Moments of Canadiana

My Darlings! Happy New Year!

I'm back from my vacation and I have something personal to share with you today - a commemorative short film of the 9th annual, week-long New Year's Extravaganza with a couple dozen of my closest friends. It's a tradition of ours to rent a house some place remote, cold and snowy, preferably with a frozen lake in the back yard and riding slopes near by, and spend the last week of each year together. We skate, play pond hockey, ride and ski, play board games, dance, hold wine and scotch tastings, cook big meals and watch movies together while it's snowing outside. Also polar bear swim. Life doesn't get better than this. It's pure Canadiana!

Big thanks to the group cinematographers, our own Benjamin Taft, Lewis Bennet and Adam Bognar, for capturing these precious moments of happiness which we can revisit until it's time for us to celebrate the passing of yet another year together. I can't wait. Love you guys!

Join me briefly for 8 minutes of my life beyond dolls. Click on the Vimeo icon in the corner to view it on viemo.com in HD quality. There are two parts: Ice hockey and Polar bear swimming. Enjoy my Canadiana!

A happy Vaseux Lake new year celebration from Benjamin Taft on Vimeo.

Summer's End

Hey guys! I've been away from the blog for a few weeks, but with the summer drawing to a close and rains returning to Vancouver, it is time for me to come back online and share with you some new dolls I had made earlier this summer, before both my kilns suddenly went out of commission and left me stranded in doll-making limbo. That's coming up next, but today, I'd like to share a small glimpse of my summer holidays with you. Chad edited a beautiful short film to commemorate a long camping trip we took with a bunch of friends (17 days in the back country of British Columbia!), while I made a map of our journey. Take a peek into my summer!

Nearcation 2013 from Chad Isley on Vimeo.

My new home studio and kiln room!

So, on top of making new dolls for the Vogue photo shoot next week, I'm also right smack in the middle of moving to a new place. My new work studio is pretty awesome, but it's been kind of ridiculous with everything happening at once. Timing is not ideal, but that's the only way we could meet the deadline. For the last two weeks I've going back and forth between the two places since my new studio is not set up yet, and I won't even get a chance to do it until after I get home from the shoot, because our last moving day also happens to be the day we have to catch our flight to New York. We'll just throw all our stuff in the new apartment and leave for the airport. Sort it out later. Sleep later too.

I'm pretty excited about the kiln room too. Having been a spacially-challenged city-dweller my whole life, I'm thrilled to finally have a room just for my kilns. Feels so decadent. Can't wait to try it, but in the meantime I've got some wigs to finish. I'm coordinating their colours to the product being advertized. Can't tell you what it is yet, but it's gonna be awesome! 

The end of the Baby Tattoo Books road show...

...With amazing artists Ragnar (left), Coop (front middle), Gris Grimly (right) and Bob Self - the Master of Ceremonies (back)!Or, here is Gris' version of how the trip went down. Yup, pretty accurate. I guess that's me on top, waving an American flag. Love this poster! It's a limited edition, and you can still get it from the Baby Tattoo Books, signed by all of us, of course. A few limited edition Enchanted Doll prints are left over too. I think you would like them, because they are beautiful.

Thanks for being nice to me, guys, I had a great time driving around America with you. Look forward to doing it again! And thanks for all the fans who came out to see us on the road. It was a blast!

America is beautiful! And huge. Here are my interstate highway impressions of each state we drove through. I loved them all. Even Wyoming, a little bit.

Wow, Los Angeles is...sprawl-y, and huge, but not very tall.

South California...after a few hours of this landscape, I began to think I was on Mars.

Nevada. Yup, must still be on Mars...with some space weeds.

Utah. Definitely Mars.

Wyoming. All...this...stark...emptiness....whoa...

Colorado. We circled all the mountains and the rest of it was like this. With the storm coming.

Kansas. Holly shit, we're driving straight into the first tornado that ravaged Oklahoma on May 19th. It crossed the highway just ahead of us. We didn't see it, but we felt its presence in the distance as our van shook with the force of wind and rain. We pulled over on the shoulder, not knowing what to do. There was nowhere to go but forward, into darkness. It crossed all of our minds that we could die. I've never seen anything like this before...and I was terrified.

Oklahoma. I've never seen a lightning storm like this before either. It happened in the wake of a tornado. The massive cloud above us seemed to have been filled with fireworks that went off every second or two, setting the whole sky alight. We drove under it for an hour. It was scary-beautiful. Awe-inspiring.

Texas. We raced out of Edmond, a suburb of Oklahoma-City the next morning with more tornado warnings on the way, and faced the placid skies of Texas, while it raged behind us. I couldn't believe what was happening just hours away as I stood in this field and stared out into the hazy-hot horizon of blue and brown. All I could think about, selfishly so, was what if the tornado had struck a bit earlier, back there...while we slept...

New Mexico. And we're back on Mars.

Arizona. In Sedona, I discovered a whole different kind of beauty to the lush, rainforest-covered mountains of the cool British Columbia. Much like that thunderstorm a day earlier, it was awe-striking. I tried a Rattlesnake for lunch (which tasted a bit like chicken), and couldn't stop smiling at the red rocky formations.

I must return there.

And we're back in California. What a trip. Loved every minute of it. Now I must draw a map.

Thank you, Baby Tattoo, for taking us there!    

The Road Show - The Las Vegas event

Hey folks! We're one stop down on our roadshow, and five more to go. Tonight's event at the Trifecta Gallery in Las Vegas was so much fun, that I hadn't even noticed the time fly by. Upon arriving to the gallery, I was incredibly surprised to learn that someone had sent me two dozen roses. That just made my day. Thank you, B!!! Only a few dolls were shown at this venue. I'll be showing a different variety at each event. All of them will be shown together at Spectrum Fantastic Art Live in Kansas City (May 17-19)

We'll be spending the night in Nevada, but first thing tomorrow morning we'll be on our way again to the next venue at Night Flight Comics in Salt Lake City from 7-9pm. 

Dolls on the road!

You guys, you guys! I love road trips and I love dolls. This year I decided to combine the two and take my dolls on a road trip, stopping and showing them along the way at various art venues. I'm so excited! Other amazing artists Coop, Ragnar and Gris Grimly will be joining me on this road show, so our tour bus will be jam packed with talent.

This morning the dolls and I and Chad, left the soggy and chilly Vancouver for the sunny and hot Los Angeles, where I'll be joining the Baby Tattoo Books road show to promote my upcoming new book (to be released this summer)! Instead of a book, I brought my traveling Porcelain Collection with me.

These are the cities where we will be stopping. Come and see us!

Monday, May 13 (7:00-9:00PM)

Las Vegas

Trifecta Gallery

http://www.trifectagallery.com
(Coop will not be appearing in Las Vegas)
Free

Tuesday, May 14 (7:00-9:00PM)

Salt Lake City

Night Flight Comics

http://www.night-flight.com
Free

Wednesday, May 15 (7:00-9:00PM)

Denver

INDYINK

http://www.indyink.com
Free

Friday, May 17 through Sunday, May 19 (see website for show hours)

Kansas City

Spectrum Fantastic Art Live

http://www.spectrumfantasticartlive.com

Convention Admission Required

Monday, May 20 (7:00-9:00PM)

Albuquerque

Stranger Factory

http://www.strangerfactory.com
Free

Tuesday, May 21

Phoenix

Lulubell Toy Bodega

http://www.lulubelltoys.com
Free

US Book Tour!

Friends! I've got some great news for you!

News number One: The 4th edition of the Enchanted Doll book is being released this summer! It's being published by Baby Tattoo Books, in Los Angeles!

News number Two: I will be promoting the upcoming book in person and showing my traveling doll collection with the Baby Tattoo Books roadshow May 13-21st in 6 US cities; Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, Denver, Kansas City, Albuquerque and Phoenix!

Wow, I'm so excited! These are the dates for each city. Exact times, venues and other details will be announced soon. There will be other amazing artists too. Come and see us. On the Baby Tattoo Books roadshow!

Monday, May 13 - Las Vegas ( 7-9 pm at Trifecta Gallery)

Tuesday, May 14 - Salt Lake City (7:00 - 9:00 pm at Night Flight Comics)

Wednesday, May 15 - Denver

Friday-Sunday, May 17-19 - Kansas City (Spectrum Live)

Monday, May 20 - Albuquerque

Tuesday, May 21 - Phoenix

The Annual Enchanted Doll birthday contest!

Dear Friends, I'm back from my travels and I'm very pleased to announce that the annual 2013 Enchanted Doll birthday contest, where I give away one doll on my birthday, is now open!

I was drawing a map of some of my recent travels when I came up with the submission criteria. To enter the contest, send me a beautiful, captivating and wander-lust-inspiring travel postcard depicting any thing or any place in the world you want. It can be contemporary or vintage, commercial or custom printed, store-bought or hand-made, from your home town or another country, color or black/ white, featuring a painted, drawn or photographed image of nature, cathedrals, cities, mountains, ocean floor or outer space -whatever. Anything is admissible as long as it's in a standard post card format and it stirs your imagination, longing and compels you to visit that place.

Your Rules:

One Card per person. No envelopes-just the postcard. Cards arriving in envelopes will be disqualified. Submission Deadline February 28th, 2013. The winner will be picked from elimination stages starting on March 1st. All the entries will be posted online on March 1st. My top favorite Cards will be selected on march 2nd, and then eliminated randomly in daily draws, until one winner is announced on March 16th.

Your Prize:

In honor of the new Enchanted Doll resin line, the winner gets a painted, wigged and fully costumed resin Enchanted Doll Good luck and Let the games Begin!

Hiking in Hong Kong!

After a brief stint at home upon our return from Europe three weeks ago, Chad and I are on the road again. This time in South East Asia. I've hardly been home since September and I'm really starting to miss staying put for more than a few days at a time.

I'm looking forward to working on the resin line in the studio next month. Notices for the first batch of pre-orders from the wait list will be sent out just before Christmas along with a news letter and an opening announcement for the 2013 Annual Birthday contest!

I'll "see" you guys soon.

Tallinn - I'm coming! (with the dolls)

Over the last 9 days I've been making my way North to Estonia from the sunny Italy, stopping over in Croatia, Hungary, Poland and Finland on the way. Tomorrow I will finally arrive in Tallinn to take part in the Shocking Art of Dolls exhibition at the Estonian Doll Art house. It is a month long show, but Enchanted Doll is making a special appearance there only for the 1st opening week, and then we're heading home.

I will be there in person from the preview opening on Nov 9th, also 10th, 11th and evenings on the 12th and 13th. While there, I will be signing 100 copies of the Russian language Enchanted Doll book. So, if you are in Tallinn, come and see me, pick up a copy and get a personalized signature.

See you there!

Piceno fashion doll convention

Wow... what a show! The Piceno fashion doll convention had wrapped last night, and I can honestly say that I've never  been to an event like this before - I thought it was a bit atypical for a doll convention, as it was jam packed full of entertainment, dinners, performances and celebrations every night. We even had a private audience with the mayor of the city, who welcomed us in the ancient town hall, and fireworks at the end of the show. It was simply fantastic to see people from different parts of the world and life, all united by Dolls.

And Italians seem like such warm and jolly people! At one point during lunch at a large table, full of laughing, talking and gesturing people, who passed plates full of food to one another, I had a very surreal feeling that I was in a movie. It was lovely and I shall never forget it. Italy, you were so good to me!

A big, huge thanks to all the organizers of this event, especially to Rosalie, Nikis, Pamela and Martina.

More Enchanted Resin dolls

I painted some more dolls. Experimenting with different tones and styles of painting. Finding my own style.

We're in Rome for a few more hours and then we're heading to the coast with these beauties. I'll see you there.

Enchanted Doll in Italy and Estonia

Hey guys! Remember this doll when it was still unfinished? She is coming as a part of my traveling porcelain collection to my upcoming shows in Italy and Estonia this fall. Oh, and by the way, I have a show in Tallinn, Estonia one week after Italy. Surprise! Totally forgot to tell you, but it's going to be awesome. It's called Shocking Art of Dolls, and it will take place at Estonian Doll Art house, in the oldest building in Tallinn! I'll post more info about it soon.

If I have any resin dolls left over from Italy, then they will be made available to buy at the Shocking Art of Dolls in Tallinn. Also, I've been putting the resin wait list together going back to 2010. Those of you who are on it, will be getting an email within 24 hours to inquire if you wish to remain or get taken off. This wait list will go in effect in December and production will begin in January 2013.My production capacity is very small, only about 10-20 resin dolls a month max. I want to avoid mass-production and keep the quality and rarity of these dolls. At this point I have plans to produce resin for 1 year, and then either stop or keep going for another year or two, or many, depending on how I feel. I will evaluate the situation every 6 months.

Unfortunately, the rainy season in Vancouver had started this week and prevented me from completing as many resin dolls as I originally wanted to bring to the Pieceno Fashion doll convention. It's new and strange for me to have to rely on external factors, such as good weather, to be able to make dolls. There is no such a thing with the porcelain doll-making process. Vancouver is a pretty rainy city, so, I don't know how many more resin dolls I'll be able to make this winter. I'll have to paint then and put them away until sunny breaks, or something. I'm sure I will figure something out.

Stay tuned for pictures of the new resin dolls.

Enchanted Doll in Moscow, Russia.

Hey guys! Just a little update from Russia, while I have a spare minute during breakfast.

I'm in Moscow right now, promoting my book and the new resin line of dolls, with Chad and my dad helping me at the show.

So, for the last three days I've been doing a lot of book signing, taking pictures with doll fans and chatting to them about my new resin line, giving TV and paper interviews and networking with other artists and event organizers. I finally met the Popovy sisters, and even bought my first artist teddy (who is actually an elephant)! With so much going on, I hardly had any time to breathe.

It's been really busy and exciting, and I want to thank the organizer Svetlana Pchelnikova for putting on this event, and of course everyone who came to the show. And a big, huge thanks for all the flowers, you guys! It means more to me than you know.

Resin Enchanted Dolls-Launch!

I am so happy to finally be able to present to you, the long-awaited line of Resin Enchanted Doll! The official launch is in Moscow, Russia on Oct 4-7th at the 8th annual Doll Salon exhibition, along with the launch of the Russian language edition of Enchanted Doll book! This is so exciting!

Also, a big Thanks for all your naming suggestions! So many pretty names. I chose Serafina. I couldn't pick just one though, so I made a short list of my favorites and gave them to the 15 of the first resin dolls going to Russia tomorrow.

---

Being new at painting resin dolls, I was learning a lot. To experiment with different painting techniques and features, I painted each doll face a little bit differently; tweaking eyebrows, changing eye shapes and playing with boundaries of lips to find the essence of Enchanted Dolls in resin. These dolls are all prototypes from which I will be painting in the future.

After the shows in Russia and Italy, Resin line wait list will go in effect, and those of you who've been on it, will be given priority to order a resin doll.

So, what do you guys think? Any favorites?

Autumn 2012 Events Announcement

Dear Friends, autumn is always a busy time for me. Art shows, fashion shows and doll shows tend to take place around this time and that's when I usually take Enchanted Doll on the road too. Right now I'm preparing for three events in three countries and have some really exciting news for you! Here is the scoop in a nutshell.

Speaking at the Emily Carry University of Art and Design, Vancouver BC, September 28th 2012

Using a compact and dynamic presentation format called Pecha-Kucha (chit-chat), I'll be giving a short (5 min) talk accompanied by 10 slides, along with 9 other Emily Carr alumni about my life and times as an artist since graduation. Anyone can attend this lecture, but you have to register here to reserve a spot. There will be some mingling and drinking afterwards. Come and see me and 9 others of my kind talk about ourselves!

International Doll Salon in Moscow, Russia, October 4-7th 2012

I've got two awesome things prepared for this event. First, I will be there in person to launch the first Russian-language edition of the Enchanted Doll art book! Awesome. Second, I will also be premiering a limited and experimental line of Resin Enchanted Dolls! Awesome, awesome. Only 20 resin dolls will be available at this convention. Also for the first time along with the dolls, I'll be bringing my collection of Enchanted Doll jewelery, such as lanterns, hand and face pendants etc, with me as well. Come and see me and my new projects! More info coming soon.

Pieceno Fashion Doll Convention in San Benedetto del Tronto, Italy, October 26-28th 2012

I feel very honored to have been invited as special guest to show my traveling porcelain collection at the new Pieceno fashion doll convention in Italy! And as a special treat to my Italian collectors, I will be premiering twenty Resin dolls there too! Alongside with Enchanted Doll jewelery and souvenirs. Come and see me and my dolls there!

Although it's going to be a jam-packed autumn, I am very excited about being a part of these events, as they represent a fulfillment of long time goals, dreams and projects.

Stand by for more info.

Photoshoot Day 4 - Video from NYC

Day four has come and gone, and so the shoot has concluded. It was a very fun and challenging four days, as well as very inspirational as I learned a lot about what goes into a professional photoshoot. I had a great time working with the photographer Lacey.

The talented film-maker Benjamin Taft is in NYC with us, as he is working on a longterm project of filming a documentary about Enchanted Dolls (!!!!!). The NYC photoshoot will be a part of the film, and as a special treat he has already put together a short teaser video showing a bit of what went down in the studio. Click here to view it on Vimeo.

Photoshoot Day 3

This is how our week has gone, spend the day in the studio, spend the night sightseeing in New York City. It has been such a blur at times, the overwhelming photography sessions followed by wandering around the overwhelming cityscape of NY. Both aspects have been so exciting and inspiring.

Long Weekend Map Project

I've been feeling a little bit worn out, uninspired and travel-sick lately, so this long weekend I took time off dolls to draw another map of my recent travels in Europe. It was either that, or vegging out on the couch and feeling sorry for myself. At least I did something productive. I believe these maps are a side effect of my obsessive-compulsive tendencies towards sorting, organizing and compartmentalizing my experiences, memories, feelings, goals and possessions. And since I'm a visual and a sentimental person, this tendency sometimes manifests in maps. (click for larger images)Charting out travels is somewhat cathartic, but it doesn't cure my wander-lust, only makes it worse. So much of the world still needs to be seen! And I intend to keep adding new routes and journeys to this map until there isn't any blank space left to draw on.

These are my mementos of distance. They are fragments of rocks and flora, collected from different places in the world which I've visited and brought home with me. Like the rest of my world, they are neatly compartmentalized and labeled. I open one vial, inhale the scent of volcanic pebbles and remember being atop Mt. Vesuvius and the sensation of my earrings swinging against my neck in the strong wind as I look down in wonder at the sprawl of Naples below; I open another, and smell the salty surf breaking on the rocky beach of the Pacific coastline of Vancouver Island; I open a third one, and get transported to a tree-shaded park in Prague, where Chad and I fell sleep one hot summer afternoon while counting clouds...These little bottles are time capsules and I'm a time traveler.

I also keep this old Flammarion engraving framed where I can always see it, because I find it to be a deeply profound visual representation of human curiosity and our relentless search for new experiences and knowledge about our world and beyond. It shows us needing and reaching for something larger than ourselves and our immediate surroundings. This simple and brilliant drawing deeply resonates with my own longings and inspires me every day.

There is a blank scroll at the bottom of the drawing where I want to insert a quote by R.L Steventson, which says: "There are no foreign lands. It is the traveler only who is foreign".