Some plant elements that were introduced in the Azores, such as corn, wheat and the dragon tree, gave rise to the production of artifacts of a decorative nature, such as flowers and dolls.
To make corn leaf dolls, the leaves are chosen, dried and, when necessary, slatted and sometimes even dyed. There is also a concern to select the whitest leaves and to use the “beards” to reproduce the doll’s hair.
The same process is used to make the original and elegant dragon tree leaf dolls, mainly on the island of Pico, which represent a traditional and typically Azorean art of working with plant fibers and are appreciated pieces of ornamentation in a rustic environment.
The wheat straw, golden and flexible, resulting from the process of preparing the raw material, which includes splitting the wheat straw, can be manually braided and sewn in a spiral, or even woven on the loom, giving rise to the beautiful dolls of wheat straw. With the help of scissors, glue, a needle and imagination, small figures representing rural life are created, such as the rural woman, religious life, or even everyday life and collective memory, illustrated in the figures. of the local aristocracy.
