He has also written six books and produced 11 DVDs. "That was a real need in this industry," he says. It didn't take him long to discover that the industry needs a couple of other things.

One was a better polymer clay. "None was being made just for dolls," he said. In earlier years, porcelain was the material of choice for doll makers. But it has some disadvantages, not the least of which is that it has to be fired in a kiln, and that can be very expensive.

Polymer clay, which can be cured in your household oven, has been around since 1938 when it was used in Yugoslavia to make helmets, he said. It has been used in doll-making since the late 1980s. But that clay was white and had to be painted.

Johnston got with a chemist and came up with a clay in four flesh-colored variations. "We made a thousand pounds, and it sold out in two weeks. We now produce about 24,000 pounds of ProSculpt clay a year." The clay is manufactured in Chicago, and sells around the world, he says.

Johnston also realized that there was a need for a professional doll-making organization that could act as an educational and promotional group, as well as encourage certain standards of doll-making. He founded the Professional Doll Makers Art Guild, which today is the largest guild in the United States.

Sharing expertise and experience in this way and in the classroom has been very gratifying for him, Johnston says. Several of his students have gone on to great heights in the industry. He taught Marie Osmond. Other names that will be recognized in the doll world, he says, are Mark Dennis and Reva Schick.

But one of his favorite experiences was in Canada's northern-most province, teaching Inuit elders how to make dolls. "The culture had been making dolls for thousands of years, but they had been using such things as ivory and seal skin, and those things are no longer allowed. They were basically living in a welfare state because the government had to subsidize their living. But if they could learn to make dolls with modern materials, they could again earn money."

When he first stepped off the plane into minus 3 degree weather, Johnston wondered what he was doing. But it turned out to be a wonderful experience, he says. "I taught 15 Inuit elders, and they taught other members of the tribe. They are doing fairly well, I've heard, and the economy is changing."

Those are the things that make him feel like he is giving something back.

Sculpting dolls can be very rewarding, he says. "Making the dolls come to life and tell a story is the challenge of all doll makers. It is tremendously rewarding to see your dreams come to fruition with the completion of a doll."

But, he adds, "The satisfaction of seeing one of my students achieve greatly in the doll world is as much of a thrill as doing it myself."

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E-mail: carma@desnews.com