Displayed in the poster is one of the dolls that will be at the show, with the working title of "Deep Sea Diver". More information regarding the show, and more pictures, will be posted in the near future.Show details:FragilityMarina Bychkovawith work by Wendy Froud and Virginie RoparsJune 11th, 2010Strychnin Gallery in Berlin.
Here are a few photos of The Bride that never made it to the site. Â We played around with some different treatments to give them different feels. Â These, along with a couple others, will likely find their way to The Bride's gallery soon. Â In the first shot I was going for a typical "Bridal magazine" shot, including the soft focus and glow that they always use.
As a little girl, I was enchanted by the idea of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. I still am. They seem almost magical because they are so utterly shrouded in mystery and myth. They are considered a wonder of the world, and yet their existence has not even been proven. The legendary ancient city of Babylon has the same, entrancing effect on me and for several years I've been thinking of a way to translate that into an Enchanted Doll project.This is how, around a year ago, the Mask Project was born. These are the concept sketches. The mask is just a work in progress tittle for a doll named Amytis of Media, the wife of a Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar the 2nd. The legend has it that Nebuchadnezzar built the Hanging Gardens around 600 BC for his wife, who was home sick for her luscious, mountainous homeland of Persia.The mask head ornament worn by Amytis is a representation of God Marduk, the head deity of Babylon. Like I mentioned before, this mask was inspired partially by ancient Aztec art, as well as early Mesopotamian artifacts. Marduk was a god of judgment and magic and had a water element associated with him. His origins are somewhat unclear, and the information about his physical appearance is pretty much limited to a couple of images of him. My interpretation of Marduk was mainly driven by the sound of his name and the images it stirred in my mind. It sounded aggressive and strong, and when I found that he was a god of judgment, I had decided to give him a somewhat malevolent look, because gods generally possess both benevolence and cruelty in their personalities and acts.I imagined Amytis wearing this elaborate headpiece in the image of Marduk, as well as other splendid, richly ornamented clothing and jewelry as she strolls through the green, shadowed alleys of the Hanging Gardens, enjoying the relative coolness and listening to the sounds of birds in this artificially created paradise- her husband's gift to her.
The idea of making a pair of Lotus slippers for my doll in precious metal has been on my mind for years, ever since I made the doll Lotus with bound feet and beaded Lotus shoes in 2006. Even though I am appalled by the barbaric practice of mutilating women's feet for aesthetic purposes in ancient China, I am simultaneously enchanted by the decorative aspect of the exquisitely beautiful lotus shoes that were made to be worn by those mutilated feet- or as they were called in China, Golden Lilies.
Such a pretty name to describe a pair of horrendous-looking, broken feet. Yet, even as I condemn the practice, inexplicably I seem to be drawn to the beauty of the shoes and the surreal aesthetic of tiny feet. Cinderella wore glass slippers on her allegedly natural, little feet, and that was considered sexy in Europe. I mean, the entire fairly tale seems to be about those magnificent shoes and the virtue of having small feet. So, it appears that the Chinese were not the only ones to fetishize the size of women's feet, they were just the ones to do something about it.
Anyway. I've dreamt about making these for months, if not years, and I'm so happy to see them finally finished! I had to make a pair of bound feet of course, so that my dolls could wear these pretty slippers. In this picture you can see Echo's normal feet next to her bound feet. The beauty here is that my dolls' feet can be interchanged back and forth from small to normal just like a pair of shoes, while the real women didn't have that opportunity.
This particular pair was inspired by a real shoe, which in fact is very unique. It's a lotus-style shoe for a bound foot, that sits on a Manchu-style platform. And the Manchu women did not bind their feet. I'll post a picture of it soon and tell you more about my source once I experiment some more with these. I'll post the pictures of the feet once I make another pair and work out the painting style for them.I am considering making a pair of interchangeable lotus feet and shoes available for resin dolls. In fact, Echo will be the first costumed edition to be released. I don't have a price point for this costumed doll yet, as the project is still in the early stages. She will have to undergo some changes to address the incredible complexity of her present hair style, but the costume will remain the same. This is one of the things I'm working out now. And I'm very excited about it.
Here are seven more runners up in no particular order. Including the winner and the second and third entries, there are 10 favorite gifts all together. I really didn't know when to stop choosing favorite entries, I wanted to include them all on this list, but I realize that editing was really necessary. There are so many more that I love for different reasons, but here are some of the reasons I love these entries.Enchanted Doll Rag Doll, inspired by Lily.
I made dozens of little rag dolls when I was a kid, but never one as big as this one. It's so playable. Perhaps I'll make a costume for Raglily one day. Thanks, Andrew!Concubine inspired, human scale costume. 
What can I say aside for pretty awesome? This was clearly a lot of work. And I can really appreciate time consuming, attention to detail oriented projects. The jewelry is mine, by everything was made by the contestant. Thank you, Eva!Little Bear
This petite, articulated bear stole my heart. I have never particularly liked stuffed toys, but I've grown really fond of this one, so much so, that I sleep with it on my pillow. I named him David Bowie, for some reason. I think it has a soul. Thank you, Sandra!Shadow box for Enchanted Doll
The craftsmanship is very pro. I love containers of all kinds, and this one is museum quality. Interchangeable inserts were provided, which allows me to keep my own, precious collection of Enchanted Dolls in there, under the glass. Four dolls can easily fit in side by side. Right now, I keep my first 4 resin prototypes in there. It looks, oh so nice. Thank you, Jayne!Almost edible, miniature cake
This little cake is so delicious and realistic-looking, that I almost ate it. Explaining this to the paramedics would have been awkward. It is embellished with Enchanted Doll imagery and decorative elements: logo, tattoo, bows, bead embroidery and a Lotita fan that says happy birthday Marina! Very, very intricate work. Thank you, Kelly!Little Rubber Stamps
I like this project because carving is not easy, and this contestant has managed to carve very small, soft rubber blocks with a surprising amount of detail. The application of the idea is interesting and creative. These inspired me to create a secondary Enchanted Doll logo. And now Chad is going a little crazy and stamping them on everything in sight. sigh..So, thank you for that, Trish. No, seriously, thank you.A poem about being an Enchanted Doll collector
This poem provides an interesting insight into the emotions of an Enchanted Doll admirer/fan/owner. I get so wrapped up in the demands of the creative aspect of Enchanted Doll, that sometimes I loose touch with the feelings of those who end up owning my work. At times of prolonged detachment, this poem will remind me to work even harder to make even more beautiful dolls for you, Enchanted Doll lovers. Thank you, Els!Thank you all: those who made it in the top 10 and those who didn't. I love it that you took the time to make things. Thank you!
Well, I am happy to announce that the 2010 Enchanted Doll birthday contest has finally come to a close!Thank you so much to all the participants for your hard work. I've received many thoughtful and artful gifts-entries and many touching birthday wishes. Thank you all.Choosing a winner has proven to be much more challenging that I ever thought it would be, especially since my decision was complicated by the fact the the entries were not limited by any specific theme or medium, but rather an assortment of all kinds of creativity. They could not be judged by a clear cut, unified criteria or a grading scale, because they were all beautiful and unique each in its own way.The reason I specifically did not impose a general theme to follow for the participants, was because I wanted to keep this competition open to all kinds of talent. I wanted to give everybody an opportunity to win by doing what they are good at. This, however, severely complicated my task of choosing a winner, to the point where I began to panic that I could not make a decision.I judged the entries based not only on technical ability, originality, composition, complexity and beauty, but also on the wholeness of artistic presentation and the concept behind the work and most of all- the intensity of my emotional response to each piece. After all, provoking an emotional response is the essence of art. In the end, I thought my head would explode. I first chose 10 of the best entries based on the quality and execution, then narrowed those down to 3 favorites and then let my senses decide which one spoke to my heart the most. Still, it was one of the hardest decisions I ever had to make.And this is what it chose:Ladies and gentlemen, presenting 3rd place entry by Paula F. from Poland
I chose this entry for the 3rd place because the work and the concepts of this very young artist deeply resonated with my own, and even though they are inspired by Enchanted Dolls, they are not directly borrowing from them. Despite of appealing to my language of expression through her use of textile and embroidery art, her own voice is very present in this work. Congratulations Paula, you've won a pair of sterling silver shoes. Thank you for participating.The 2nd place goes to Monika V, from Australia. 
For her entry she painted me a series of 9 stunning paintings of Enchanted Dolls. The sheer volume and intricacy of work blew me away and one can see what a commitment of time and energy this was. The technique and skill are very advanced, while the decorative aspect is very well articulated. These paintings must have have been a joy to paint and they are certainly a joy to look at. Congratulations Monika, you've won a bronze crown. Thank you for taking part in this contest.And now, finally, the 1st place entry and the winner of porcelain nude doll Pearl......goes to Amarilli A, from Italy!
I love the stylistic reference to the religious art of the late middle ages in this oil painting. The combination of slight inconsistencies in linear perspective in the composition, the color palette, gold leafing and even the greenish undertones of the skin are very characteristic of the painting methods of that time period, and yet there is a contemporary air to it. The presentation of the painting on the piece of ornate brocade fabric to resemble a tapestry is the final touch that ties it all together. This artist has painted her daughter as an Enchanted Doll and included many elements that I am fond of, such as historical references, bejeweled metal head dress, Gothic architecture, rich textiles and lampwork beads, all without directly borrowing from any Enchanted Dolls. Congratulations Amarilli, you've won an Enchanted Doll.Thank you all for taking part in this year's birthday contest. I encourage everyone to try again next year. Once you see the rest of the gifts displayed on my website tomorrow, it will give you a good idea of your competition and hopefully inspire you to practice and create all year round in your 'training' runs for the next year's contest.Finally, I would like to thank my dad for managing the incoming gift packages and putting up with being constantly woken up by early morning delivery couriers, and of course my dear Chadasaurus for taking care of the logistical aspect of the contest like handling, organizing, documenting and displaying the entries and recycling loads and loads of cardboard. This wouldn't be possibly without you.The winning participants should receive their prizes in the mail in the second half of April. The rest of the entries will be announced tomorrow. Seven more runners up will be announced and will also receive a small gift from me for entering.This concludes the 2010 Enchanted Doll birthday contest. I look forward to next year.
Chad and I are working really hard at putting up the gallery of all contest entries, but we are running a little behind schedule. I've narrowed down 5 runner ups and now deciding on the winner. Despite the delay, we should still have everything finalized, organized, displayed and announced tonight. We're not going to sleep until then.Thanks for your patience. The 2010 contest is almost over! Results coming shortly.
...Is not as quick as I'd like it to be since I'm concentrating most of my efforts now on creating new dolls for the solo show in Berlin, and managing the inflow of entries for the Enchanted Doll birthday contest. For reasons already covered we were forced to move the entry deadline from the 13th to the 16th, which is tomorrow, and on Friday the 19th I will announce the winner of the contest.I haven't had time to test out my new airbrush yet as I'm still learning about it, but I can't wait to put it to use and will show results when I have them. And did I ever mention that I'm having brand new boxes made for this line? I seem to remember mentioning something about their awesomeness... The first design went to the factory for proofing on correction last week and we hope the the full production will begin as soon as next week. I'm contemplating showing you the lid designs now, but my sixth sense is telling me to wait on that. You might have read in Doll Reader article that Nati is involved in this project.Anyway. The wheels are turning on the Resin doll line, and there ain't no stopping now. Things are looking very exciting at the Enchatned Doll studio! More information to be revealed soon.The wait list for resin doll is still open, so if you haven't signed up yet for the first release or Resin ED, please email me.
The deadline for the Enchanted Doll Contest has been pushed back to March 16th, to allow for the entries that got delayed by the Olympics (Canada Post put all packages coming to Vancouver under extra scrutiny the past few weeks) and other shipping problems.  With the cut-off deadline being pushed back to the 16th, the announcing of the winner won't be until the 19th.I have started going through some of the entries and you guys aren't making it easy on me to pick a winner.  So much incredible work already, I'm having Chad document everything so that it can all be seen on the site (if anyone had anything that they didn't want posted on the site, entry/description/name, let me know in an email at contests@enchanteddoll.com)
Yey, here is the cover of the April issue of Doll Reader Magazine. Isn't she pretty? There is also a spread on developing my resin line in the magazine.That's so awesome that the very first resin doll i make also ends up on a magazine cover! I usually spend so much time painstakingly setting up every single shot and framing and composing, but this photo was taken so spontaneously and quickly that I probably spent a total of 2.5 minutes on it. And it turned out beautifully and even made a cover. I realize that there must be some sort of choosing criteria or politics that determine what makes the cover and what doesn't, but it still reminds me that sometimes the best thing to do is just relax and let creative flow take its course instead of forcefully and agonizingly pulling 'brilliant' ideas out of your brain like wisdom teeth, in search for that perfect solution. Sometimes the perfect solution is the first thing that comes to your mind.Which, in turn reminds me that I should probably go with my first instinct on the Cosmos Exploratum project. I feel like I've been going in circles with that one.I'm slowly working on more resin prototypes and will be posting new updates soon. Right now I'm splitting my time between creating a new body of work for my upcoming solo show in Berlin and organizing the resin line production. I'll keep you posted on the progress.Anyway. Pick up a copy of the April issue of Doll Reader so that you have something I can sign next time we meet. I'll wear my big sunglasses, and Chad will wear a dark suit and an ear piece. Also sunglasses.
So guys, I think that I finally finished that mask I had in my drawer for almost a year. It was modeled by a doll in my solo show at Villa Terrace museum last year, but it was acutally an unfinished project and that's why I hadn't put it up in the galleries yet. In this shot Sapphire is modeling the mask because I am still making the doll. She will be officially unveiled sometime next month.The mask ornament is heavily inspired by the Bronze Age death masks in which people of status and wealth were buried. It was also inspired by the art of ancient Aztecs. It's carved in wax, cast in bronze and gold plated with 24 k gold. The mask is decorated with Rubies, Pink Tourmaline, Opals, dyed shell and glass beads.More pictures of this doll is coming soon.
Speaking of accessories: With the Olympics over, I had finally been able to get some castings of my shoe orders done. I was trying different color ribbon combinations for fun. I'm very pleased with how they look. I'll continue the experiments when I get the next batch of shoes cast.
This is an old doodle from my Emily Carr days. During particularly boring periods of three hour long lectures in a semi-dark auditorium with a hundred and fifty other students scribbling notes around me, I would get distracted and start drawing random things. I'm sure many of my other fellow students did the very same thing.At the time this sketch was made, I have not made a single porcelain doll, but my mind was heavily preoccupied with planning of how to go about making them: what I had to do, what I had to learn, what equipment I had to buy, what my dolls should look like- stuff like that. For several months I just thought and thought and thought about it and sketched my thoughts out. These sketches appear to be dealing with doll's accessories.Oh, what a titillatingly uncertain and intimidating time of my life it was! I think most of young, fresh-out-of-high-school art students are terrified all throughout art school, because as they progress with their degree, they begin to realize that they are not being trained for any specific trade. While an accountant student became an accountant after school and a medical student became a doctor, an art student is a very confused creature in a very confusing situation because they don't get a straightforward, this-is-what-you-will-be-doing-until-you-retire career training. Which in retrospect, is not such a bad thing. The feelings of incompetence and uselessness haunts most of art students at one point or another through their schooling. In 2nd and 3rd years most of us began to wonder why we're paying so much money for a useless degree and how the hell are we going to survive.This acute uncertainty and fear of the future is the most vivid memory I have from my art school years. It was a very powerful, if hellish experience which I'm grateful for and which I probably wouldn't choose to go through again. Well, maybe. If I had decided to go back and do a 2-3 year master's degree at this point in my life, I probably would have a very different and a much more enjoyable and productive time in school than I did the first time around, because I wouldn't have the element of fear of the future and lack of security. My career path is fairly determined and I think I would concentrate more on refining my creative thought, than trying to desperately devise a way to survive after I graduate. I've already been through all that.Ultimately, an art degree is not useless. Its usefulness is like art itself- subjective and dependent on how much effort you put in it. Today, thinking back to those desperate, fear-filled days brings a smile to my face and a light pang of nostalgia to my heart. I learned more than I ever thought I did. I am still only beginning to realize the full scope of what my seemingly-useless-at-the- time-art-education had given me.Please feel free to write me and share your post secondary education experience. I would love to hear it.
This is the best Christmas ever!Uhm, I mean Birthday- it's the best Birthday ever! Feels like Christmas though, since I've never gotten so many birthday gifts.I wasn't going to open the entries until the contest deadline of March 13th, but then I thought about it and realized that we would never be able to process, document, judge and display all the gifts on the website in only three days! Therefore, I had decided to begin opening them now, 2-3 gifts a day so as to not get totally overwhelmed when it comes time to choose the winner. Yeah, sure it would have been awesome to open them all on my birthday, but I don't think it would be fair to contestants because I wouldn't have time to do it properly all in one day. So, my birthday came early this year and will last for two weeks as I open new surprises every day.The gifts are beautiful. I'm loving them all, but I'm already wondering what I've gotten myself into, because I will somehow have to choose the best one......it will be a very, very tough call. I almost wish I hadn't started the contest just so that I wouldn't be in this position of having to choose only one winner out of so many fantastic entries.My 28th birthday continues....best birthday ever!
All month I've been doing interviews for different media outlets, but mostly glossy magazines about fashion and pop culture. My brain is a bit fried from all the writing and talking about my work because the interview questions get a little repetitive after a while. Some of them have come out already in winter issues, while others are coming out later in the spring. This trendy Ukrainian EGO magazine from Kiev, printed the longest spread on my work so far. It's 10.5 pages long. Woo-ho.Most of these upcoming magazines are European, but a couple of them from the States. My resin doll Clymenestra got a cover of April's issue of Doll Reader magazine with a spread about my upcoming resin line. I've requested a preview of the cover from the editor, but they are still thinking about it, I guess, since they apparently don't usually pre-release those to the public. I hope they will make an exception for me and I can post a preview here. I'm pretty excited about it as it will be my 7th cover of a printed publication. One day I'll frame them all and hang them up on the walls of my studio. I'll wait until I have an even number of covers. And enough wall space.The entire Enchanted Doll spread in EGO magazine can be found in my Published Work section and CV. I haven't put the text up yet. It's in Russian.
European magazines are so much more liberal than North American publications. I love it.
Pencil sketch of the Enchanted Doll logo. I've since inked the drawing and passed it on to Chad for digital processig. The purpose of this logo shall remain a secret for now, but soon you will find out what it's for. You will have to trust me that it's something really cool. Soon.....
My beloved Lolita's outfit is finally on ebay. The auction has started today on February 21st and will go on for seven days, ending on Sunday, February 28th.The outfit includes eight pieces.1) Sterling Silver Corset with 24k goldplate2) Sterling silver bra with 24 k goldplate3) Bronze Stilettos with 24 goldplate4) 100% poly Stockings with hand stitched floral design.5) Detachable Garter straps6) White slip with Ruffles7) French Fan with 24k gold beads, peals and appliqué embroidery.8 ) Cubic Zirconium and Austrian crystal Hair bandThe starting price is $2,320.00 USD (Two thousand, three hundred and twenty US dollars). Here is the link to the ebay page.Please let me know if you have any questions about the auctions.
"Under the sea, under the sea-a-a....While we're devoting full time to floatingunder the sea-a-a-a."Disclaimer: Porcelain doesn't float and Enchanted Dolls should not be immersed in a sea, or any kind of body of water.:)
Aren't they beautiful?I've coveted an airbrush for years, but was always intimidated by the sheer coolness and sleekness of this little high-tech tool.I love tools because they provide my hands and imagination with a vehicle for expressing my ideas and realizing my dreams. I never hesitate to purchase equipment which will increase the efficiency and quality of my work, because I consider it a worthy investment in my career. So, understandably, I've become a bit of a tool junkie.The only reason I didn't already own an airbrush, despite wanting it for years, is because I couldn't justify the spending of significant funds, nor the time commitment it would require, on a tool that didn't really have a practical use in my doll-making methods. No matter how much I wanted it to, an airbrush just wasn't suited for my application and I really had no interest in using it for anything but dolls.Well, all that changed when resin Enchanted Dolls came into the picture and brought a necessity to expand my painting methods and techniques. Now, an airbrush is no longer an expensive novelty, but a necessary and a valuable tool in achieving my new creative goals. At least that's my hope. I hope it's everything it want it to be, because that neat little set up over there, cost me almost as much as one of my ceramic kilns. I've never actually tried airbrushing and don't even know if I'll like it.Yep, I may have just wasted a bunch of valuable resources, but it won't be the first nor the last time I do that in pursuit of a vision. I'm sure I'll get the hang of it as I go....and if I fail.....oh well....life's full of risks.After all, what are the options - not trying?
Chad shot a series of photos of me finishing the first prototypes of the resin parts. It was very different, new process to me as I was familiarizing myself with the new medium. It's not very rational, but somehow I felt overcome by guilt over working with resin, as if I was cheating on porcelain. And as I worked, I kept gazing over at my kilns and my porcelain cleaning tools with longing and tenderness, anticipating the moment when i could start another porcelain doll.At one point I caught myself nostalgically recalling all the endless, mentally straining and incredibly repetitive cleaning sessions of porcelain parts, and those memories were all in slow motion, with soft focus glow and a romantic soundtrack in the background. The very things I hate the most about porcelain process, seemed attractive and pleasant just because they were old, familiar and comfortable friends to me. I'm such a creature of habit. I realized that I was suffering a little bit of separation anxiety and some nervousness in the face of a new creative adventure.
I did a lot of drilling to expand the inside cavities for springs and even some seam line sanding, even though parts came mostly finished. Porcelain, when sanded in proper set up doesn't create any dust, nor should it ever be allowed to create dust because it will give you lung cancer. This was different with resin, as these resin parts created a lot of toxic dust, which really freaked me out a lot. Today I ordered a special, industrial dust extraction system for work with resin as well as other sanding and drilling applications. I've wanted to have one installed for 3 years now for my jewelry work, and I finally ran out of excuses to not do it. Our health is our most valuable commodity, and a few thousand dollars is a cheap price to pay for not getting lung cancer. So, today I'm happy for my lungs.
I never take safety regulations for granted anymore and always observe work safe rules, even it seems excessive at times. Accidents happen when you're sloppy, distracted or when you're too confident in your abilities and think you're above mistakes. I've been all of the above at one point or a another, and luckily, suffered only minor injuries and learned to be my own rigorous safety technician. I want to keep all my eyes and fingers intact for as long as I can, to make the most beautiful dolls the world has ever seen. My health is my most valuable commodity.
These are all the process pictures for now. I will be doing more documentation of the resin line, so, stay tuned.
