No, that’s not a title of a campy horror flick, though blood does get spilled in there from time to time.

I finish my metal works in that invaluable little glass ‘room’, which contains the heavy dust and metal shavings until they get sucked up into the extractor. Before I got this baby, I would loathe the thought of doing metal finishing, as my desk and my whole studio would get very dirty and dusty, but since I got this chamber for my debris extractor, the cleanup is minimal and working conditions are safe. I love safety.

I bought the main plastic shell online, and then extensively customized it to fit my needs better, adding side walls and leather flaps. The problem is that it’s plexy glass and it’s starting to get really scratched up by all the high velocity debris flying around in there, and once it gets too cloudy to see through it, I’m going to have get a new one and customize it all over again.

Luckily my little grinding chamber still has lots of hours on it, which reminds me that I’ve gotta go back ‘in there’ and set some stones into the cone for the upcoming show doll in Berlin. Stay tuned for the pictures in a few days!

…was a little bit scary. It took us a whole day to get it right, and I was on edge the whole time, afraid that we were just one toppled candle away from a photo shoot of Snow White’s funeral pyre. Like Daenerys Targaryen, the doll would survive the flames, but her dress would not. All went well though, and sometime after it was over and the candles were out, Chad was finally able to pry the fire extinguisher out of my white-knuckled hands.

Just playing with some lace for fun. My favorite resin doll Luchia is wearing it. I was inspired by these awesome headdresses in a photo from an inflight magazine. Not sure what culture they are from. Maybe Norwegian…? Does any one know?

I’m running a bit late with the photo shoot of the first resin dolls, but it should wrap up tomorrow.

In the meantime, help me name this pretty doll. I’d love to hear your suggestions on what she should be called.

And tiny eyelashes!

At first I wasn’t sure if I wanted to give my resin dolls glass eyes, but once I found the right kind of eyes, I was won over. This in turn, allowed me to give these dolls real eyelashes, something I’ve always wanted to do, but was unable to due to the shallow surface area of porcelain eyelids. The eyes are tacked on with a sticky gum inside, which means they can be changed fairly easily. The head cap is magnetic and the head is removable from the rest of the body. The doll is strung up with elastic and it articulates and holds poses very well. I am very happy with the quality of resin and the soft, satin glow of the skin.

Tomorrow I’ll shoot all my newly painted resin dolls and show you all of it!

My set up is a lot different than what I would use for painting porcelain dolls; instead of china paint, I’ve got acrylic paints and pencils. It’s weird. I am able to replicated a similar, airbrushed effect though. Still getting into my groove.

I made an alternate double neck joint for my Rubenesque model. It’s another double joint I’ve been wanting to experiment with for a while now. It allows for a much more dramatic range of motion and a more sensuous body language, but as with any joint, it creates a visual break into the body.

I think that the clavicle region of our bodies is very sensuous and erotic, and therefore very important to the overall sensuality of the doll. Messing up the subtlety of the clavicle may render the whole doll lifeless. So, I tried to negotiate the articulation and the form of the double neck joint in the most attractive way possible, and I like the way the doll looks and  ‘plays’ with this expressive neck.

In the end, everything is a give-and-take in this world. You gain some and you lose some. And why not, as long as the gain is worth the loss? For me, it almost always is. But I suppose it’s all about carefully calculated risk-taking.

What do you guys think of the neck?

A few days ago I announced that the upcoming edition of Echo dolls will have two interchangeable pairs of feet, one normal and one bound, and since then there’s been lots of speculation about the mechanics involved in switching the feet, with various guesses being put forward. Well, guess no more! Here is a short demo video, showing this very simple procedure.

I made this hand for my test doll. I’m convinced it’s the most beautiful hand I ever made. You see, I don’t just pull a hand out of the mold and fire it, I manually shape ans sculpt it to make it more expressive. Unfortunately, expressive, tiny hands are virtually impossible to mold with the rigid plaster molding method. So, they have to be very simplified in order to be mold-able. Therefore, each hand undergoes significant re-sculpting and remodeling in the post-molding period.

I separate the fingers, define the knuckles and establish the bending angles on all the fingers. It’s ridiculously tedious and I hate doing it, while simultaneously loving it. I estimate that it takes me 2-3 hours to make one hand from casting to painting, or 4-6 labor hours+ 12 kiln firing hours for a pair of hands for one doll.

This hand is the pinnacle of my achievement. Just wanted to share it.

My editor is in the process of polishing up my writing for the book before it goes to print in two weeks. I took a day off molds in order go over the latest revisions she had sent me and spent most of it editing at my alternate (and rather comfortable) working station until my laptop got tired, said: “Adios Amigos!” and promptly crashed. Thank software engineers for auto-save. The deadline approaches…it’s the nature of deadlines.

I love my job.