I’ve been struggling with the decision if this future doll should wear:
1. A long, maximalist gothic lace night gown, or
2. A small and simple night gown, or
3. Just sleep nude and let all the beautiful frame and linens do all the talking. 🤔🤔🤔
A doll in a lace gown sitting on a gothic bed
WIP “Insomnia” Gothic bed. This project was inspired by my ongoing, life-long struggle with insomnia and anxiety. I’m not sure what the doll for this bed will look like yet.🤔 My own doll Skyler is using in it while I work out the final details of the frame, linens and the doll that will sleep in it
I can’t even believe what’s going on in the world… Art is the only refuge. Whoever said that beauty will save the world… I hope they were right. And I hope my art can help even a tiny little bit. So I’m back.
I’ve been asked where I’ve been and if i’m ok, and I’ve been here in my studio working on my special doll orders the whole time. I needed a long break from social media, because the News is giving me nightmares these days.🤯😱😵
What does this make you think?
"censoring a doll? Really?" Yes, because if the algorithm decides its nudity it will not push the post and my work won't be seen. I won't know that happened (other than lower view counts) and won't have any recourse. Have to live in fear of the mysterious algorithms and hope to not anger them.
Great choice!
Dressing Cinderella for her photoshoot in her gold-plated metal costume. Which part of her outfit is your favourite? Corset, bra, collar, shoes, or skirt?
The work on the one of a kind auction doll Serenity continues! I’ve filmed a series of shorts, documenting the making her one of a kind gown, shoes and accessories. Here, I’m curling her soft and silky Angora goat hair wig into a luscious vintage 1930s hair style to give her that Shanghai glamour!
I dont think the chicks would do well at 2300⁰
You might be consuming too much True Crime content
But all is well with this firing! The parts look great! This body needs more blushing and tone, so I’ll be painting and firing it a couple more times to build up the skin depth. Wish me luck. And pray to the Old Fire Gods!😉
But not each firing is successful. Sometimes a kiln misfires ruining this last layer of paint and all the previous firings and layers. So I have a little cry, and let myself feel defeated until I accept the situation regroup and then make a recovery plan. Sometimes mistakes are blessings in disguise
Opening a kiln after each china-paint firing makes me feel like kid on Christmas morning, running to see what surprises Santa brought me. In this case inside my kiln are my rewards for many hours of hard work! 😃 I inspect them piece by piece, and do a happy dance when all have turned out
Slowly, gradually, a vision for her alter ego began to form, inspired by the 1930s Shanghai glamour! So I decided that she is going to be both - serene and metropolitan, tranquil and glamorous, because we are often contradictory. Stay tuned for the costuming process and her auction in a few weeks!
Returning to Serenity, the next auction doll! I started working on Serenity in 2023, but began to experience cognitive dissonance with her concept and costuming direction, and decided to pause until my inner conflict about her identity resolved.
There is something soothing in the repetitious effort of these small simple tasks and the promise of a rewarding hot soak. The whole day leading to it is filled with purpose and expectation, and somehow this helps to relieve anxiety, and instead focus attention on a manageable and positive outcome.
The process of firing a wood burning soaker tub is pretty labour-intensive, but also meditative and anticipatory. It’s diverting and calming. You have to chop the wood, clean and fill the tub, fire the stove, periodically stir the water, drink hot tea, and wait for the tub to be ready.
When I don’t make dolls, or play with my dogs, I soak in my tub. It’s a medicine for anxiety.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RdV...
It’s a challenge to achieve a good balance of form and function, without giving up too much of either. I guess that could be said for many things in life.
There are many functionality and wearability considerations that need to be taken into account when designing functional costuming, especially when working with something as rigid and unforgiving as metal.
As much as I love delicate silk ribbon, I thought that stiffer, synthetic would be a more appropriate choice to combine with metal, because metal is hard and polyester is more durable than silk.
When I carved these bra cups from jeweller’s wax years ago, I didn’t plan on putting ribbons in them, but the spacing between metal worked out as if they were always meant to be there. The cups are cast in bronze and plated with 24k gold, while the ribbon is polyester.
The mold for the corset ensemble was destroyed years ago, but I still had one bronze corset left in my personal collection so this was the last time I assembled it. The ribbon threading makes this particular corset stand apart from the rest of the limited edition Cinderella corsets that came before.
How I made the gold-plated ribbon work corset for the final custom Cinderella In Gold doll. Up to this point I've never integrated metal and ribbons into one composition to this extent before, but I love this result, so I'll be doing more of it in the future.
In this photoshoot I wanted to capture a surreal and magical dreamscape of Cinderella’s experience at a spectacular masked ball, filtered through her feelings of uncertainty, courage, euphoria and wonder.
Stay tuned for a deeper dive into the components of this doll in the upcoming posts. I completed this doll before my dog passed away and plunged me into deep distress and dissociation from my doll work, but I finally feel ready to share the details of it with you again.
The reason I designed this collar based on a watch mechanism, is to symbolize the countdown to midnight. This collar was a challenge and a struggle, but I really enjoy a good challenge!
The mold for the original collar was likewise destroyed, so I made a new one in sterling silver, gemstones and 18k gold plating. This luxurious collar is inspired by anl 18th century verge escapement pocket watch mechanism, which was used to protect the watch movements and cover the balance wheel.
