New Doll
Happy New Year, folks! Thank you for all of your notes with good wishes! I promise to use them well throughout 2015 to create exciting new work, starting with Cinderella.
Read MoreFor Christmas this year, allow me to present my secret doll Phryne, who is one of the costumed projects I completed in 2014!Phryne as you may remember from my sneak peeks of her, and that awesome guessing game we played together, was a famous Greek courtesan in 4th century BC, who became a model for Praxiteles’s statue of Cnidian Aphrodite, one of the most extraordinary sculptures of antiquity. To read her full story and description see my original blog post.
For certain reasons I've been holding her back, fully completed for the last 10 months, which took herculean effort at times. There hasn't been a day when I didn't want to tell you about her, but now the time has come. Please enjoy.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, my friends! And a happy New Year!
And the dates of the auction are: January 24th-January 31st, 2015!
I apologize for delaying setting the auction dates of my new doll Cinderella #2. It is because I wasn't sure if I'd be able to cast her last minute add-on accessory - the fabulous ball mask - before my metal casting foundry closed for the holidays. It turns out, I wasn't able to beat the holiday rush queue, so this forced me to move the auction to January. I really want Cinderella to wear that mask!
In the meantime, I've made a luxurious padded custom box for my little Cinderella #2 auction. This weekend I'm doing to attach baby-blue leather cord belts with sterling silver buckles to the padding, to secure her limbs in place while she's resting in her special tin.
I'm so happy about the way her face turned out. I believe she is one of my finest, most subtle-blushed faces ever. I almost don't want to let her go, but I know I have to. Stand by for a picture of her with her lovely wig!
So, don't forget: Cinderella #2 is going up for ebay auction on January 24th - 31st 2015! Stay tuned!
This is a first, in-progress glimpse of my new Cinderella, which will be going up on ebay auction in mere weeks.
Read MoreHey hey friends! The Cinderella porcelain doll ebay auction is fast approacheth! I haven't finalized the date yet, but it will be announced as soon as I complete the doll next week. Eee! Here's what I'm working on today. It's Cinderella's last accessory for her big ball.
Read MoreSo, as you guys know there is an annual ebay auction of a porcelain doll coming up in a few weeks.
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It's that glorious time of year again, folks! The annual Enchanted Doll ebay auction is coming up this November! Can you guess which doll will be auctioned off this year? You get one guess. Here's a clue.I'll be posting more progress photos as we get closer to November. The exact date of the auction will be announced soon. Are you as excited as I am?
It'll work itself out in my head eventually, I'm sure. Hopefully by tomorrow. Her photo shoot is scheduled for the end of the month
Read MoreAfter nearly 30 hours of hibernation, I think I've recovered from the Spectrum Live convention, and all the hectic days and sleepless all-nighters leading up to it
Read MoreFormer prostitute, Wife of Emperor Justinian, Queen of Constantinople - She is Theodora Rex!
Read MoreThis is her - Gloriana! Please excuse the domestic setting. I didn't have time to set up a photo shoot
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She'll be premiered at Spectrum fantasy convention this weekend in Kansas City, along with two other new dolls. I won't have anything for sale at the event this time, but we will be giving away posters and if you come, you will be the first ones to see the new dolls!
Oh my god, I've got so much to do today...
I've had many 'firsts' these past couple of months, experiencing processes that are familiar to me, yet never tried before (by me) on this scale: First large molding (which was kinda horrible), first time casting large parts (which was awful), first time firing them (not so bad), first time cleaning ( a little weird) and first time painting them (just what I expected).I've still got one more 'First' left to do tomorrow: Assembly - the moment of truth.
If it works, this doll will be premiered this weekend, at the Spectrum Live convention in Kansas City. Well, I'm already committed to going, so I'll be taking her there with me either whole or in pieces. I hope she's whole.
Come and see her!http://spectrumfantasticartlive.com/
Although it's not quite finished yet, I believe it is now safe for me to tell you about my secret doll project that kept me largely absent from the internet for the last 6 months.
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This lady is from the Byzantine Empire. Her, I'm going to show you the moment she is finished! My completion target date is end of March. Stay tuned.
Some of you guys knew it right away! Boom, spot on - first try! Pretty impressive. I suppose that my work aesthetic and thought processes are familiar enough by now to anticipate the direction I'm going to take. I guess I'll have to surprise you more in the future.
And speaking of surprises, Phyrne, although competed, will stay hidden for now. She is for my eyes only for the next little while, but you can glimpse her pretty legs. And read my artist statement about this project. Thanks everyone for playing my guessing game!
Phyrne the Courtesan.
A Courtesan is a high-class Prostitute. Courtesans were well-educated, cultured and independent career women of loose morals, who traded sex and companionship to the wealthy and powerful men in exchange for money, luxuries and social status. They were often skilled conversationalists and entertainers, adept at using their wit, femininity and sexuality to achieve wealth, success and sometimes real political power. Some were gifted entrepreneurs and negotiators who became so influential, that history still remembers them.
One such woman was Mnesarete, otherwise known as Phryne. She was a famous Greek courtesan in 4th century BC, who became a model for Praxiteles’s statue of Cnidian Aphrodite, one of the most extraordinary sculptures of antiquity.
She was not only a beautiful woman, but seemingly a clever, persuasive one too, because when she was put on trial for impiety, which in 4th century Athens was a capital offense, she was able to convince the jury of her innocence and avoid the death penalty. Although it is rumored that she bared her lovely breasts in court to elicit sympathy and mercy from the judges, I believe that her wealth, status and a network of powerful lovers probably had more to do with her acquittal.
Ultimately, it was her social prowess and an ability to manipulate people and situations to her advantage that gave her personality a winning edge, while her beauty became immortalized in stone as Aphrodite – the Goddess of love.
Materials: Crown: 18k gold-plating, sterling silver, bronze, 21 Garnets, 18 Fresh water pearls, carved Water Buffalo bone, lost wax casting, construction. Gown: Gold applique embroidery on fine tulle, 24k gold bead embroidery, 300 Swarovski crystals, 63 Fresh water pearls, sterling silver, bronze, 10k gold-plating, Czech glass beads, 1 Garnet, 1 Rhine stone. Doll: Ball-jointed, bisque porcelain, china-paint, steel springs, magnetic mohair wig, leather lining, 24k gold fired-on applique jewelry on arms and legs.
You guys are such good guessers and history buffs! You've just come up with a fantastic list of great women and potential future dolls for me to make!
Below is a short list of Candidates named in the first round. The new mystery doll is one of them! You just have to guess who. Remember the criteria - this woman lived in 4th century BC Greece and was not a deity, neither a royalty, nor a myth. And these are her feet. Go!
The Candidates named so far are in order of vote majority:
Phryne - hetaira (courtesan), artists' muse. 4th c. BC Greece.
4 votes
Thais - hetaira, wife of king Ptolemy. 4th c. BC Greece.
3 votes
Hypatia- mathematician, academic, professor. 4th c. AD Greece.
3 votes
Cassandra - Trojan princess, oracle of Apollo. 13th c. BC Troy.
3 votes
Sappo - great lyric poetess, an intellectual. 7th c. BC Greece.
3 votes
Agnodice- 1st female physician, midwife, gynecologist. 4th c. BC
2 votes.
Aspasia - hetaira, an intellectual, socialite. 5th c. BC Greece.
2 votes
Cyniska-1st woman Olympic champion, Spartan princess. 5th, BC
2 votes
Penelope - queen, wife of Odysseus, mythological Greek character.
Oracle of Delphi - an order of Apollo priestesses. 8th c.BC-4th c.AD
Pythias - wife of Aristotle. 4th c. BC Greece
Rhodophis- ex-slave, hetaira, queen, original Cinderella 6th c. BC Greece
Archeanassa - hetaira, companion of Plato. 5th c. BC Greece
Gerpilise - I can not find anything about this name. Who is this?
Lais of Hyccara - hetaira, socialite. 4th c. BC Greece
Lenaia - Maenads, female worshipers of Dionysos. 5th-2nd c. BC Greece
Lysistrata - peace activist, fictional character 4th c. BC Greece
Myrrhine - wife of Kinesias, peace activist, fictional character. 4th c. BC
Ariadne - Cretan princess, mistress of the Labyrinth, mythological figure.
Roxana - Iranian princess, wife of Alexander the great. Persia. 4th c. BC
Artemisia - female navy commander of king Xerxes. Persia. 5th c. BC
Pandora - mythological First human, all-giver, unleasher of all evil.
There, I hope these clues will help narrow it down a bit.
So, who do you think these pretty feet belong to?
Here is a sneak peek of her hand before she was assembled. Her lower arms and legs feature fired-on 24k gold applique jewelry.
This doll is based on a historical woman from 4th century BC Greece. Care to guess who I made?
Let me give you a clue: It's not a goddess or royalty of any sort. Definitely NOT Helene of Troy, although I'm working on her too ;)
The winning bid was $60,100.00 CAD. Congratulations to the winner of Daphne and my most sincere thanks to all the participants, collectors and fans of Enchanted Doll. You made this auction happen! Thank you for your love and support!
Seeing how the theme of this doll deals with stalking and violence against women, a part of the proceeds from this auction will be donated to the Vancouver Rape Relief & Women's Shelter.
Congrats again to the winner of this special doll!
The auction for Daphne will resume as a new listing (http://www.ebay.com/itm/331086942934). Ebay pulled the previous listing after the nude photos of Daphne were reported for being "too graphic". They couldn't just remove those photos and have the auction resume, they had to delete the listing and we had to start a new one. We tried to make the new auction as close as to where the previous auction was at the time of removal. That means the auction started at the amount of the previous highest bid, and it will be a "1-day" auction that will end tomorrow.
If you want to see the full gallery of Daphne, you can find her photos here.
