dolls | Shannon's Creative Work

Mr. Rue Mermille

The Story of Mr. Rue Mermille
by Shannon Hart Hudnell

No one likes Mr. Rue Mermille. He is green with envy, as his eyes and vision are slightly off, because only sees in black and white. The gaps in his mouth represent the gaps in his words, because he can’t seem to tell the truth. The absence of his nose is due to the fact that he hasn’t yet woken up to smell the coffee (or the roses) of life. His mossy hair symbolizes luck, but since he is apparently losing his hair, his luck is running out. That is probably because he was caught red-handed spreading gossip, and karma is catching up to him. Even so, while one of his hands is balled in a fist due to a fit of anger, the other still manages to point the finger at everyone else.

Mr. Rue Mermille’s hand-sewn shirt is made from a vintage dishrag, made especially so that he can clean up the mess he’s made of his life. His shoes are freakishly large, because he tends to trod into other people’s business for no apparent reason. His hat was added with the hopes to gather some sense to his head.

Mr. Rue Mermille reminds us to only spread good news, because no one wants to be like him. Purification oil has been added to his hands and hat, so that the holder of Mr. Rue Mermille won’t be affected by his harmful thoughts and careless finger pointing.

* Not a play toy. For display purposes only. All materials are vintage, recycled, and new. Everything is hand sewn.

This was my very first Native American doll, brought to me from Cherokee, North Carolina. She used to have braided thread-like hair with a headband and feather, but either the dog got it or something else.

This is her original dress, which is very faded.

Native American doll from Cherokee, NC – circa 1970s

The underside of the dress has retained its original color. There is also a tag on the backside that reads: MADE IN HONG KONG

Original color

Now for some “real” Native dolls. I took these photos at various Native American festivals. Unfortunately, I am unaware of their origin. (If anyone has any helpful info, I’d certainly appreciate it!)