It took me almost 3 full days to make the tall, Rococo wig for the Little Aristocrat Lily doll. The doll, which will be auctioned off on Ebay on Dec 27th. Here is the general idea of the process.
The construction begins with making a wig cap and attaching the padding and supporting infrastructure to it. Then, extra long hair is glued down and it is determined which parts will be going up first. Hair is spread into isolated sections. At this point I sit and look at the doll for a long, long time, visualizing what I want her hair to be and devising a plan of action and steps to make it happen.
Because a lot of wig-making methods are designed for humans or much larger dolls, I often improvise with various materials and contraptions and find new applications for my kitchen utensils, woodworking, jewelry and porcelain tools. Sometimes the least likely thing will provided the most desired results.
This wig was probably the most complicated one I've made so far. Because it was very sculptural in essence, I had to think of hair and treat it as a sculpting medium, sort of like a lump of wet clay or wax, which you then shape into a form. But now that I think about it, this is how I tend to approach most of my projects. I have a very sculptural frame of mind. After determining where certain locks will go and how many of them I want, I began to pin them up in their approximate locations, keeping in mind the desired size, direction and angle of each curl.
I used traditional and not-traditional hair styling products to put this hair into shape. Luckily, I have a huge arsenal of all kinds of painting, diluting, thinning, thickening, texturing etc. substances in my possession, which were acquired for various, non-hair related practices. Some are poisonous and others you never ever want to put on your own scalp. But this is porcelain we are talking about, and porcelain to my knowledge is impervious even to acid. Water was one of the main agents in trying to control the vast mane of hair that was required for the wig this size.
Pinhead. Kind of like this one.
I hate gore horror. Whenever I watch it, I'm not so much   scared, as I am disturbed and at the same time fascinated by the kind of sick imagination one would need to have to write and film stuff like that. I much prefer ghost horror than blood and guts. But getting back to MY lovely Pinhead-Lily.Ah, that's better.
After a few hours of construction and a night of drying and setting, the curling phase is over and now it's time to take everything apart in a carefully choreographed order and arrange it in a desirable way. The problem is getting the curls to lay on the head instead of well, curling up. For this I use an experimental method of applying a synthetic, transparent primer to the hair with a brush.
My concern was the eventual coming apart of the wig. I realized that simple hair spray will simply not be enough. That's why I went with a much tougher alternative. The primer literally glues hair to itself, making it firm and tough, while maintaining the appearance of hair. By the time I was done, there was more plastic in that wig, than hair. Seriously, the thing is almost bulletproof.Warning: Do not ever use this on your own hair. Unless you want a permanent hold and the same hair style for the next few years until new hair grows out. Then go ahead.
Stylin'. She has hair spray and primer all over her face. Once again, because she is porcelain and her face painting is molecularly bonded to the surface of her skin at high temperature, I can for allow all kinds of things to be stuck to her face, knowing that I will easily be able to remove it without removing her entire face. You never want to do this with a resin doll. When the wig was done, the primer was so tough that I had to scrape from her face with a surgical blade and fine sand paper to get it all off. And you would never know it.
Finished. Drying. Setting. Looking lovely. But still missing something. I had to send Chad to the drug store to buy me some cosmetic powder for her hair. Apparently they don't really make loose face powder anymore since it's 2010 and not 1710. All he could find was fancy moose powder and sheer cover and stuff. So, we had to get some Johnson's baby diaper powder instead. Oh, well-if it's good for babies then it can't be bad for my doll.
Cough, cough, cough! There. Cough, cough, cough. Now she is complete! Cough, cough, cough.
What? I've sat at this desk for how many hours?! 48? You don't say.....felt like 48 minutes to me.Was all worth it, as far as I'm concerned.Thank you and good night.
Work in Progress
The beetles and I, or The things I do for art.
So, I bought a collection of exotic, taxidermy beetles because I thought it would be a fantastic idea to cast them in sterling silver, set them with stones and turn them into fabulous head dresses and accessories for my dolls, but the problem is that now that I have it, I can't bring myself to harvest the parts I need. No, not because they are beautiful, which they certainly are, but because they gross me out. I'm scared to touch them.And dear god, do they smell bad. Especially after I opened the sealed box. I don't know what repulses me more: the thought of having to dismember them or the nauseating stench they emit. And I can't figure out if it's formaldehyde I'm smelling or decomposition of their fat, juicy beetle intestines. I know they are supposed to be emptied out for preservation, but I do not want to cut into one and find out otherwise.
I didn't think it would be this hard for me to do this. I just assumed that my excitement over making beautiful objects from muli-legged creatures' body parts would automatically override my fear of dismembering them. Well, that hasn't happened yet. Every day for the past two weeks I've been trying to get used to the idea. A couple of times a day i get a glass of water or occasionally, a beer, sit down in my arm chair across from the display case and look at it for fifteen minutes like it's a staring contest. So far, the bugs are winning it. When I work at my desk, the case is directly behind me and countless times during the day I suddenly inerrupt my work flow, swing around in my chair, put my feet up on my desk and look at it some more with a withering stare. As if i'm trying to catch it off gurard or something. Just sit there and look at my dead, gaint insects while imagining beautiful crowns with scorpion pincers and beetle legs.I'm not even really sure of what exactly I'm going to make with them. I know it will come when I'm working. I have a sixth sense about that stuff. I just need to start working with them.
I've decided to take this to my friend/casting technician, Ryan, to help me dismember these beetles. There is strength in numbers. Worst case scenario is that Ryan will freak out even more than me and then I will feel like the brave one and my squeamishness will disappear.It's got to get done. I can't let my fear get in the way of art. I will have to get over myself. And that's it and that's that.
Just a little something I made last week
A pregnant, tattooed doll.It's a work in progress: I'm still thinking about the head dress. I was so mentally fatigued from working on orders that I just had to make something else. A Tattoo Extreme magazine in Taipei is running a cover story on Enchanted Doll this month and I was hoping to finish this new doll in time for the August 10th deadline. But I don't think I'm going to make it even if I send it to the publisher right now, because the issue is probably going to print as I write.This piece, titled "State Property" is a part of the triptych composition of three dolls under a working tittle "The holy trinity of traditional womanhood". And I don't mean that in a good way. Well, this project is kind of loaded with gender politics symbolism, but I don't want to talk about it just yet. This is just a peek. Chad and I will be making a gallery for her very shortly.There you go, State Property-my first pregnant porcelain doll. I don't know how I feel about her yet. And no, I'm not pregnant and plan to never be.
I'm bored of my doll faces.
I'm quite bored of all my face molds and some body molds and long to make new ones. I've been wanting to make a few new faces as well as a new set of legs for Enchanted Dolls, but so far, have been unable to commit enough time to it. If I don't just sit down and sculpt some new ones soon, I'm in danger of dying from boredom. Or exploding with impatience.Don't get me wrong, I enjoy painting the faces I've got and coming up with different variations of expressions, tones and make up. I rely very heavily on painting techniques to give different appearences to the same face sculpt and enjoy the challenge, but after a year or so of experimenting with the same set of 10 face molds I need fresh canvases.So, that's why I'm not booking any orders after August 2nd at this point; to make time and create more beauties. I may be able to fit in a couple a month, but I can't make any promises just yet. Plus, with the porcelain slip shortage situation I may have to go on a forced haitus for a while and working on new sculpts is the perfect project in the absence of doll casting.More doll faces!
New Costumed dolls in progress.
These two Enchanted Dolls are work in progress. Both are still waiting for their gowns. I'm working on them now. There are more pictures of them in the Costumed Doll gallery, but once their full outfits are complete, I will be doing another photoshoot and posting more pictures. There is also a third new doll on the way. I plan to have her finished within a week. Hopefully.Enjoy.
Twitter Feed
There is now an Enchanted Doll twitter feed, where I will be posting short blurbs about my dolls. This will be used for quick updates on work while I prepare for my solo show. The blog will still be used for larger updates and photos, but for those curious about my process feel free to follow my twitter feed. [EDIT - I made it so the 3 most recent tweets will show up on this blog, in the sidebar - Chad]The above photo is of the doll I'm currently working on. This is just after the hair has been glued on, she looks much more elegant now. And she's got armpit hair!
Silver work in progress-Elizabethian collar.
This collar is another project in progress. I've been working on it on and off for a couple of months, but i'm not sure as off yet what exactly i'm going to do with it. Mermaid Song is modeling it for now, but i haven't decided what doll i'm going to make for it. I have a few ideas, but they are just ideas at this point. It's cast in non-tarnishing sterling silver and has a hinge on the back and the front for easy removal. I'm not sure if it's finished yet either as i might add some stones to it later on. I'm thinking of making several copies of it to try it in several different applications for fun. We'll see what happens.
Always working, never not working
I apologize for being absent from my blog for the past while. I have really been busy this past month. Some really exciting things have happened, from making a doll for a famous fashion designer, to preparing shots and interviews for a couple upcoming magazine features (Haute, FDQ), and of course, making dolls for orders.I also have a really exciting project that I'm working on that will be featured in the upcoming issue of Fashion Doll Quarterly. This is a doll with a twist, and she's dying to meet everyone.Back to the studio, I'm just wrapping up my intense reclusive work period, and I'll be back making regular posts soon.
The Birth Place of Enchanted BJDs
Ruby and her mother-molds.
More Gold Work
The doll with Gold overlay all over her body is near completion.This is a shot of her hands and feet, with the rest of her body being decorated likewise. The only other thing this doll is wearing, is a blue veil, and an ornate headpiece set with garnets and tourmalinesI made the piece in sterling and fine silver, and just took it to get plated with 24k gold this afternoon.Perhaps I'll post another sneak peak later on.
New Male!
First new male doll is complete, but still bald. I just assembled the male doll yesterday and took a couple of quick shots of him.His full photoshoot is scheduled for later this week, and he'll have his own gallery at that time.
Tattoos, body ornament and jewelry for Enchanted Dolls
Hello,My new site is near completion!!! It's so much better than the old one in terms of the aesthetics and user friendliness.I'm introducing more new features for my limited edition porcelain nudes: Tattoos, fired-on 24k white and yellow gold body ornament (rings, bracelets, anklets, neck pieces etc.) and silver jewelry. All of these ornaments are permanent and not removable! Even silver bracelets and anklets because they have to be put on a doll prior to assembly.My new site will have doll accessories gallery where examples of these ornaments can seen and ordered. Custom orders for a specific design are welcome.Marina
New Male Model
I just want to post that I'm working on a new double jointed male doll. Both the legs and the arms will be double jointed, allowing for the same level of articulation as the female dolls.The target completion date for the first doll is in two weeks. I'll have pictures posted then, so keep your eyes open for him.Marina.