Paula Whaley, 78, is something of a late bloomer. The Baltimore-based sculptor and doll-maker hasn’t always identified as an artist and even struggled to envision life as an artist while she worked in fashion. But in 1987, she felt called to work with clay as a way of healing after the death of her older brother, writer and activist James Baldwin. Whaley was extremely close with “Jimmy,” who encouraged her early on to make art and whose influence continues to shape her work and life.
 

Today, Whaley is best known for her mixed-media doll sculptures, no two exactly alike. Formed of clay, wood, metal, fabric, and other materials, the closed-eye figures don intricate, textured garments and offer deep, expressive gestures, appearing at once at rest and in motion. As embodiments of familial and ancestral memory, the pieces are emblematic of Whaley’s own spiritual connection to those who have come before her. 

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