Monday, April 2, 2012

Why Art Dolls?


Every now and then, someone asks me why I make dolls and how I got started. I decided to answer that question, here.

There are many different things which inspire the notion to do something. I've always done many things, and have been inspired to try new things when I discover them. Dolls, however, was always this little idea in the back of my head, that I simply never got around to doing. 

About 5 years ago, I was intrigued by the idea of a gothic handmade doll. I didn't know what they were called or how to describe one, and searching for pictures was quite difficult, without knowing what I was looking for. Yet I found some beautiful work that to this day is inspirational in a way. 

I wanted to make some dolls,so one day I did just that and sold them. I started making them of cloth, and as I listed them for sale in my shop at Etsy, I noticed the terms art doll and OOAK. This "one of a kind" term was just the thing I needed to figure out what I really wanted to do. I looked up tutorials, instructions, and advice for every aspect of doll making and one day, I made one out of polymer clay. It's that simple. 

Why do I do it? I love my dolls and love that so many different souls and expressions are found in each new one that I make. I find that making these dolls is similar to writing in a journal. I give them my trouble or sadness of the day, and suddenly living becomes just a little easier.











2 comments:

  1. It's great you have a blog now to share your thoughts. I really like the doll at the head of the blog page. I liked your first story about your dream too.

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  2. There's something about creating a little person, a little personality that other crafts just don't compare to in my mind. To mould a character into clay, it's amazing! I'm having the BEST time being off on holiday with nothing to do but watch Scifi on Netflix and make little people :D xx

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