KL-based expat mom uses peg dolls to teach her son about Malaysian cultures

Ballares (left) wants Ashton to play with educational toys instead of being hooked on games on mobile devices. Photos: Catherine Ballares

In the past year or so, since the first movement control order, Filipino expatriate Catherine Ballares has kept herself busy hand-painting peg dolls for her four-year-old son Ashton Cayle Sharma.

In 15 months, she has painted close to 150 peg dolls of frontliners, firefighters, angels and more.

“Ashton loves them so much that he wants to keep every doll that I paint, including those that are custom ordered. Whenever he sees something new on my desk, I will see him sneaking around. If I’m not alert, he will hide them where I can never find them,” said Ballares, 34, adding that the dolls are made of wood.

The stay-at-home period due to the Covid-19 pandemic has shown Ballares the value of educational toys for children. She wants her only child to play with educational toys instead of just online games.

Ballares gets to bond with Ashton over books and peg dolls.

“The dolls also help Ashton develop his fine motor skills. Gaming apps, and devices can be very entertaining for children but too much can lead to problems. I believe that there should be limits set and instead, I put time aside to play games as a family or do craft together,” said Ballares, adding peg dolls are suited for children who are above two years old.

Ballares has also been encouraging her son to doodle and dabble in arts and crafts during the enhanced MCO.

Early-learning tools

Peg dolls originated from Germany in the 19th century. Also known as Dutch dolls, these little wooden dolls are usually sold bare and children can then embellish their dolls with hairdos and costumes.

Peg dolls might seem unappealing compared to modern-day toys and action hero figurines, QR-connected paper toys and toy animatronics. But for Ballares, the wooden dolls are a winner because they fire Ashton’s imagination.

Ballares' handpainted peg dolls depict Malaysia's many different races.

By playing with her hand-painted peg dolls, she reckons Ashton can also developing his counting skills and imaginative play.

“Ashton learns through play. So during these play sessions with peg dolls, I teach him about colours and textures and he also learns skills like counting.

This pandemic has allowed us to reflect on things that bring us joy, shares Ballares.

“We also use them for role-playing which allows him to really use his imagination,” said the self-taught peg doll artist from the Philippines’ Zamboanga City.

“I love to paint wooden peg dolls because of its versatility. I can customise it and base it on something that inspires and interests Ashton. I always take note of his interests, which range from pirates to solar systems to unicorns.”

Her husband, Indian expatriate Ashish Sharma, has been working in the food and beverage industry in KL for three years.

Ashton’s acrylic painted dolls come in different sizes, the smallest is just 3.5cm tall and the largest, 8cm.

Of all the dolls she’s crafted, one of Ballares’ personal favourites is a set of hand-painted peg dolls depicting Malaysia’s many races.

“I want to teach my son about diversity and that Malaysia is a multi racial country,” shared Ballares.

She’s also created dolls depicting inspiring women like Catholic missionary Mother Teresa of Calcutta, Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai and Mexican painter Frida Kahlo.

Children's imagination can run wild with these Halloween-themed peg dolls.

To teach Ashton about different professions, she has painted dolls to depict pilots, doctors, chefs and so on. There are also the celebratory and festive dolls for Halloween, Christmas and Easter.

“All these different dolls allow Ashton to be creative. When I’m teaching him about pilots, for example, we will use the pilot doll and do some imaginative role-playing together.

“I enjoy these sessions because it allows us to bond.”

Because the peg dolls are so tiny, it can be time-consuming to paint them. Ballares makes the effort to add details to each of her dolls – like the pair of hand-stitched wings made from felt that she attached to her angel peg doll.

“Social media is a wonderful place to learn almost everything. There are many platforms that offer free courses, on a range of skills from cooking or painting to gardening.

“I usually gather ideas from Google, Pinterest or Instagram but I make it a point to make sure my peg doll designs are different from the rest,” said Ballares, who shares photos of her creations on Instagram (@uniquely.bylittlewonders).

On average, Ballares takes between two and three days to complete painting each doll.

Paint brushes, acrylic paint and pencils are some of the tools required to paint peg dolls.

She first sands the dolls, which she sources online, to ensure they are nice and smooth. She then applies a coat of acrylic paint on them and lets them dry.

The more intricate the design, the longer it will take to complete. Once she’s painted the designs on the dolls, they need to dry once again for a day.

Then comes the final part of adding a protective sealant that seals in the paint.

It’s a time-consuming process, but it keeps Ballares busy indoors during this pandemic.

Painting, she says, is therapeutic and it keeps her focused and sane during this challenging time.

“This pandemic has allowed us to reflect on things that bring us joy.

“Some people have learned new skills, while others have started their own small businesses online to stay afloat. It has also taught us to appreciate time with our loved ones,” she concludes.