The Voice of her Ancestors

By Hailey Stangebye

Photos by Tracy Allen-Turner

Art is a spiritual experience for Antoinette Savage.

Before she begins her creative process, she goes through a series of rituals. She researches, she reflects, she prays and she talks to her ancestors. That’s because, for Antoinette, her work is more than just something beautiful to observe. Her work is a collection of lives and memories. She weaves an intimate narrative into the fabric of every doll she crafts.

Antoinette tells the story of her ancestors.

“Whatever I do, art-wise, it’s always in honor of the ancestors. For me, I’m charged with telling the stories of the people whose shoulders I stand on,” Antoinette says. “Every piece I do is one-of-a-kind. They are their own character and they tell a story.”

“For me, I’m charged with telling the stories of the people whose shoulders I stand on. Every piece I do is one-of-a-kind. They are their own character and they tell a story.”

For a majority of her life, Antoinette didn’t intend to be a dollmaker, sculptor, or artists of any kind. But the trajectory of her path changed after a conversation with a coworker.

At the time, she was known for working magic with blue jeans. She would recycle overalls and the like to make skirts with afro-centric designs. One day at the office, this coworker noticed that Antoinette kept a doll at her desk. The doll was a gift from a friend. He insisted that the doll was a beautiful piece of art. More than that, though, he insisted that Antoinette had the talent emulate that style and create her own piece.

“In my mind, I’m thinking, ‘Well he must see something in me that I don’t see,’” Antoinette says. “So I was like, ‘Okay, but I wouldn’t know what to charge you.’ And he said, ‘I’ve got two daughters. I’ll charge you 50 dollars each.’ So I took the doll home and took it apart and went from there. That’s how I got started.”

“In my mind I’m thinking, ‘Well he must see something in me that I don’t see.’ …So I took the doll home and took it apart and went from there. That’s how I got started.”

Since creating those first dolls, Antoinette has followed her newfound passion and participated in numerous gallery exhibitions across Ohio and beyond.

Antoinette Savage. Photo by Tracy Allen-Turner.

Beyond surpassing the physical space of Columbus, Antoinette’s work also transcends time. Her dolls bring her ancestors to life and emphasize their dignity.

“I’m in a house right now that, years ago, my ancestors couldn’t have lived in. I’ve had jobs that they could only have imagined,” Antoinette says. “I strongly believe that, as African Americans, we are our ancestors’ answered prayers. Prayer knows no time or space. So a prayer that was prayed 400 years ago, I’m living right now. But they’re not here to see it. For me, it has been very important that I tell our stories and I tell them with dignity.”

“I strongly believe that, as African Americans, we are our ancestors’ answered prayers. Prayer knows no time or space. So a prayer that was prayed 400 years ago, I’m living right now. But they’re not here to see it. For me, it has been very important that I tell our stories and I tell them with dignity.”

For Antoinette, her work is never truly finished until the after the exhibition. She likes to walk through the exhibit and talk to people about the stories behind each piece.

“I never really fully understand [a piece’s] true character until the day of the exhibit when I start talking about them. I become who they are and it is utterly amazing,” Antoinette says.

On the immediate horizon, Antoinette is preparing for the upcoming Harlem Renaissance Experience at Gallery Hop in the short north. In addition to a gallery exhibition, she will also reveal an original mural.

Though she only discovered this passion a little over a decade ago, Antoinette’s quick rise to notoriety is a testament to the substance and significance of her art. More than this recognition, though, Antoinette’s work has personal meaning.

“When I started doing my art and I saw what I was capable of, it gave me a much stronger sense of who I am,” Antoinette says. “For me, my art is a very spiritual thing. It is a very, very spiritual thing.”

“When I started doing my art and I saw what I was capable of, it gave me a much stronger sense of who I am. For me, my art is a very spiritual thing. It is a very, very spiritual thing.”

 

Antoinette’s Work