Greeting Collectors! I’ve completed a new doll for the Flawless show at the Strychnin Gallery in Berlin. She is The Muse of Art Nouveau, featuring the very first Rubenesque body and face, as well as that special new crown I had mentioned a few weeks ago.

Her price is €18,000. Please, inquire at the Strychnin Gallery for the availability of this piece.

A Muse is an ancient goddess of inspiration and creativity. She is a personification of humanity’s relentless pursuit of beauty and self-expression.

My own little porcelain Muse is created in the aesthetic of Art Nouveau, drawing from the romanticism and nostalgia of the turn of the century Paris as the city of lights and art. Her feminine, voluptuous form and a magnificent sterling silver crown were inspired by my favorite artist Alphonse Mucha, whose unique and unforgettable artwork embodies the very essence of Art Nouveau, having originated the movement itself.

The Lantern pendants on the other hand, are based on a beautiful antique street lamp in Niece, which takes my breath away. Like tiny beacons of light, these lanterns adorn the crown of my muse and captivate the attention of wondering minds, providing them with guidance, knowledge and enlightenment.

May she bring inspiration and beauty to those who seek it!

She certainly inspired me! Her presence hovered over my shoulder for many months as I worked on her, and now she is finally real and I feel rejuvenated and inspired to create more as if my mind is on fire! I’m quite proud of the entire piece, but particularly so about the little lanterns. They are a dream come true. I based the design on a real street lamp, created schematics and sketches, while the actual model was built by a computer mill. It took nearly 3 months. My technician had said that it in all his years of doing it, this was the most difficult, challenging and exciting project he’s ever done, which I took as a compliment.

This unique crown is the first in the Lantern Series, which I expect will keep me occupied for years to come.

Materials:

Ball-jointed porcelain doll 14” (37 cm) tall, china paint, natural mohair, industrial grade steel springs, leather; Sterling silver crown №1 in the Lantern Series, lost wax casting, construction, 3 Iolite cabochons, 3 pearls set in sterling silver, cubic zirconia crystals; Custom-welded, flexible stand; Decorative reclining dais embellished with 6 hand-sewn velvet pillows.

Well, it’s been a long wait and a lot of work, but it was all worth it. I am very pleased and excited to finally unveil to you my new curvaceous doll – The Rubenesque!

Now, before I hear another word (!!!) about how she is not technically, and I quote “fat enough” to be called a Rubenesque, please allow me to point out that the dictionary definition of Rubenesque states that it is: “Plump or rounded, usually in a pleasing or attractive way”. Now, look at the comparison of my two dolls and tell me that she is not pleasantly rounder than my other doll. I rest my case. She IS a legitimate Rubenesque.

She is also slightly taller than my first doll. The feet are the same size though, as are the hands.

I haven’t had a lot time or space to photograph her in a variety of poses or settings because my studio is filled with stacks of books and boxes right now, but sometime this week you will get to see more of this doll. In a brand new head ornament I made for her. It’s pretty awesome. You’ll see.

This very FIRST Rubenesque doll will be available for sale from the Strychnin gallery at the end of the month. More information and pricing coming in the next post.

So, tell me. How do you like her compared to my slimmer doll?

Like her, love her or, dare I say it, hate her?

In just a few days, I’m going to unveil my new curvaceous doll! Maybe tomorrow or the day after, or perhaps in thee or four, or five days….once I finish shooting her. Are you excited yet?

This is the first official shot of her, inspired by a very classical, if not cliche composition of a reclining nude, particularly Jean Ingres’s painting The Grand Odalisque. The old masters sure loved painting reclining ladies in various stages of undress, and what’s not to love here? I’m very excited to show you the rest of her.

Soon.

I’d love to hear your opinions about her form.

…And boxing them up for shipping into custom boxes with a custom stamp. Chad had the boxes made, while I had the stamp carved. I sign them, he packages them. That’s the division of labor in our relationship. He also does the cooking. Cha-ching!

Anyway, when you see this box in the mail, you’ll know what’s in it.

Now back to signing.

Greetings collectors! It’s been a long wait, but the first edition of the Enchanted Doll book has arrived! I hope you are all as excited about it as I am.

We’ve been sorting them out all day today, and I hope to sign and ship out the first 150 copies to you guys by the end of this week, and tackle as many more as possible over the long Easter Weekend.

Shortly we will begin sending you confirmation emails regarding the shipping status of your copies. If you bought a copy but haven’t made any shipping arrangements yet, then please email inquiries@enchanteddoll.com at your soonest convenience. If you didn’t buy a copy, I’m sorry to say that the first edition has been sold out, and we want to get this edition taken care of completely before moving on to a second edition.

They are coming!

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.

This is Anya, my new board. I got it a couple of months ago and now she is a part of me. On Friday, instead of the usual local mountains, Chad and I went riding at beautiful Whistler-Blackcomb, our amazing world-class ski resort just 1.5 hours drive north of Vancouver. I’ve been skiing this mountain sporadically since 1998, but earlier this year I decided to commit the whole 2012 season to snowboarding to get a taste of it, and fell hopelessly in love with the sport! Having been strapped into a board, skis just no longer feel the same way to me. I’ve been guiltlessly cheating on them with Anya.

It was a sensory abundant, physically challenging and an intensely gratifying day. Nothing to think about but the sky above me, the snow below me and the wind all around me.

Today I’m back at the studio, making Echos. Anya beckons to me from her wall mount, but I force my eyes away and bend over my desk, thinking to myself: “Soon, my darling, soon”.

Probably tomorrow.

I’ve been working on the Special Five ultra limited edition of the Echo doll which should be finished and available this spring. Amongst other unique characteristics, this edition will have a very special feature: interchangeable feet.

Each doll will have two sets, a pair of normal feet with a silver pedestal shoes and an alternate pair of Lotus feet with  silver lotus slippers.

Each set of hands is unique too. All fingers are posed a little differently, while one of them is wearing a ring. Even their little faces show minute differences in painting. They are five sisters, each one with her own secrets.

They are waiting to be Echos.

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.

So I turned 30 yesterday, and I just wanted to thank all of you for your warm and moving birthday wishes. Thank you All. It’s so wonderful of you to remember my birthday. It made my day! It was a really good day. Here is a play-by-play. Just because, that’s why.

The previous night I had stayed up until 7am, finishing a new doll, and then I got up at 10am, having only gotten 3 hours of sleep. I couldn’t sleep while there was a new doll in the house! Still tired, I played with the doll and made her a wig while Chad started cleaning up. As I was working, I kept getting messages from you, and each one made my day brighter. Then came a delivery from Amazon; it was a new book illustrated by Lostfish! Then, Chad and I went to pick up my cake, after which he went home to clean some more, while I went shopping for a new outfit for my birthday party later that night. I generally dislike clothes shopping or grocery shopping or really any kind of shopping, unless I’m getting doll-making supplies. That I can do for hours. And yet, in only two hours I managed to acquire several new outfits, including two gorgeous coats from LuluLemon. They are so athletic AND pretty!

It was time to go home and get dressed up, and as I walked down the crowded street, arms full of bags, headphones over my ears playing the Gorillaz to drown out the bustle of other Friday night shoppers, I watched the old, green North Shore mountains loom over the glassy downtown and thought about my 30 years of life here on earth. Had I really been around this long already? It felt like a blink of an eye. Will I be sixty next time I blink?

I walked contemplating the transience of things, and yet I didn’t feel sad, on the contrary I smiled the whole way home, feeling very fulfilled by the meaningful friendships I had formed and satisfied with what I had accomplished so far, and grateful, so so grateful for the opportunity.

I came home modeled my new outfits for Chad, and soon after, friends began showing up. My parents stopped by to wish me a Happy Birthday. My sister stayed for the party. Chad wore a dress jacket, his luscious beard all fluffed up very fancily for the occasion.

I was in my studio, a little drunk and happy because I was surrounded by everything I loved. Here in this place and in this moment in time was the sum total of my 30 years on earth: Book shelves, Travel maps, Tool drawers, Work desks, Dear Friends, Dolls and Chad. And Birthday wishes coming for every corner of the world.

It was a very good day.