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Why
do dolls move me? I do not know! But after being a dollmaker
for more than thirty years, a good doll can still touch
me! Maybe I see a more beautiful world in the doll, or
maybe it is the child hidden within me, but a face, sculpted
or molded in porcelain or made out of cloth, or even the
movement of a doll’s costume can pierce my soul.
Sometimes, it has nothing to do with perfect anatomy or
use of materials. Something in the figure just speaks
to me.
As a young child, I was already looking for an outlet
for my creativity. I wanted to be a dancer, a musician
or an opera singer…something that had to do with
expression and beauty. In real life, I was a school teacher,
but I danced and studied music. When I visited a doll
exhibition for the first time, a fire started to burn
in me, and has never been extinguished. After this visit,
I became a dollmaker!
Then came years of experimenting, going to classes, and
finally finding my medium. I am interested in porcelain
because I like the smooth skin and the permanence of the
material. I sculpt my prototype, and after the molds are
made, I use porcelain slip. When the doll comes out of
the mold, it gets its final expression that makes it unique
through subtle remodeling of the soft material.
For the most part, I do not have a real clear image of
what I will make, but slowly, while working on the doll,
it will become the figure I want. Sometimes I already
have figured out the theme, and maybe how the costume
will be, but then in the end I may not touch any of the
fabrics I had put aside because my fantasy has jumped
to different materials. My material is from all over the
world. Wherever I can find something that I can use, I
buy it and bring it home, so sometimes in one doll you
can find treasures from ten different countries.
When finally the doll has a face that I like to look at,
and when the movement and the costume fit this face, then
I am satisfied and happy. Then I hope that the person
looking at the doll will have an emotional experience
that will remain in their memory..
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