My Idol-Sulamith Wulfing

My biggest inspiration and driving force in my work is a German Artist-Illustrator, named Sulamith Wulfing. I discovered her amazing work in 2002, and it has been the biggest influence in my creative development and establishment of my stylistic expression and direction. The minute I saw her work, I knew what I had to do with that seemingly unrelenting subconscious craving to make dolls. Discovering her, gave me a visual language to say everything I always knew I wanted to say with my work, but didn’t know how to say it. Her unique vision and technique, appeals and resonates so strongly with my own sensibilities that I don’t know where Sulamith Wulfing’s influence ends and my own vision begins. Sometimes I feel as if my dolls are composites of her paintings. And i think that perhaps that's what they are ment to be.I can feel the influence and her aesthetic in every aspect of my work and try to emulate her visual language, but in a different medium, format and methods. It is my mission objective to capture the same magical, ethereal quality with my dolls, which she was so effectively able to convey with her work.

I consider Sulamith Wulfing's work to be pure genius. She is the Mozart of visual art. Looking at her drawings one can see the ease and freedom with which she drew, pulling the most beautiful images from her seemingly infinite imagination and putting them on paper in astounding detail and intricacy. She had a brilliant and unique mind and an original aesthetic in her work. It's as if her visions exist on a completely separate plane of perception and being, apart from all the familiar art influences and iconographic imagery that fills up the Louvre and the Uffizi art galleries. Although much art in those museums is quite important, it's all the same: an endless parade of similar-looking nudes, virgin Marys, plump women, Popes and Christs.  It's as if all those supposedly great masters of Renaissance went to the same art school and studied from the same teacher and painted the same model. Sulamith Wulfing on the other hand created her own, completely unique and previously unseen visual style.Sulamith Wulfing was very prolific, but much of her work was destroyed during WWll. Her books are very rare and expensive. I've been collecting them over the years, one at a time, and they are precious to me. If my house is ever on fire and i can only save one thing, I will take those books and everything else can burn, because the profound inspiration the provide me with, is priceless.Even though Sulamith Wulfing's imagery provides a sort of foundation for my own Enchanted Doll aesthetic, I would like to believe that I'm somehow expanding and adapting her style to create my own, original and unique work. And I can only hope that to some people, my work will mean as much as Suamith Wulfing's work means to me. However, I feel as if my abilities and imaginative capacity pale in comparison to Sulamith's divne talent.

Enchanted Doll photoshoot. Involving an indoor pond.

A few months ago i came up with this idea of photographing one of my nudes an a water setting. I love quiet, still ponds for their serene and mysterious beauty, and they also kind of creep me out. I would never swim in one as i don't know what could be hidden on the bottom, but that, somewhat rational fear unfortunately extends to all natural bodies of water deeper than my waist. But I imagined that this would be a perfect water setting for a theme shoot.

The good news was that North West coast rain forest is full of lakes and ponds and all kinds of pretty nature. The bad news was that setting up a shoot in a natural setting was going to be quite difficult. I had been mulling over the idea for some months trying to find solutions to the challenges involved.

One- Doll could not be immersed in water, therefore some adequate, yet invisible support must be found to hold her above the water for at least 3 hours. Two- expensive photo equipment along with Chad and I had to be set and work in water at least knee deep for at least 3 hours. Three-Suitable location had to be found with the right aesthetic, depth and access which would accommodate the doll being safely posed and Chad and I safely moving around in water to shoot, re-shoot, pose and re-pose the doll ten thousand times in session. But the Fourth and main challenge of shooting outside was being unable to control the constant changing of the natural light. Usually, hours are spent on getting the right shot, at the right angle and the right pose of the doll in the studio, where we have full control of the light and unlimited working time, and I kept thinking of how I was going to get that perfect shot, or a decent shot for that matter, with so many uncertain factors.

All of the above challenges seemed doable of course with enough effort invested, but without a team of professional photographers and prop designers to help us with this water shoot for a doll, seemed like more trouble than it was worth.

So, I decided that at this point it, a simpler solution was to build an artificial pond in my studio. There will always be real ponds to shoot later when i'm more capable of such an ambitious undertaking.

This is a small segment of how I went about building a small pond for a doll shoot.

First I went to China town and bought fake water lotuses and a lot of black fabric at a fabric store. Tarp was laid out and walls raised to create the depression.

Then, Chad and I went to the beach just in front of our building and collected several pounds of sand and small and pretty pebbles to make the bottom of the pond which we then filled with over 50 liters of water.

Then i went to the park and crawled around in the abundant underbrush for half an hour, finally finding the perfect log to accessorize my pond. However it was full of worms and rot and I was pretty disgusted. But art demands sacrifices, so I heroically dragged the log half a mile to my apartment and hosed it down in a parking lot. I also collected some red maple leafs on the way to echo Kia's bright red hair.

Then I spent several hours in water, arranging the pebbles and lilies and setting everything up.

Something always kept falling over or floating away.

It took me several more hours to figure out the best lighting arrangement for this set up as there was a lot of reflections coming from the white tarp and the water, and I'm not a professional photographer and so it takes me hours through trial and error to figure out what works best. Chad helps me out a lot of course, but i'm usually determined to figure it out myself first. A lot of times he rushes in to my rescue at the sound of me crying or stomping around because i'm too frustrated.

I love technology. The Camera being tethered to my Macbook Air allows me to see each shot on the big screen immediately, so that I can see what aspects of each photo need improvement: Lights adjustment, pose adjustment, props adjustment, angle change, etc.

And so, 3 days and about two hundred photographs later only 10 weren't bad and only two of those made it on the website. I was able to get something close to what i was envisioning, and although I can't say that building and shooting the pond was particularly fun because it was so difficult, more annoying actually, but it was certainly an interesting, learning experience. Like an exercise in stubborness.

Twitter Feed

There is now an Enchanted Doll twitter feed, where I will be posting short blurbs about my dolls.  This will be used for quick updates on work while I prepare for my solo show.  The blog will still be used for larger updates and photos, but for those curious about my process feel free to follow my twitter feed. [EDIT - I made it so the 3 most recent tweets will show up on this blog, in the sidebar - Chad]The above photo is of the doll I'm currently working on.  This is just after the hair has been glued on, she looks much more elegant now. And she's got armpit hair!

Happy New Year!

Fragment of the view from my window a week ago.

It's been two weeks since my return from Europe and i'm finally going back to work. What I thought would be a vacation, was in fact a very stressful and intense experience of working abroad. I came home absolutely exhausted and in no shape to begin working full time, or working at all. So i took two more weeks off and did nothing except for watching seven seasons of Sex and the City for days and days and days.

We came back not only right in the middle of Christmas frenzy, but also in the middle of some unbelievable weather in Vancouver. It snowed for almost a week non stop and we were trapped inside the apartment, unable to go anywhere because this city is ill equipped to deal with occasional snow. In twelve years i've never seen this much snow in Vancouver and oh, it was so pretty at first, before i had to leave the house to go Christmas shopping and came back with water up to my ankles inside my boots. Then I realized why most Vancouverites hate snow so much.

Anyway, Happy New Year everyone. I am looking forward to making more dolls and achieving even more of my creative goals in 2009. I can feel that it will be a very good year.

Happy New Year!

Berlin Show Recap

The Berlin show at Strychnin gallery opened Friday, December 6th!  It was a very fun evening but I'm glad that it has come and gone, the stress of everything was starting to get to me, mostly due to worrying about my dolls/cases in transit (trains, planes and automobiles).  I enjoyed talking with the people there, both those who knew of my dolls before hand and those that were seeing them for the first time.The shot above is me with Cliff Wallace, a special effects artist who worked on such Hollywood films as Quantum of Solace, Hellboy 2, 28 days later, etc. He had some of his sculptures in the show and I had the opportunity to meet him and chat with him about his work. It was pretty cool.I also had an interesting conversation with a journalist, which was more of an argument about the nature of art, commercialism, and whether commercial and fine are can coexist together, whether the commercial aspect of art completely devaluates purpose of true art. It was a refreshing discussion because I haven't had an art critique of my work since I graduated from art school, on the other hand, it reminded me of my art school discussions which focused too much on the idealistic notion of "art is pure" rather than commercial considerations of making a living.The show runs until February 6th, (but is closed from Dec 22nd - Jan 22nd), so if you're in the area drop in and take a look.  More info on Strychnin's site

Berlin Show

From Strychnin's site:DANIEL VAN NES - Fallen Angels. Featuring special guests VIRGINIE ROPARS, CLIFF WALLACE and MARINA BYCHKOVA. Opens December 12th, 7 p.m.The real replaced by the virtual, oversaturation through the media and the ever-present TV screens with marketing messages that seep into our lives and dreams not unlike religious slogans – these are the themes of Dutch artist Daniël van Nes ’ new series of work. Playing with religious imagery and mixing it up with sub and underground cultures, the characters in his work are angels expelled from the Garden who find themselves utterly alone in their fall.The works of special guest Virginie Ropars lie somewhere between sculpture, doll making, fashion design and illustration, building a dream-like reality featuring predominantly strong female characters.Cliff Wallace , our special guest from England, is a creature designer for Creature Effects, a company largely responsible for the look and feel of films such as "Hellboy II", "Kingdom of Heaven" and "28 Days Later". His sculptures reflect the mysterious and strange worlds that he gets his inspiration from.Marina Bychkova , our third special guest, is from Canada. Her dolls reflect the dark and sometimes threatening undertones that classic fairy tales often contain - they are fragile and vulnerable in their beauty.STRYCHNIN GalleryBerlinBoxhagenerstrasse 36D-10245 BerlinPhone: +49 30 9700 2035

Paris Show recap.

The show has finally come and gone.  It was incredibly busy the week leading up to the show finishing up all the details, and I'm both relieved and exhilarated that's it's all done.  The show rushed by in a blur, but I was able to meet many people and finally put some faces to names.  Thanks to everyone that stopped by my table to see my dolls.  I was flattered to hear that some people came to the show from different countries just to see my dolls.  The expo also gave me a chance to show my dolls to an audience that has never seen them before.I wish I had made more dolls to sell at the show, but I was lucky enough as it was to get everything else done in time.The sleepless nights were worth it, the expo was a great experience.  Big thanks to my friend Iana who helped me by being my French translator and to my dear boyfriend, Chad, for his invaluable prescence.Pictures of the show can be found on the forum here.Now it's time to turn my focus to Berlin, I'll post more details about that show soon.

Doll Show News - Doll for Sale

Finally, I can announce the nude doll which will be available for sale at the Paris Creation doll expo.This is a special piece from the limited edition of Emerald doll. I customized her especially for this event to make her different from the others. She has a small monochrome tattoo between her shoulderblades and two removable wigs: the one shown and a long, rusty red one. (Chinchilla fur shown in the pic is not included).This girl will go for $2,300 CND, or 1,440 Euros.A lottery will be held to decide who gets to buy this doll because there were two many people wanting to reserve it. I will start taking names down at 10 am and we will draw one at 2pm. You will have to be present when this happens because either the deposit or the full payment must be paid on the spot. If the sum is paid in full, then you get to take the doll home there and then, but you also have the option of putting a non-refundable deposit of 30% down in cash, with the remaining 70% to be paid withing 7 days via Paypal.I will still be in Paris and can give you the doll in person after the balance is paid or mail her to you.The show is in two days. Email me if you have any questions.

Art Exhibition in Berlin

I will have a few of my dolls showing at the Strychnin Gallery in Berlin!The show starts on December 12th and runs until feb 1st, the show can be seen for 4 weeks.The Main room will be with Daniel Van Nes, who makes illuminated etchings with antique glass domes.The Gallery is at Boxhagenerstrasse 36, D-10245 BerlinAlthough only four dolls will be shown at this exhibition, I'm still very excited about this as I've never been to Berlin before.  Also, this could lead to a larger showing there in the near future.  If anyone is in the Berlin area, I welcome you to visit the show to see my dolls in person.

Kia - The Water Nymph

Meet Kia, the Water Nymph.  She's the newest nude doll in the Enchanted Doll collection.She is shown with a custom feature of Mendhi, done on her hands/feet/etc.  This is a feature that was done for a custom order, and is similar to Tattooing a doll.  She can be ordered without the Mendhi, or any other doll can be ordered with it.You can view her gallery here.Venetian is another new nude that was put up earlier this week.  Be sure to check out her gallery too.

Playing with Dolls

I have uploaded a handful of videos showing me at my desk playing with my dolls.  These videos will give doll fanatics a chance to see how my dolls move and a variety of possible poses.The videos can be found in the "Doll Animation" section, along with my stop motion movie.The music in the "Playing with.." series is by Revolution Void.

Enchanted dolls go to Paris.

So, it's now final. I'm coming to Paris to attend the Paris Creation Doll Expo on November 23rd, 2008 and i'm bringing some dolls with me!None of the costumed pieces will be for sale. This time. As the matter of fact, most of what i'm bringing with me this year won't be. But there will be a few things, such as accessories, some prints and maybe one or two nudes that will be available to buy. So, come on down to see the Enchanted dolls in all their grandeur.Oh, and since i've never attended a trade show before, I'm not equipped to accept any credit/bank cards or cheques. Sorry about this inconvenience, but cash is the only method of payment i can accept in person.Write me if you have any questions. Otherwise, I'll see you there!

Alice is complete and....Available.

After a few hectic weeks of work, my version of Alice in Wonderland is finally complete. Well, the Alice part us complete. I had no time, to make the Wonderland. Check out her gallery here for more pictures.I'll shoot some more before I leave.

New Costumed Dolls.

These are the two dolls I mentioned several weeks ago. Both are still works in progress, but since i probably won't have time to finish them before I leave for Europe, i though i might as well show them. I'll be bringing both of them to the Paris Creation show with me, so those of you who are coming, can see them in person.See more pictures of these dolls in the Costumed Dolls Gallery, here

Alice in Wonderland sneak peek

This is a work in progress shot of Alice's robe. It has pockets! And i love pockets.The costume is still incomplete and i only have 10 days left to finish it. It's going to be tight.

Jogging through a fairy tale.

These are some sights from my daily jog. It's probably hard to believe looking at these pictures that i live in Downtown Vancouver. It's not that our Downtown is a forest, but it's just I live right on the very edge of its' West End, where it ends at a huge and beautiful rain forest park and then water. The entire Downtown along with Stanley Park is a peninsula that is surrounded by waters of English Bay on three sides and connected to the mainland Vancouver by 5 bridges and one narrow neck of land.It's a very pretty place to live. I have a beach on my front door, high rises on one side and a rain forest on the other. As the matter of fact, this alley right behind my apartment building where I begin my run is a boundary between residential towers and the park. It marks the end of down town and beginning of the forest.The park is very beautiful all year round and has a very rich flora and many trails to enjoy it. Every time i run, it feels like i'm entering a fairy tale. On rainy and misty days like this one, when cloud ceiling is so low that its' edges get caught on the tips of the ancient cedars and fine mist creeps through the trees, I almost expect to catch a glimpse of the Little Red riding hood in the depth of the forest.I keep wanting to do a photo shoot of some dolls in the park, but I haven't gotten around to it yet. I guess i feel like i don't have the right doll for the project.Anyway, just thought i'd share a little bit of my beautiful home. West Coast is truly beautiful. Most of the year it's a cold and grand type of beauty. It's where mountains, luscious rain forest and Pacific ocean meet and there is a distinct sense of space and age and solitude. Even with thousands of tourists around. When i rollerblade or bike around the park on the seawall in the morning, I sit on the bench for a few minutes looking at the mountains and imagining what this place must have looked like hundreds of thousands of years ago. Probably not that different, minus all the buildings and plus some glaciers.

Article about E Doll in FDQ Magazine.

An article about my work will be featured in the 5th anniversary of  Fashion Doll Quarterly Magazine, which will be released on October 15th. So run to the store and pick one up, because it will feature some brand new dolls.After this one there will be 2 more magazines with my interviews coming out later this year: Shop city Magazine in Odessa, Ukraine and Doll Reader Magazine. Actually, Doll Reader might be early 2009.I'll post a cover for the next magazine when i get it from the editor.

Silver work in progress-Elizabethian collar.

This collar is another project in progress. I've been working on it on and off for a couple of months, but i'm not sure as off yet what exactly i'm going to do with it. Mermaid Song is modeling it for now, but i haven't decided what doll i'm going to make for it. I have a few ideas, but they are just ideas at this point. It's cast in non-tarnishing sterling silver and has a hinge on the back and the front for easy removal. I'm not sure if it's finished yet either as i might add some stones to it later on. I'm thinking of making several copies of it to try it in several different applications for fun. We'll see what happens.

Enchanted Doll prints Now Available.

Enchanteddoll.com has a new section, Prints!  That's right, you now have the ability to purchase prints of various Enchanted Doll images.  The prints are done on archival quality satin card stock, while the poster sizes are done on poster paper (as seen in the above shot taken in my living room).The process for ordering the prints is simple, just fill out the order form selecting which shots and at which sizes, and an email is sent to us with that information.  From there we will contact you to setup payment (paypal) and shipping information.  All prints will be sent out through regular mail (Canada Post) unless otherwise requested.At this time, there are only a few available in the large poster format, but more will be coming soon.Along with more sizes, more images will be available in the future as well, so if you have a favourite that you don't see listed, head on over to the forum and let us know.

New Costumed Doll-The lovely Dunyazade.

I completed another costumed doll, her name is Dunyazade and she is the beloved, little sister of Scheherezade, my earlier doll. I'm still shooting her and working on her gallery in the Costumed doll section.Dunyazade is wearing a one of a kind Sterling Silver head dress set with 19 faceted Amethysts, a one of a kind sterling silver filigree belt set with 12 faceted garnets, a Sterling silver necklace and sterling silver slippers.Her dress is a dye sublimation print made from the original, embroidered piece worn by her older sister. This method of ornament reproduction presents all kinds of exciting costuming possibilities for me because it can be reinvented and reinterpreted in many different ways while keeping the original idea at the core. And as you know, I love experimenting. And while the print is only a reflection of the original embroidery and lacks the amazing spledor of actual sparkiling jeweles, pearls, gemstones, beads and silver, it also lacks the incredible weight of original, embroidered costumes. This gives a different feel to the printed costume, making it light, flowing and very practical, because it allows the doll underneath it to maintain the same degree of movement, while heavy, jeweled costumes inevitably restrict some movement with their sheer weight.The other upside of the printed dress is that i redesign the piece and simplify the pattern, which allows for very simple removal of the costume with usually one zipper on the back, while the original embridered pieces are somewhat more complicated to remove and put back on because of their sophisitcated design and structural complexity of the pattern and bead work.Having said that, nothing is quite as grand or amazing as a tiny, embroidered and bejeweled dress, sparkling and heavy with Austrian crystals, Rubies and Pearls! A dress which is smothered in splendor! Some sacrifices are necessary to accommodate this.Basically, any medium one choosed has its' own set of limitations and advantages over the other. It's a constant give and take, and in choosing to emphasize one aspect, another must be given up. I always do my best to strike a fair balance and negotiate between simplicity and beauty.But ultimate beauty is almost never easy or simple.