Two (2) Akira Blount (American/Tennessee, 1945 – 2013) folk art soft sculptures constructed of various mixed media elements, including an angel with stand and an articulated jester with long, red hair. Both signed and dated 1986 and 1984 on the bodies. Both are approximately 20 in. H. Note: Akira Blount was born in 1945 and grew up in Madison, Wisconsin. She continued her education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Art Education. She started making dolls from cotton stockings in 1970, and they quickly evolved into a steady source of income. Over the next nine years, her mastery of needle sculpting evolved into a style well known as her own. In 1979, she moved to the Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee with her family. Her work has been profiled in over 30 magazines, and her soft sculptures can be found in the Muee des Artes Decorative in Paris; the Musee de Pouppes, Josselin, France; the Sekiguchi Doll Garden, Japan; and the Tennessee State Museum. Exhibitions include the National Museum of American Art, Washington, DC, American Folk Art Museum, NYC, NY, Mint Museum of Fine Art, Charlotte, NC, Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, CA, Tampa Museum of Fine Art, Tampa, FL. The White House Collection of American Craft.

Angel sculpture with discoloration to one wing and the back of the left shoulder, and light discoloration to the other wing, both possibly from water or other liquid. Jester doll in very good condition with light grime noted to the face.

The estates of Walter and Dr. Mary Schatz, Nashville, TN.