to the grand fnale. For an extremely shy little girl, those were the
only times that my shyness didn’t encumber my ability to perform in front of an audience. Even then, I was extremely
confdent about my ability to design and create.
I have since learned from those early experiences that, usually, you are good at what you like and you like what you are
good at. So it only made sense that I pursue those options. Although there were many stumbling blocks and obstacles
along the way, they only made me that much more determined to be successful at my life’s true calling.
Patricia Coleman-Cobb
Dollmaker
Duluth, GA
Natural Woman by Patricia Coleman-Cobb
417
416 417
When I was a student at Harrity Elementary School in Philadelphia, one of the most popular class activities was
Friday show and tell. Little did I know that my favorite presentation would one day become my profession. I anxiously
prepared for show and tell for weeks in advance. My presentation was always a hand-sewn “couture” line of clothing for
my Barbie doll, one that I had designed myself. My mother would not allow me to use the large, power sewing machine
at that early age, so all my work was done by hand with a needle and thread. My mother was an excellent seamstress
and she taught me how to sew. She worked in a clothing-manufacturing factory, so I always had lots of scraps from
odds and ends that were left over from whatever lot they had been working on that day. At that stage of the game, I
didn’t know the diference between dress fabrics and casual fabrics. Even more so, it really didn’t matter. I can still
recall my favorite Barbie gown, which I fashioned after a beautiful “fshtail” dress that I had seen in an old 50s movie.
The only diference between the original and mine was that mine was made from a fne, green-and-white gingham fabric.
Well, at least it was an original.
I would stand there in front of the class and change Barbie’s clothes, one outft after another, until the teacher
inevitably said, “Okay. Thank you, Patricia. We’re just about out of time.” And I would be genuinely upset because
I wasn’t quite fnished and had been building up to the grand fnale. For an extremely shy little girl, those were the
only times that my shyness didn’t encumber my ability to perform in front of an audience. Even then, I was extremely
confdent about my ability to design and create.
I have since learned from those early experiences that, usually, you are good at what you like and you like what you are
good at. So it only made sense that I pursue those options. Although there were many stumbling blocks and obstacles
along the way, they only made me that much more determined to be successful at my life’s true calling.
Patricia Coleman-Cobb
Dollmaker
Duluth, GA
Natural Woman by Patricia Coleman-Cobb
417
416 417
