Check It Out!

     For the month of December, Dona Dalton will be a delightful presence at Canton Public Library.  Her whimsical and spirited creations filled the display case in November, and in December a new display will be featured,  “Juxtapositions and Partnerships:  Birds and Animals.”  Many of the items in the display case will be available for sale, which is good to know for anyone contemplating holiday gifts.  The display is sponsored by the Maxwell Shepherd Memorial Arts Fund. 
 
     It’s hard to pin a label on Dalton’s work.  Is it a toy?  Is it art?  Is it a toy for children?  Or a toy for adults?  Is it an heirloom that should reside on a shelf out of the reach of tiny hands?  Or does it demand to be played with—now!  Or is it “all of the above?”
Dalton calls her creations “Toys as Sculpture” because they are not for “throwing around or into the toy box.”  She adds, “they encourage the imagination and relationship which I felt towards my playthings. My intention is to capture gesture, personality, and something of the spirit, especially as it exists in relationship. A Kingfisher at your workplace, or a cat in a boat can be the best of companions.”
           
     Dalton’s menagerie is made up of brightly painted wooden creatures, mostly animals, some real and some fanciful, often in unexpected combinations.  There are farm animals and wild animals; equines, felines, and canines; birds, frogs, snakes and fish; running, sniffing, slinking mice.  There are sets of creatures:  animals on an ark, animals on a farm, and a dinosaur den.  There is a smattering of humans, angels, and merpeople (maids and men).  Many of the creatures are on wheels.
Whatever we call them, they are a pleasure to look at, to hold, and to play with, and they are an unlikely blend of the primitive and the sophisticated.
 
      In a third-floor studio, Dalton handcuts her creations on a bandsaw, then sands and paints free hand.  “Each one has its own personality and uniqueness and is signed,” she said.  “Color, gesture, pattern and attitude are qualities I try to incorporate in the smallest to the largest piece.”
 
      Dalton, a Philadelphia artist who has been crafting her toys for more than 30 years, sees herself as “a painter who uses a three-dimensional canvas.”  She has a BA in sculpture from the Philadelphia College of Art, and has studied advanced drawing at the University of Pennsylvania, where she also immersed herself in Egyptian art.  Her creations are sold in galleries and museum shops throughout the country.  She has lectured widely and has been featured in the Philadelphia Inquirer, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and in American Craft  magazine.

      Library hours are Monday-Thursday 10:00-8:00, Friday and Saturday 10:00-5:00, and, beginning Sunday, November 6, 1:00-4:00 PM.   For information:  (860) 693-5800 or www.cantonpubliclibrary.org