A Day Away From Dolls

This is Anya, my new board. I got it a couple of months ago and now she is a part of me. On Friday, instead of the usual local mountains, Chad and I went riding at beautiful Whistler-Blackcomb, our amazing world-class ski resort just 1.5 hours drive north of Vancouver. I've been skiing this mountain sporadically since 1998, but earlier this year I decided to commit the whole 2012 season to snowboarding to get a taste of it, and fell hopelessly in love with the sport! Having been strapped into a board, skis just no longer feel the same way to me. I've been guiltlessly cheating on them with Anya.

It was a sensory abundant, physically challenging and an intensely gratifying day. Nothing to think about but the sky above me, the snow below me and the wind all around me.

Today I'm back at the studio, making Echos. Anya beckons to me from her wall mount, but I force my eyes away and bend over my desk, thinking to myself: "Soon, my darling, soon".

Probably tomorrow.

The most beautiful porcelain hand I ever made!

I made this hand for my test doll. I'm convinced it's the most beautiful hand I ever made. You see, I don't just pull a hand out of the mold and fire it, I manually shape and sculpt it to make it more expressive. Unfortunately, expressive, tiny hands are virtually impossible to mold with the rigid plaster molding method. So, they have to be very simplified in order to be mold-able. Therefore, each hand undergoes significant re-sculpting and remodeling in the post-molding period.

I separate the fingers, define the knuckles and establish the bending angles on all the fingers. It's ridiculously tedious and I hate doing it, while simultaneously loving it. I estimate that it takes me 2-3 hours to make one hand from casting to painting, or 4-6 labor hours+ 12 kiln firing hours for a pair of hands for one doll.

This hand is the pinnacle of my achievement. Just wanted to share it.

New Raised feet

Although I intensely dislike the look of raised feet on dolls, for the sake of experimenting I had made a pair of them for Enchanted Dolls. Raised feet look pretty in high heels, but naked, they look so contorted and unnatural, that it repels me. In my opinion, raised feet restrict a doll to a specific, severe glamor look, while flat feet can be more versatile, soft and feminine. I dislike dolls that are permanently stuck on their tiptoes. Particularly if they have a movable ankle joint. It just looks silly.

Those of you who own my dolls know, that even though they have flat feet, they can still wear the custom designed high heels of the Enchanted Doll brand. I design stilettos specifically so that can go on a flat foot and appear as if they belong there.

Anyway, I was curious to see if I could make better raised feet somehow. I've learned that sometimes ideas which make us initially uncomfortable, are the ones that may turn out to be quite interesting with enough consideration and proper treatment. So, whenever I am repelled by something, I try to give it enough thought and decide if it may actually be worth pursuing. So, I made raised feet against my own reservations. It could be an interchangeable option for those who do like it. I'm going to model a couple of raised shoe designs for them in sterling silver and see if I like them any better then.

In the meantime, I'd love to hear what you guys think about dolls with permanently raised feet and which you prefer.

The Enchanted Rubenesque-New body model for Enchated Doll

Surprise! I've been secretly developing a new body prototype for the past 5 months, and now it's nearly ready! It feels so good to get that off my shoulders. I've been bursting at the seams with this news for weeks, but couldn't tell you until I knew it would work. This is partially the reason I've been mostly absent from the web lately. Between this and the book and a couple of other really challenging new projects, there was no time to chat. Now, allow me introduce you to the rough master model of the Rubenesque!

Definition of RUBENESQUE

:

of, relating to, or suggestive of the painter Rubens or his works;

especially

:

plump or rounded (figures) usually in a pleasing or attractive way

<a

Rubenesque

figure>.

Her figure is inspired by the fuller feminine form of classical antiquity, painting and sculpture. Of course I also stylized it to suit my own aesthetic preferences and to add a touch of surrealism. I've been wanting to make this body shape for a long time, but things kept getting in the way and I'm so relieved to have finally done it.

When I sculpted my first, slim body model, I sculpted all the parts and joints separately, gauging the desired movement of the ball joints without ever stringing them together and testing how them move until they were already painted porcelain parts. The reason is that all the parts were made solid, without thought out hollows and at the time i didn't have a drill to drill them out and string them. It was a risky, arrogant and kind of a stupid thing to do as I had to fix a lot of mistakes postmortem, but the doll turned out alright in the end.

This body though, was a lot more thoroughly designed and modeled than the first one. I had spend a lot more time tuning every part to fit just right and to move like silk. I'm also loving the new shape. She is lovely.

I didn't think I'd finish it before summer, but it's starting to look like I just might. I'm already doing china painting trials on the first parts!

I know it's hard to judge properly at this early stage, but what do you guys think about her?

Blank Porcelain

A handful of hands. I never usually have this many blank pieces all at once, as each doll gets cast, sanded, painted and strung individually, but since I've mostly been too preoccupied with the book to complete a doll lately, these unpainted parts have accumulated over the past few months. Soon, they will become dolls. A couple of these will become Echos, while one of these heads will become the latest show doll for the exhibition at the Strychnin Gallery in May.

Oh which one, which one will it be, I wonder?

Annual birthday contest postponed to next year.

Dear Enchanted Doll Fans,

Time has ran away from me again. :( I had my hands so full the last 6 months, that I didn't notice my birthday creeping closer and closer. I very much regret to inform you that the 4th annual ED Birthday contest has been postponed to next year due to time constraints.

I apologize, since I know that like me, many have been looking forward to the contest. The Enchanted Doll book has taken a lot out of me, and combined with other commitments, I just couldn't come up with a contest theme in time.

I am very pleased to say however, that the Enchanted Doll book is nearly all printed and bound, and should arrive here in about 2 weeks. Just in time for my birthday! We have started emailing those who purchased it with rates on shipping. If you haven't received an email with shipping information, just hang on, as we will likely get to you soon.

In other news, I am working on a brand new doll for an upcoming (May) show at Strychnin gallery in Berlin, Germany. Stand by for more details. Right now I am nervously biting my nails while I wait to see if the crazy new head ornament I've spent over 150 hours designing and milling for it is going to work out. We shall see, we shall see...soon.

Book Goes to Print!

Hey folks!

Great News! After much refining work, my book is going to print tomorrow. I'm so excited and relieved. When I got the first proof in December, it already seemed complete to my eyes but my wonderful editor has been kind enough to find and eliminate a whole bunch of errors in the text. Together, we polished it and refined it and cleaned it and improved it until I almost went crazy, but the manuscript is now truly perfect. Despite hating her a little bit at times during the process, I am truly grateful to have had her on board for this project. Thank you, Lindsay.

The printing and binding will take three weeks, and at the end of February we expect to begin shipping out the books to you guys! The edition is almost completely sold out, but there are still a few books left for those yet to order one. UPDATE: The first edition of the Enchanted Doll book has sold out!

New Doll Face pendants

The peeks continue: for the past few weeks I've been working on this little side project as a way to relieve stress. Yeah, sometimes I relieve work-related stress by working some more, but I digress.

This is a Sleeping Beauty face pendant. It's cast in sterling silver and designed to be versatile and customizable. There are 10 discreet holes and loops in the pendant that allow for extra accessories such as jewels and chains to be attached and suspended from it. The pendant can be as minimal or as extravagant as desired. They are almost like dolls that can be dressed up or down. I've made only two fairly conservative combinations because I only had three tests pendants cast and didn't really have time to play with them. I'll post more pictures next week. Today there is more book editing to do.

Editing the Enchanted Doll book

My editor is in the process of polishing up my writing for the book before it goes to print in two weeks. I took a day off molds in order go over the latest revisions she had sent me and spent most of it editing at my alternate (and rather comfortable) working station until my laptop got tired, said: "Adios Amigos!" and promptly crashed. Thank software engineers for auto-save. The deadline approaches...it's the nature of deadlines.

I love my job.

Molds-behind the scenes

Some more peeks of my current projects. Making more molds.

These shots were taken just this morning. So tired... I wish I could just go to sleep, but my mind is restless...13 hours spent in clay, water and plaster up to my elbows don't think I can stand the feeling of clay on my hands any more...skin is so dry and tight, I just want to jump out of it, like a lizard, God I wish I were done with this already but there are so many more...oh my god I hate making molds so very much alas, that's what it takes to make what I want to make and I will make it so help me god...at least I've got a few more episodes of the Tudors left why is the iPad screed so shiny and reflective? is my nose too long? why did Henry the 8th come to hate Anny Bolyn so much? did he really believe she was a witch? my fingers are so pruney I wonder how much water they can absorb before the skin starts falling off the bones... can that happen? if only this part would just set already so that I can take it out and clean up I should also sweep before I drag these plaster crumbs all over the place I really need to clean this place up, if only I were finished with these stupid molds already...I need some hand cream......man, my orange tree is going to freeze outside if it keeps getting colder, I wonder if I ought to pull it back in? I should stop dropping my flipflop every time I tuck my knee under so that the chair wouldn't roll over it and get stuck every time I move, and why do I have to tuck my knee under every time I sit down anyway? I, like, don't even notice how it happens...god, my knee is so sore I wish I would just stop doing that, when is this mold going to set already...?Ouch! pay attention when you're using dental tools if you want to keep all your fingers...perhaps a knife would be better to trim this seam...this towel is covered with clay I need a new one...Chad? Chad?! damn, he is wearing headphones in there...I'll have to put this down and hope it holds for a few seconds...ohh for crying out loud, that stupid flipflop!!......

New Molds

Happy New Year, everyone!

I've had a great holiday, a wonderful end of 2011 and a fantastic beginning of 2012! I'm so excited about this year! With all the new things I'm working on, I can just feel how awesome it's going to be! I'm bursting at the seams with creative energy and can hardly contain myself.

The Enchanted Doll book is undergoing final edits and will be going to print in three weeks, on February 1st.I, in the meantime, have been sketching out new project ideas, creating rough machetes and making new molds. You know how much I like to keep things secret until they're finished and until I know 100% that the are going to work, but I'm very compelled to give you a few sneak peeks of what I've been working on. Perhaps I should. Perhaps I will...Alright, meet me here next week for some peeks.

Back to work now. Art can not wait to get made!

Book Reservation Update

UPDATE: The First Edition of the book has been Sold Out.

Dear Fans,

Enchanted Doll would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Thank you for all your support. It moves me, inspires me and drives me to work. Having it means a lot for an artist, and for that, my dear Enchanted Doll admirers, I Thank you!

Regarding Enchanted Doll book: I'm going on holidays tomorrow (Dec 24th) and will be away until January 2nd. Chad and I are heading up to the mountains for a week to celebrate the Old Year and to greet the New Year with some old friends. We're looking forward to doing winter activities, such as ice skating on the lake, snow shoeing and downhill skiing. I hope there is also a hot tub. In the meantime.......

Those of you who wish to reserve a copy of my new Enchanted Doll art book in our absence, may do so by placing a deposit of $75.00 CAD (Canadian) through Paypal at your soonest convenience, and we will get back to you with a confirmation immediately upon our return to work on Jan 2nd. Those of you who have emailed us with a request already, but haven't heard back yet, may proceed with a deposit to reserve your copy as well. A copy number will be assigned to you upon payment. Available copies of the limited and signed First Edition are depleting fast, and may even run out before they see the printers in three weeks. I hope everybody who wants it, gets to have one.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

See you all in the New Year! It will be better than last year- I know it!