Ups and downs: Mt. Lebanon woman customizes bobbleheads
Courtesy of Jenny Martin
Bobbleheads of Jenny Martin’s family – her daughter, Alexis Martin Copson; husband, Dan, and son, Aaron
Courtesy of Jenny Martin
Tania Bikerman, Jenny Martin’s sister, poses with her bobblehead.
Courtesy of Jenny Martin
Jenny Martin with some of her works in progress
Courtesy of Jenny Martin
Jenny Martin created this bobblehead of Tony Breslin and his dog.
Courtesy of Jenny Martin
Mt. Lebanon High School’s baseball team
Courtesy of Jenny Martin
University of Pittsburgh soccer players are among Jenny Martin’s creations.
Their heads bobble and bounce up and down with the tap of a finger.
The ubiquitous bobbleheads have become popular collectables, and even have their own day of celebration: Jan. 7 is National Bobblehead Day. There’s even a National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum in Milwaukee, Wis.
Jenny Martin, a Mt. Lebanon artist, got into all the bobbling fun more than 20 years ago, customizing the tabletop figurines for sports teams, police departments, friends and family members and others.
“It doesn’t matter to me what the subject is,” Martin said. “Soccer players, hockey players, football, baseball, basketball … I’ve done them for an entire police force.
“I’ve done college, high school and youth teams through the years. People have such great imaginations of what they want done. It becomes a challenge to me to create what they want,” Martin said. “It is so much fun taking on the challenge, spending time on it and creating something special for the ones who are purchasing them.”
Martin always loved art and majored in it in college. She attended Edinboro University of Pennsylvania and the University of Pittsburgh and did some work at Carnegie Mellon University and the Carnegie Museum.
She became a jeweler, designing pieces and creating styles. She regularly donated her talents, time and love to art projects in the Mt. Lebanon School District.
Twenty-one years ago, out of nowhere, she was asked if she could make a bobblehead. Martin said the request came from “someone that wanted one that would look like her boyfriend.”
Her bobblehead-making started in earnest in 2003, when she was commissioned to make 21 bobbleheads – 18 players and three coaches of the Mt. Lebanon High School baseball team.
She said her husband, Dan, got an eerie feeling looking at the familiar faces on bobbleheads.
“He told me it was like living in the ‘Twilight Zone,'” she chuckled.
The bobbleheads were commissioned by the Blue Devil Club, which was a parents booster club for varsity athletic teams. They remain admirers 19 years later.
“It was phenomenal to see,” said former Mt. Lebanon baseball coach Mark Saghy. “The detail was amazing. They looked like us. I was thrilled. It was a different kind of gift for the kids, a personalized one. It was truly something special to me.”
Martin has been making people feel special through her work.
“It seems like I have been doing these forever,” Martin said. “I still do them, but not as frequently and at the pace I need to take.
“I was just a jewelry designer and doing repairs for (the former) David Weiss jewelry. I also did design, painting murals on my own – just about everything related to art.”
The sculpting, sanding and getting just the right details and expression take focus and patience.
It is appreciated by those who are gifted one.
“It’s ironic, years later it’s still a phenomenal idea,” Saghy said. “To me, it’s the ultimate gift.”
Martin makes each one special with that in mind.
“Each one I fall in love with,” Martin said. “Really, the one you are working on becomes your favorite one. I’ve spent 20 hours on one and 80 hours on others. It just depends. On average, I’ll spend 40 to 80 hours on one doll. I want it to look as close to the person as possible.
“I’ve turned a lot down because of time issues and a hand injury. My eyes get tired quicker than before doing the tiny little details. It gets more painful to my hand and shoulders now. My hands get stiff. I just must limit my time.”
Still, her desire to make others happy remains limitless.
“I take pleasure turning nothing into something,” Martin said.