and the Winner is....

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..................AMAL!

From the moment I saw this entry in the email inbox, I knew it was a contender. It encompassed everything that I hoped this contest would be, from the early brainstorming stages to the final presentation. I can see the process involved, yet it isn't overwhelming and excessive in it's information. She stuck to the contest outlines, and came up with a great entry. I look at them as a triptych, but really, it's the Doppelganger idea that is the true winning entry. It has this mysterious "how would that look in 3d" feel to it that keeps drawing me back to it, as if my mind is trying to solve the puzzle of how to make it. I love working out projects, and I sense that with this piece.

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The 7 runners up will receive special gifts from me, while the 2nd and 3rd entries will receive even more special gifts, but the grand prize of the nude doll goes to Amal for her beautiful, thoughtful, and challenging submission. The grand prize doll will be a variation of a Lily doll.

THANK YOU to everyone who entered, I loved all the entries. I've been going back and forth through them all day and I am still amazed at all the great ideas. Congratulations are in order for everyone, as you all came up with very creative ideas. I'm already looking forward to the 4th annual contest next year!

Once again, Congrats to Amal!

The top Three candidates to win a doll

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Valentine by KarolinFelix

I liked this one when I looked at it, but became really intrigued by the idea of a transparent filigree torso, once I read the proposal. This hadn't occurred to me before. I like how the artist addressed the practical issue of the fragility of porcelain given such a narrow waist, but proposing that it's made entirely of metal. I want to make this doll!

by AmalI love this project not as three separate entries, but as a triptych. They are most effective not separately, but together. The most intriguing is the idea of capturing the idea of time travel and non-linear perspective within one doll. I think It's a very challenging concept to address, and a very ambitions one to propose. I would love to see more cards in this series!

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amal

by MauraI adore this entry for the beautiful rendering of Anne Boleyn and the rendering of the idea of her being the mother to Queen Elizabeth the Great through a gorgeous tattoo. I particularly like the creative solution to the clothing vs tattoo conflict:

  one usually has to exist at the expense of the other, but in this piece both function together as a whole. The top ten candidates all displayed a completeness that I look for in the entries: An interesting, coherent idea, effectively articulated and combined with a beautiful presentation, originality and emotion. It was very hard to choose, and I wish I could  make twenty winners instead of just one, because there are many good proposals.

These are the top three that really speak to me, but who will be the winner?

I'll decide by midnight. That's all I've been doing all day. :)

Top Ten Candidates

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Cixi dress near completion

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I almost can't believe it: After two years of work and with only a few more weeks of embroidery left to go, Empress Cixi's extravagant robe is almost complete! This is a bad snapshot, though. But I was too impatient to set up the proper light kit for an unfinished piece.

Over the last two years, it required a ridiculous number of hours to embroider this mammoth; so many, that i lost count somewhere after six hundred. This is my Titanic.

I haven't began making the shoes yet; a pair of pretty Manchu slippers on tall pedestals. However, I've been having second thoughts about them lately. This is supposed to be her 'wedding' night robe when she became Xian Feng Emperor's concubine, and I'm beginning to think that the shoes would be almost inappropriate in this composition. But I do love making shoes just for the sake of making shoes....so...it's a tough call for me. Perhaps it could be some sort of a variation of high pedestal bed chamber slippers, I donno.....What do you think: shoes or no shoes?

Contest submission period has ended

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As my 29th birth day creeps closer and closer, Chad and I are sorting through hundreds of submissions for the 3rd annual Enchanted Doll birthday contest, where I give away a porcelain nude for the winning entry.

I'd like to thank everyone who participated this year. There are lots of fantastic ideas, some of which even corresponding with my own. In fact, one participant has guessed my current project, submitting an idea for a doll I'm already working on! This goes on to show, that there is no such a thing as completely original thought, only its interpretation, and that there are great many people of like minds, who think along similar lines.

I really enjoyed these year's entries. In a few days, all of them could be seen online. And now I will choose the winner!

The illustration in the banner is from an entry by Nigel.

Twenty To Midnight-upcoming London show

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Here are some preview shots of my new doll-Twenty To Midnight. She is going to a show in London at the end of this month.

Twenty To Midnight is a one of a kind tattooed doll, featuring a silver-plated, limited edition bronze casting of a hand carved Rococo wig sculpture. The wig is magnetic and removable, with one of a kind gemstone accents of 6 Pink Tourmalines and 2 Rubies.

Midnight's china face painting was loosely inspired by Audrey Kawasaki's beautiful girls.

Midnight's silver-plated, bronze slippers are accented with solitaire Rubies, glass beads and tiny bows.

The finished wig weighs only 119.1 grams, or 4.2 ounces and is relatively light compared to some of my other metal head ornaments, such a Sterling Snowflake crown or a Sterling Cathedral crown. I am immensely pleased with how it turned out, as I really didn't anticipate such a close fit to the contours of the head because of the shrinkage and inevitable warping of the model during molding and casting. The inside of the wig is lined with layers of soft leather to maximize the tightness of contact.

We are still working on the web gallery for Twenty To Midnight, but I'll post more photos and information for her on Monday or Tuesday.

Today I have to get her ready for shipment.

Concept sketch for London show doll

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This is a part of a concept sketch for her tattoo.

And this is a side view of the wig model.

I'm assembling the final pieces of the project today and hoping to finish shooting by Friday or Saturday. The carving of the wig and preparing it for molding took almost an entire week on non-interrupted work. It was hard on the eyes. On day five, around 10 in the evening my vision began to blur so much, that I could no longer see the texture properly. It's like, my body just said: "Ok, enough. You're crazy and I've had it. Efff this." So, I took a day off and drank a bottle of wine while watching Lord of the Rings again. And then R.E.D. Again. What a fun movie.

Anyway. Completion of Twenty To Midnight is pending. Then, the 2011 rules for the upcoming, annual Birthday Contest.

Upcoming Exhibition in London

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This New Year for Enchanted Doll begins with a group exhibition at the ShowStudio gallery in London UK, titled To Bed.

I'm contributing one doll to this show, which will include photography and video installations by various artists, including Andy Warhol's Sleep. I don't have the full list of participating artists yet, but I'll be posting more information about this exhibition. The show opens on January 26th.Above, is a snap shot of the new wax model for the show doll. She is in the last stages of completion, and I plan to finish her by the middle of next week. This piece, titled Twenty To Midnight is a nude, featuring a monochrome, one of a kind tattoo on her torso and thighs, the new Marie-Antoinette shoes and of course this fabulous, new ultra-limited edition head dress with one of a kind accents. I already have it cast and everything. Can't wait to show you.

I will post purchasing details next week, after I send her on her way and get some down time. In the meantime, I think I'll post a concept sketch for her tattoo in a day or two; as soon as I get around to scanning it.

For those who are not acquainted with this doll face yet, she is my wax-modeling head and not the doll which will be featured in this show. That one will be much better.

 

Holiday Fun on the lake

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Happy New Year!

Chad and I spent the remainder of the Old Year with two dozen of our old friends from high school and university, on a week-long vacation in the remote winter wonderland of British Columbian Interior. It was so cold! We ice skated on the frozen lake, played hockey, skied and I had lots of down time to lay around in the cozy log cabin, drink Baileys-spiked hot chocolate and read the Golden Compass. We celebrated the last moments of 2010 and the first minutes of 2011 by going out onto the dark, frozen expanse of the lake to watch the incredibly bright stars, have fireworks and drink champagne, which quickly froze in the -20°C. I saw 3 falling stars and made three wishes for the new year. It was wonderful!

I didn't make any dolls this week, but i did get to paint real people, when one night someone approached me with a box of face paint and a request to paint his face for fun. While I made him into a bunny-butterfly (a very dangerous and totally real creature), there formed a line up of others who wanted their face done. I spent the night painting my friends into bears, tigers, scarred pirates and other strange creatures. It was my work fix for the week and it was awesome!

Now I'm back and itching for some doll painting. Luckily there is never a shortage of projects around here and I've got lots of things planned and in progress. I've been keeping them a secret from you, but it's time I begin to reveal them one by one. There are some announcements coming up regarding shows, birthday contest, new dolls and other things- so stay tuned!

It will be a great year!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

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It's Christmas Eve, guys.

It's raining cats and dogs in Vancouver today, but somewhere else in the world it's a white and snowy winter wonderland. I miss white Christmases. I hear that Heathrow airport is so wondrous and magical right now, that it's shut down and holiday travelers are stranded. I imagine it must be horrible, but in Vancouver it's difficult to tell one season apart from another-it's always green. But at least it's colder, stormier and windier today than usual, and that is actually giving me the feeling of holiday cheer. Seriously, It's lovely.

One more year is almost at an end, and it's time to reflect on what's been accomplished in 2010 and make grand plans for 2011. It's been a very hectic, but also an extremely fantastic year for Enchanted Doll and for Chad and I. It was so prolific, that my head spins when I think back to it and it seems that I blinked, and a year was gone.

Despite all the projects that got done this year, there are still some things that didn't work out as I planned. I was hoping to unveil the resin line this year, but technical difficulties have delayed the release. The new year should bring a resolution to those problems and I'm looking forward to 2011 with a sense of great expectation and excitement.

This drawing by Sulamith Wulfing embodies the feeling of Christmas for me and gives me a sense of peace and warmth and happiness. Perhaps it will give you that warm feeling too.

My Dear Fans, I'd like express my gratitude for your support and your love for Enchanted Doll. You help me create every day. Thank you. Thank you.

So, from the bottom of my heart I'd like to wish you a very Merry, very Happy Christmas and an amazing New Year!