DEBORAH MILLS WOODCARVING
Scout & Jem Dolls: for the Broadway hit To Kill a Mockingbird
Copyright © 2013 Deborah A. Mills, all rights reserved.
As a child, there was a scene in To Kill a Mockingbird that always stuck with me: the character Boo Radley hides gifts for Scout, Jem and Dill in the bole of a tree. One of those gifts was a set of dolls he carved - portraits of Scout and Jem.
Imagine my excitement when the props department of the new Broadway play (based on Harper Lee's novel, written by Aaron Sorkin and directed by Bartlett Sher) asked me to carve the dolls for the upcoming broadway play!
They asked me to carve as Boo Radley, not myself, so I channeled inspiring folk art carvings that I felt had simplicity and soul.
When you see the play, those little dolls began life in my carving studio! It delights me to know that Jeff Daniels, LaTanya Richardson Jackson and the other amazing actors bringing To Kill a Mockingbird to a new generation are gazing at my carvings each performance.
Scout and Jem Dolls, 2018
