The Birth of Ruby- Greenware Cleaning

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Soft-fired doll parts have been laid out in front of me for quite some time now and my desk is all set up for cleaning.

Water bucket - check, sanding sponges - check, an assortment of various tools - also check. Still, I sit there, eyeing the parts through squinted eyes like they are my mortal enemies, challenging them to either get the hell out of my sight or clean themselves for once. I catch myself sighing with resignation for the fourth time as I anticipate the mind-numbing repetitiveness and inevitable length of the upcoming cleaning session, pick up a tiny hand and place it in the hot water. I procrastinate some more by watching a stream of air-bubbles emerge from it as sinks and think of how I always start with a hand for some reason. What a creature of habit.

This is the one stage of the doll-making process I really don't ever look forward to. It's difficult, draining and worst of all, boring. This is the only stage I would eliminate if I could, and nothing else, but, it's also the main reason why Enchanted Dolls have such a glowing, silky complexion, so I have to work myself up to it almost every single time. As usual, every cell in my body whines at me about not wanting to do this, and there are times when my discipline disintegrates during a particularly nasty case of Aversiontoworkanitis.'

Perhaps I should check my email real quick before I start on these parts,' I think to myself: 'And then it's probably a good idea to get a snack. I do feel a little tired. I know it's only one past noon, but, maybe I'll just rest my eyes for just a few minutes to get refreshed, or even catch an episode of Dexter....yea, that's what I'll do and then, and then I'll totally start working right away.'

I steal a sly look at the doll parts on the desk, as if I had just outsmarted them, and make my way straight to the bedroom, deciding to skip the email and the snack after all, knowing deep down that I ain't working today no more

.Tomorrow I will, no doubt regret this self-indulgence and will have to play catch up, but tomorrow is tomorrow. Today I need a nap.

The birth of Ruby - The fire

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The rhythmic clicks of relay switches worm their way into my subconsciousness as I stare distractedly through the rain, into the yellow wetness of the trees, pliers in my hand. A glistening Maple leaf sticks momentarily to the wet glass like a little fire beacon, before being carried away again. I follow its flight trajectory with my eyes until it's gone, mentally counting the frequency of clicks behind me; one, pause, two, pause, three, pause..., then, reluctantly tear myself away from the hypnotic rain patter outside and turn my head towards the clicking machine.

Red numbers flash on the digital display, continuously updating me with the current conditions inside its chamber. Casually, and mostly out of habit I scan the updates and then dismiss them from my mind, returning my attention to the work at hand and my liquid thoughts.

At art school I absolutely hated kilns and never wanted to own one, because our ceramics department had only manual kilns that needed constant attention. The temperature required to be manually increased every 2 or so hours, and someone from the class had to hang around campus all day just to do that. I loathed the awful inconvenience of it.... but to be fair, I wasn't really motivated by the curriculum or my own work enough to be bothered with the whole kiln attendance thing. I swear, I spent most of my art school experience resenting everything and being constantly annoyed. I didn't really appreciate how far my education would take me in the long run. I especially hated ceramics classes and their manual kilns.

Turning again to look appreciatively at my clicking, blinking digital kilns in the dark corner of the studio, I wonder with slight bewilderment how I got to this point in my life. Not just owning the once hated kilns, but also the whole deal of being an artist. If someone had told me back then what would be, I would have laughed in their face with disdain. Disillusioned and confused by art education,

 I really didn't see any art future for myself, and wondered desperately what I would do with my life, my impractical art degree and my seemingly pointless skills after graduation.

It suddenly occurs to me how very much like microwaves my digital kilns are: load the parts, close the lid, program firing sequence into the computer and press start, only instead of a lunch, you get a doll. Well, maybe it's not quite that simple...but the thought amuses me as I work.

Ruby is firing. Hours go by, the studio gets darker, relays click away with reassuring regularity, fading in and out of my subconsciousness and measuring the passing of the gloomy afternoon in their electronic way; one, pause, two, pause, three, pause....   Then, replaced by random thoughts, they fade from my mind again.

The Birth of Ruby - Casting

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This isn't a tutorial, just a loose documentation of the process that every porcelain Enchanted Doll undergoes to become truly enchanted. And porcelain. Through a stream of consciousness I'll try to explain the way the process makes me feel when I'm engaged in it, in hopes that it will convey the mental state behind the work.Casting is pretty technical, but still the easiest part of the process. Most of the session is executed through pure muscle memory: my motions are rehearsed, mechanical, fluid and efficient. It's like meditation: all problems and mental anxieties are deliberately moved aside, my mind is almost at rest, calm, collected, relaxed, yet acutely self aware, while my hands are executing a delicate dance of the molds and the scalpel.

I hardly even think about what my movements are any more; I know exactly what I'm doing and my hands lead they way. Focusing on my work causes a simultaneous detachment from it. The trance. Knowing how to cast porcelain slip is a small achievement in life, but knowing it gives me the ability to manipulate this medium into the forms of my desire. I feel in control, in my element. Everything goes according to plan, my plan.

By now I'm so attuned to the process, that any irregularity which may signal trouble is felt instinctively through subtle changes in its mechanics, such as small fluctuations in the weight of the molds, the handling of the slip, the particular way in which the scalpel slices through wet porcelain. All of these little things talk to me and I understand the language of the medium and respond to its needs accordingly, almost entirely on autopilot. When I feel myself curiously detached from what I'm doing, I know I've gone into the Flow-and the Flow is the nirvana of work, a higher state of being.

Taking out the parts is just as automated as casting, but the head, and more so the hands, require I switch off the autopilot and put my mind back in manual. Separating the fingers is a delicate and tricky work that produces different results every time. The face requires post casting touch ups as well and demands full concentration.

Cleaning up is a ritual that puts a physical and symbolic closure to each casting session. The clean up is as rehearsed and automatic as the casting, but as I methodically wash my desk and my tools and my hands, my mind is refreshed and my thought process is restructured as I emerge out of the casting-induced trance.

The last thing I do is rub some lotion on my hands to counter the dehydrating effects of porcelain slip, and as I do that, I can feel my constant companions, the daily anxieties of an artist return to me.

 

Enchanted Doll nude going on ebay soon

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Dear Enchanted Doll Fans:

My Christmas gift to you this year is not only the launch of that elusive resin line, but also an ebay auction of a Porcelain nude doll!

It's been almost a year since my last ebay auction, and I thought that perhaps it's time to hold another one for my poster girl Ruby. It's been a long time since I had made a Ruby, but she is one of my most beloved dolls and I really look forward to working on her again. I'm casting the parts today and plan to work around the clock in order to hold the auction around November 25th. That way she can arrive to her new owner just in time for Christmas. Gift wrapped and everything.

I'll be posting shots of Ruby at every stage of the process as she progresses towards completion, so that you can get acquainted with her as she is born.

Bronze clad girls

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I have a special fondness for bronze cast pieces. These are the dolls from my own collection, wearing their bronze crowns. I'm going to add my favorite crow helmet to it soon. I like to keep a prototype of everything I make (when possible)in my own collection, so as to assemble a decent Enchanted Doll traveling exhibition sometime down the road. One of a a kind costumed pieces are impossible to reproduce of course, as replicating something that takes months to create would drive me insane, but that's what makes them so special after all.

I think that the snow flake crown looks better when combined with this Sulamith Wulfing-inspired, printed 'peasant' dress. It makes it look even more Russian. Yeah, I think I'll keep her just like this.

Back to the studio

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Finally my autumn travels, otherwise known as Time Zone Hopping, are over. We went through 5 different time zones in less than three weeks, and by the time we got home, I was very confused as to where or when I was. It took me a week to sleep off the  the worst jet leg I've ever had, and when I finally woke up, I was very happy that it was not at yet another airport.

Highlights of the trip are: Louis Vuitton runway show in Paris, Doll Expo visit in Moscow and a meeting with Nick Knight at Show

Studio in London about a super exciting future collaboration project. It was a very exhausting, but prolific trip.

I won't bore you with my traveling photos here, though if you're interested, you can always check them out on flickr. I'm getting ready for the arrival of the first resin parts this week, as I can't wait to begin working on the first Christmas batch. I'm nervous with anticipation and hope that everything will go smoothly. I'll be announcing all the detail pertaining to the Christmas sale within 1-3 weeks.

Now that I'm back, I should be posting regularly again. There are some new doll pics you might like to see in a couple of days.

Some ED resin dolls up close

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The face of Vega

Vega is a very bright star located in the constellation of Lyra only 25 light years from Earth. Fourteen thousand years ago it used to be our North Pole star and will be so again in another eleven thousand years. Meanwhile it's still one of the most brilliant stars in our night sky, captivating our imagination and inspiring a magical sense of wonder at the mysteries of the universe.

The face Andromeda

Andromeda is a captivatingly beautiful and mysterious, spiral galaxy approximately two and a half million light years from Earth. It was named after princess Andromeda from Greek mythology, who was also breathtakingly beautiful. The Andromeda Galaxy is approaching the Milky Way Galaxy at around 140 km per second and is expected to collide with us in approximately 4.5 billion years, perhaps creating a new, elliptical galaxy. Maybe then we will discover some of the secrets it hides within its luminous haze.

The face of CassiopeiaIn

Greek Mythology Queen Cassiopeia was Andromeda's mother. She was a vain and proud woman who boasted of her striking beauty, earning herself the wrath of the gods. Today, Cassiopeia is a constellation of the northern sky, whose distinct W shape dominates the skies with her presence and like a beautiful queen, commands the admiration of all who gaze at her.

More new resin dolls coming in December.

The long road to Sulamith Wulfing

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This is just a little something from my doll closet. It's Sapphire wearing an extra casting of the two-horned helmet. Did I mention that this helmet was inspired by my beloved artist Sulamith Wulfing?

This one appears to be one of her earlier drawings from when she was only 27 years old, practically the same age as me. I'm 28.I've always loved this particular drawing not just for its haunting beauty, but because it contains the stylistic characteristics of both her earlier, as well as her later work; it captures the gradual transition between styles, like a still frame of her creative process and represents a moment in time when   Sulamith's distict and unique style was beginning to truly establish and solidify itself into its mature form.

I value this little drawing because it's like a nostalgic, Polaroid snap shot of Sulamith's Wulfing search for her creative identity and her own creative language of symbols with which to express her fantastical inner world.

One day I hope to make a spiritual pilgrimage to her home in Germany, to experience for myself the place where she had lived, worked and died, and to be close to her original paintings, which are still hanging on the walls of her house. I hope that I may see the original of this drawing as well.

I still have to find out where exactly her home is located. All I know is that it's in the Eilberfeld disctict of Wuppertal, on the slope above river Gelpe. Her address is not exactly advertised. Google Maps tells me that there is a street named Sulamith-Wulfing Strasse in the city, but I'm not sure if that's in the same place as her home.  If I can't find it, then I'm fully prepared to just go to Wuppertal and wonder around town asking strangers if they know where Sulamith Wulfing's house is. I'm sure I'll get a lead eventually.

Perhaps one among you, my dear readers, may have visited the house of this amazing aritst and knows where and how it can be visited? I would appreciate any help in finding my way to Sulamith Wulfing-the source of my inspiration.

Enchanted Doll tins purchasing information

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I'm pleased to announce that the Enchanted Doll tins have finally arrived and are now available for purchase!

It took four of us just over an hour to unload an entire container of these, but the next day I was sore all over and covered in bruises. A big thank you to our helpers- we would have there all day without you, and I would have been even more bruised.

Those of you who are interested in owning one or several of these beautiful tins can now place your order by emailing us at inquiries@enchanteddoll.com with the text "ED tin order" in the subject line.

Chad and I are leaving on October 2nd and will be gone most of month, so we only have two weeks to take and mail out your box orders before we go. We'll do as many as we can manage, but feel free to place your requests while we're away and we can process and ship them out once we return in late October/ early November.

Boxes are $49.00 CND each. Shipping will be quoted to your specific location and will depend on the number of boxes you want. If you are a Canadian resident in another province there is a 5% tax depending on which province you are in exactly. No taxes for international orders. Shipping is world wide.

Feel free to email us with any questions about the boxes.

Enchanted Doll in NY fashion week!

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Attention Enchanted Doll fans of New York: My beautiful Silk Road doll is continuing her tour of the USA. After debuting in Seattle's Artful Henna show in August, she's gone on to New York city to be exhibited at the Red Bull Space in the SoHo district during New York fashion week!

I had decided to change her short cropped hair style to long, blond locks and in the spirit of fashion, gave her a pair of Bronze stilettos to fit in with the the runway models.

Chad and I almost flew to New York for the weekend to attend the event ourselves, but then we found that Canada Customs is about to release the entire container of new ED tin boxes any day, which means we have to be here to receive and unload the shipment at our warehouse storage with only 24 hours notice. Timing was bad.

But that's ok, because there are talks of doing an Enchanted Doll exhibition in NY in 2011 or 2012.

Meanwhile, the Beauty had sold. I couldn't decide whether to be happy or sad about that. Although I have a very strict policy of not getting attached to my work, I did grow very fond of her. I hope to see her one last time in London this fall before she leaves forever.

New Enchanted Doll packaging is here!

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I love containers. I love organizing, containing and compartmentalizing things, not just possessions, but the world. Everything has to be sorted, arranged, grouped, classified and put in its own little box or drawer somewhere in my mind and in my home. But there can't be too many things in the boxes, because then life gets cluttered. When I get something new, I always throw away two of something old, to keep things light and manageable in my drawers. Now, I'm not a psychiatrist, but I think this might indicate some subconscious control issues. But anyway.

I've always had a soft spot for apothecary chests and tin boxes. In my compulsive need to control and organize everything in my life, I'm always drawn to elegant organizing solutions, and ever since the inception of Enchanted Doll in 2004, I've been dreaming about creating very elegant, fancy packaging for the elegant Enchanted Dolls. For a long time, it was impossible, but with the impending release of my new resin line I realized that the time had come.

And finally, I have it! Introducing the new Enchanted Doll tin with 3 custom designs in a beautiful matte finish, and a form fitting foam insert. But the best part of it is, aside from being included with a doll order, you can buy as many as you want separately to store your other ED dolls and goodies in them, such as clothes, accessories, wigs and even things unrelated to dolls, such as cookies. Mmm...coooookies.

They are so beautiful, that I already appropriated several of them for storage of my selection of finest, custom mohair strands, my paints and my ongoing sewing and beading projects. I'm in compartmentalizing heaven!

I also like the fact that the padding can be easily pulled out and two dolls can fit in the box. That will help me a lot when I travel with them, as I'm always desperate for suitcase space. But ideally of course, every doll should have its own box for maximum protection during storage and transportation.

The designs featured on the boxes were commissioned from Nati and Lost fish and I'm grateful to them both for their beautiful contribution to Enchanted Doll. I did the ED logos for two of the designs and my dear Chadasaurus did digital layout and formatting of the prints. It was a joint effort that took nearly a year of work and I would like to thank everyone involved in this project.

I'll be posting more pictures shortly. These ones didn't turn out very well in the poor lighting.

Each box will retail at $49.00 CND+shipping. If you're in Canada, then there is also a 12% tax.

By the way, that doll in the middle box is the birthday 2010 prize doll, ready to be shipped out to the 1st place winner in its new beautiful box.

Beauty and the Beast, or the Stockholm syndrome in fairy tales.

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Beauty and the Beast, or the Stockholm syndrome in fairy tales.2010The Stockholm syndrome is a human defense mechanism in life-threatening situations. Medical dictionaries define Stockholm syndrome as an extraordinary phenomenon in which a hostage begins to identify with and grow sympathetic to their captor, essentially mistaking a lack of abuse as an act of kindness.

In my opinion, the fairy tale of Beauty and the Beast is a romanticized hostage situation, where the Beast is a narcissistic sociopath, while the Beauty is his vulnerable hostage who is losing touch with reality and falling in love with her captor to survive a deeply traumatizing ordeal.

Moreover, the very act of romanticizing a fundamentally disturbing account of a woman’s abduction, subjugation and unlawful imprisonment into a pretty fairy tale to teach girls compassion and kindness towards monsters, seems to be a manifestation of a Stockhom syndrome in itself, perhaps to facilitate survivial in a world of systematic abuse and violence against women.

Materials and Construction:

Ball jointed, porcelain doll, unique steel spring articulation, permanent China paint finish, hand cast limited edition Sterling Silver helmet with one of a kind accents of Bali silver, detachable French bridal veil with Swarowsky and Cubic Zirconium crystals, hand cast Sterling Silver stilettos, Grey Moonstone cabochon pendant, Bali silver accessories, floral motif engraving on arms and abdomen inspired by William Morris print, removable magnetic wig of ultra-fine natural Mohair, genuine leather lining in the joints and a custom welded steel stand.

Available for sale at the SHOWstudio gallery in London.

Beauty helmet work in progress

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This is my little modeling head. I design and carve my wax models for metal casting on her. She was supposed to become a beautiful doll 2 years ago, but I dropped the head just as I was about to put the last spring through her, and it fell right on the steel hammer under my desk and shattered. Then I cried, because she was about 3 seconds away from being complete. This is the only time I've ever broken a doll during assembly. And now she lives on as my head prototype..

Back to the present. This helmet was inspired by an illustration of my beloved artist Sulamith Wulfing. I've been wanting to make it for a long time, but kept getting diverted away from it by other commitments. And now I feel a sort of creative pressure relief after having released something I've been suppressing for months. I was just about ready to explode there. Feels good.

The ivy tattoes on Beauty's arms and abdomen are directly inspired by another favorite artist of mine, who was a very influential figure in the birth of modern design, William Morris. Although his influence is always present in my work indirectly, it takes a very direct form on the body of Beauty. I'm usually not a big fan of sleeve tattoos, but I wanted to push the boundaries of my discomfort zone and experiment with the concept to create elegant and delicate wrap around designs that would look feminine and soft on her slender arms.

Engraving this tattoo has challenged all my previously established notions of intricacy when it comes to doll tattooing. The leafs especially, were driving me crazy.

Her veil is very soft French Bridal lace with tiny Swarowsky and cubic zirconium crystals attached to it for sparkle. I love overindulging in ornamentation and it was very difficult for me to resist draping the veil in beads and pearls from top to bottom. But I was trying to create the impression of lightness and mystique with this doll, and over-beading the veil was weighing her down visually and destroying its subtle elegance and grace. So, I limited myself to attaching the tiny crystals for a light, shimmering effect only. It was tough though.

Well, Beauty and the Beast should be in London on Monday. Unfortunatly I won't make it to the opening as I still have some things to do in the studio before I leave for Europe again, but I will be stopping by London sometime in mid October.

I have more pictures of her to show, but I'm pacing myself. More coming tomorrow.

New doll-Beauty and the Beast.

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bandbThis is what I've been up to lately: working on this new doll for the group show in London at the Show Studio gallery. The exhibition "In Wolf's Clothing" will open on September 9th and will run throughout the London fashion week and until the end of October.The gargoyle in the shot for composition purpose only. It doesn't come with the doll and I didn't make it. It's a bookend by Windstone, that I grabbed off my bookshelf as I roamed my place in search of fresh photo props. It worked out perfectly. I don't know why I never noticed it before. It's like it was waiting for this specific doll to be made to suddenly come to my attention.I'll post more pictures of her within a day or two. Too tired now. Must sleep. So much exciting stuff is happening this month.....You'll see.

Enchanted Doll in a Louis Vuitton dress poses for LOVE Magazine

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lovepage3Well, I have some news about Enchanted Doll. It was supposed to be a great news which I was really looking forward to sharing and celebrating, but it has just turned sour for me.For a few months now I've been eagerly anticipating the August 2010 issue of the UK-based, avantgarde fashion magazine LOVE, because it was supposed to feature an Enchanted Doll modeling a dress by Louis Vuitton. This Enchanted Doll's name is Buela and she is in private collection. I was not only excited about Enchanted Doll being the face of Louis Vuitton, but also about it being shot by Mert and Marcus, which is amazing. But my joy has turned to disbelief and disappointment when the issue came out and I discovered that the magazine has not credited me for my work.Enchanted Doll brand is not mentioned in the feature, as if the creator of the doll is not important. They've taken my doll's identity away from her.lovepage2Imagine if a magazine photographed Barbie in a designer dress for commercial use in mass media, slapped a different name on her, such as I donno, Katie or Buela or whatever, and then left out the fact that this doll is Barbie by Mattel. How do you think Mattel would react to their product being used this way?I am upset and rather offended by this turn of events. The photograph was not taken by me and the doll is no longer in my possession, but she is still my intellectual property. I don't know how such a reputable magazine could do something like this and I intend to find out what happened. It might be just a very unfortunate mistake, but the damage is done.So, there you go. Enchatned Doll or possibly some other doll is modeling a Louis Vuitton dress for LOVE magazine.Hurray?

Meeting Camilla d'Errico

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camilla-and-iI met one of my favorite contemporary artists and fellow Vancouverite Camilla D'errico this week! I found out about her work when I was still in art school, and it's been inspiring me ever since.We've been planning to meet for some time, but our busy schedules kept getting in the way. We rarely seem to be in the same city at the same time. Finally, we went out for some gelato in Yale Town, Vancouver and talked for hours about art, dolls, Helmet Girls and True Blood. Apparently, she is also a fan of the show. I had a deadline to finish a wax model the next day, but I couldn't tear myself away-she is such an engaging and an easy-going girl. We seem to have a lot in common, her and I. And I was pleasantly surprised to find that she is my height! Well, a little bit taller, but it was so great to be the same eye level with somebody for once.I'm so happy to finally know the person behind the art.