Essie's dolls

Black Widow Lily and Her Little Dawn

2012-01-06T05:22:00.000-08:00

Black Widow Lily And Her Little Dawn

Lily = 75cm / 29.5 inches
Dawn = 27cm/ 10.6 inches

Lily:
Round wooden base with styrofoam cone, coated with pour-on rubber, as lower body.
Upperbody is made from paperclay and apoxie over a metal frame, painted and sealed with acrylics and varnish.
Her head is a real cat skull with real deer antlers and realistic bjd eyes/lashes.
Viscose hair adorned with vintage milinary flowers.
Lily's dress is made from lambs leather, vintage flower stamens, swarovsky crystals, antique lace and silk ribbons.
Her mantilla is made from black lace with a scalloped lace edge and is removable.
She is holding a vintage brass with mother of pearl little bible with the complete first testament in it.

Dawn
Paperclay and apoxie over a metal frame for her body, painted and sealed with acrylics and varnish.
Her head is made from a real little turtle skull with tiny glass eyes and viscose hair.
She's wearing a wool dress, off-white stockings, wool beret, velvet coat and leather strapped shoes.
Dawn is holding her small teddybear.

Dahlia Noir

2011-12-04T08:28:00.001-08:00

Dahlia Noir

50 cm/ 19.7 inches with base
46cm/ 18 inches without base

Owl skull and body sculpted by me from paperclay, painted with acrylics, handmade glass eyes and black viscose hair.
Her hat is made from felt with a burgundy silk ribbon and bow.
She wears a fresh water pearl necklace and a cameo.
Her clothes are made from silk, velvet and Edwardian lace finished with black swarovski crystals.
Her base is from massive black granite with metal feet.

Dance Away The Heartache, Dance Away The Tears

2011-11-17T07:53:00.000-08:00

37cm/14.6 inch without base
43cm/16.9 inch with base

Owl skull sculpted from Paperclay with beautiful handmade glass eyes, viscose hair.
Her hair ornament is made from a vintage velvet flower, petals and silk bows.
She wears silk handmade clothes over a paperclay/apoxie body which is sculpted over a metal rod and tube armature.
Her boots are made from very soft roughed leather, red embroidery silk an red painted fresh water pearls.
The base is a polished granite base with metal feet.
She is holding a metal photo locket with tiny photo's in it and in her other hand a tissue soaked with tears.

article Dollmaster.ru

2011-11-02T02:17:00.001-07:00

An article about me and my work in Dollmaster.ru a high quality magazine (Russian) about doll and teddybear art.

Russian television

2011-11-01T08:23:00.000-07:00

Me at the II International Moscow Exhibition ART OF THE DOLL in Moscow where they did an interview with me for the Russian television.

Twice Yours

2011-08-14T06:34:00.001-07:00

Twice Yours
Skull doll
32 cm / 12.6 inch (incl base)
Her head is made from a museum quality artificial Northern Cardinal skull from BoneClones, realistic acrylic eyes, black lashes, and high quality English viscose braided hair adorned with 2mm freshwater seed pearls and 3mm teardrop freshwater pearls.
Her body is sculpted from Creative paper clay over a messing rod and tube skeleton covered with Aves apoxie for durability
She wears a beautiful silk brocade Victorian bridal jacket on top of her dupioni silk Victorian bridal dress.
Underneath her dress she is wearing underwear, made from antique Victorian cotton and lace, and lace stockings.
In her hands she is holding a wedding bouquet made from ceramic roses and antique Victorian wax flower buds and vines.
The base is adorned met brass metal ware and antique Victorian wax bridal flowers.

Thief Of Hearts

2011-07-23T08:52:00.000-07:00

I just finished my third doll to take with me to Moscow: Thief Of Hearts.

25cm/9.8 inch

Her head is made from a museum quality artificial Burrowing Owl skull from BoneClones, realistic glass eyes, black lashes, and English viscose braided hair in a black hair net.
She wears a beautiful black felt Victorian riding hat on her head (attached to her hair).
Her body is sculpted from Creative paper clay over a messing rod and tube skeleton covered with Aves apoxie for durability.
She is wearing lace underwear and stockings underneath her dupioni silk dress with embrodery.
Her Victorian riding jacket is made from black velvet with two part sleeves, two point collar and a double row of pearl buttons.
She also wears a beautiful lace collar with a cameo set in a gold tiffany setting.
In her hands she is holding a golden cage with a polymer heart painted with Genesis heat set paints in it.
Her riding boots are made from soft lambs leather with pearl buttons.

Work in progress doll

2011-07-22T01:26:00.000-07:00

This is the doll I'm working on now. As you can see she still needs: her jacket finished, Victorian riding boots, hair, hands and her Victorian riding top hat. And of course her caged heart in her hands.

My inspiration....

2011-07-19T03:59:00.001-07:00

This is what I see while working on a new piece.
I can't wait till I have my studio so I can decorate it in a oddity room style with all antique furniture. I already saw some gorgeous old lab cabinets I want.

updates

2011-07-14T01:22:00.000-07:00

Listed Tears of The Saints and Sugar And Spice in my Etsy http://www.etsy.com/shop/Vanessies?ref=si_shop so my shop isn't that empty anymore.
And I updated my website http://vanessie.nl with many new pics

Tears Of The Saints

2011-07-09T12:24:00.000-07:00

Tears Of The Saints
skull doll

40cm/15.7 inches from the top of her halo to the bottom of her base

Her head is made from a museum quality artificial Short Eared Owl skull from BoneClones, realistic glass eyes, individual lashes, English viscose braided hair with a metal halo.http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
She wears a beautiful lace mantilla on her head (sewed to her hair)
Her body is sculpted from creative paper clay over a messing rod and tube skeleton covered with Aves apoxie for durability.
She is wearing lace underwear and stockings underneath her dupioni silk pleated dress with double sleeves.
And she is holding a faux pearl Paternoster rosary in her hands (http://www.paternoster-row.medievalscotland.org/ )
The wooden base is painted with high quality acrylics and then decoreted with mosaic tiles, faux pearls and golden trimmings.

More pictures on my website later this evening http://vanessie.nl/

NOT AVAILABLE UNTIL NOVEMBER 2011 (after the show in Moscow)

Work in progress- second sinner piece

2011-07-09T02:49:00.000-07:00

The caged heart for the second sinner piece I'm making for the show in Moscow.
A little over 1 cm/0.4inch

W.I.P Saint 1

2011-06-24T02:12:00.000-07:00

For the Sinners and Saints series (not available for sale until the Dollmanage show in Moscow, Oct 2011)
Still working on her.
Her dress, halo, mantilla,arms and hands need to be finished.

Sugar and Spice

2011-06-14T06:20:00.000-07:00

Sugar and Spice
32cm/12.6 inches total hight

Sugar(standing doll) is made of:
Artificial museum quality Burrowing Owl skull from BoneClones, realistic highly detailed eyes,high quality English viscose hair, handmade fascinator from leather/ feathers/Russian veiling.
Her body is made of paperclay and apoxie sculpt, 1mm pearl choker with camee, handmade clothes from different kind of silks and exclusive lace, her corset is trimmed with antique Victorian mourning Whitby jets.
Underneath her clothes she wears leather boots, striped stockings and a black bloomer with ruffles.

Spice(kneeling doll) is made of:
Artificial museum quality Yellow-Billed Cuckoo skull from BoneClones, realistic highly detailed eyes, high quality English viscose hair cut in a gothic bob, handmade miniature top hat from leather and feathers.
Her body is made of paperclay and apoxie sculpt painted with acrylic paints and sealed with Mr clear UV, handmade clothes from leather, exclusive lace and rabbit fur trimmings. Her boots are made of very thin leather and apoxie sculpt.

Her beautiful wooden base(14cm/5.5inches square)is decorated with painted and distressed terracotta tiles, artificial grass and cats (painted with black acrylics)

New piece- work in progress

2011-06-05T11:01:00.000-07:00

Finally a new piece almost done :D
This is the first piece that will go with me to the show in Moscow (dollmanage Oct 28-30).
I still have to finish her mini top hat, shoes and hands.

New winner of the book

2011-06-02T01:45:00.000-07:00

This morning I did a drawing for a new winner of the book and it is:
Brandie Jenkins
Congrats Brandie.

Prize winners-call for address

2011-05-30T10:59:00.001-07:00

Last call for Ashley and DJ to sent their address to me.
If I don't have your address by Wednesday June 1th I will draw two new winners from the list on Thursday June 2th.
Thank you all other prize winners for sending your info.

Results of the blog hop tour drawing

2011-05-25T03:44:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to these winners.
The drawing is done on Random .org (Timestamp: 2011-05-25 10:22:44 UTC)

Thank you all for the nice comments and a big thank you to Kerin for making this possible.

1. Ashley A) The book: Inspired Remnants, Curious Dreams by Kerin Gale.

2. DJ B) One Aves Power Pack

3. Pattee C) Fluid Chalks Online Workshop by Lesley Venable

4. Luke Smith D) Two Digital Collage Sheets of your choice by Alicia Caudle of Altered Bits.

5. Christine E) Sample pack of Silputty 40 silicone putty mold mix from Silpak.

6. Gloria F) 1 OZ ICE Resin and a mixed metal bezel from www.iceresin.com

7. Ginny Diezel G) A soft cover version of my photobook

8. Pat Dean H)The Victorian fascinator from the mini tutorial in this post

I will contact the winners for their address.

As I can't contact DJ, Gloria and Ginny Diezel will you contact me with your address so you can receive your prize, thank you.

Somehow my print screen won't work so I made a photo of my screen with the drawing.

Blogger being down and blog hop posts

2011-05-14T01:30:00.000-07:00

Due to Blogger being down and a glitz now that they are up again there are comments on my Blog hop tour post disappearing. There are 12 comments missing now. If you miss your comment on my post: don't worry I've got an email of every post and collect them in a special folder so I still have them and use this folder for the prize drawing.

Day #11 on the “Inspired Remnants, Curious Dreams” Blog Tour

2011-05-10T14:41:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my blog.

I hope you are sitting in your favorite chair with something nice to drink and maybe even something delicious to eat and enjoying our blog posts.

In this blog post I will tell you a bit about the Inspired Remnants, Curious Dreams book, what I do with Apoxie, about a super offer from Kerin, which prizes there are to win and how to win them and I will give you a simple tutorial on how to make a Victorian Fascinator in just one day.
I hope you already visited the other blogs from this Blog hop tour and enjoyed the posts and that you will also enjoy my post, have fun.

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When Kerin wrote me an email that she wanted to use my work in her upcoming book Inspired Remnants, Curious Dreams I was so thrilled!
For a beginning artist it is such a big honor to get published so yes I was very happy but when I saw the book in person the meaning of this really sank in: this is not just a book, this is the art bible for mixed media artists, for sculptors, for jewelery designers, for....well for every artist.
All the ideas, tips, tutorials, gorgeous and clear pictures and awesome artists that are in this book make this book a real bestseller and I'm so proud to be a part of this book.

If you're not an owner of this book yet I will advice you to buy it now with one of this awesome offers, you won't be disappointed:

Book & Online Workshop Bundles from Kerin Gale
Special Pricing for the Book Tour: $5 off (from May 1st through May 19th)

All you need to do is write “vanessie” in the notes when you check out through Paypal and you will receive the $5 back.

Resin Clay Pendants Workshop + Book = $35 + shipping (only $30)
http://www.etsy.com/listing/63483761/inspired-remnants-book-and-resin-clay

Vintage Gentleman Workshop + Book = $40 + shipping (only $35)
http://www.etsy.com/listing/27210387/inspired-remnants-book-and-vintage-gent

Both Workshops + Book = $70 + shipping (only $65)
http://www.etsy.com/listing/72931590/inspired-remnants-book-super-bundle-with

If you already have her book, any of her online workshops will be $15!!!
Kerins Etsy can be found here http://www.etsy.com/shop/remnants?ref=seller_info

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As if these deals aren't enough there are also great prizes to win.
How to win these? Read on.

Grand Prizes For Book Reviews

Any reader that writes a review of Inspired Remnants, Curious Dreams on www.amazon.com before July 31, 2011 and sends an email with the title “Inspired Remnants Review” to remnants.art@gmail.com will be entered in a drawing to win one of these prizes.
Please note that all physical prizes (i.e. non digital prizes) will be awarded to US participants only. Access to Online Workshops will be available worldwide.

A) The art piece featured on the cover of the book, “Sacred Totem”

B) Power Pack plus extra Fixit Sculpt clay from Aves Studio

C) A Frozen Charlotte Doll with digital tutorial “How To Crackle Charlottes” from Alicia Caudle of http://alteredbits.com

D) Resin Clay Pendants online workshop by Kerin Gale from http://MixedMediaArt.ning.com

E) Vintage Gentleman online workshop by Kerin Gale from http://MixedMediaArt.ning.com

F) Choice of any one workshop being taught by Kerin and Charley at Art Is You retreat in Petaluma, CA. The registration fee and workshop cost are both waived. http://www.art-is-you.com/mysitecaddy/site3/generalinformation-westcoast.htm

G) One copy each of Jen Cushman’s book, Explore, Create, Resinate and Susan Lenart-Kazmer’s book, Making Connections plus ICE Resin and a selection of bezels all from http://www.iceresin.com/

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And this are the sponsored prizes that you can win (each of the blogs will be giving away these wonderful prizes to MANY lucky winners!).
Please note that all physical prizes (i.e. non digital prizes) will be awarded to US participants only. Access to Online Workshops and Digital Collage Sheets will be sent anywhere, worldwide.

To be eligible, all you need to do is leave a comment to this post by May 26. Please note in your comment if you are a resident outside the US.

Just leave a comment for one entry to win one of these fabulous prizes. Get more chances to win by sharing info about the book tour!!! When you leave your comment just say where you posted (facebook, twitter, your blog, etc.) Each post is worth one extra entry in the drawing!

Book tour giveaways for Inspired Remnants, Curious Dreams blog tour

A) The book: Inspired Remnants, Curious Dreams by Kerin Gale. This will be mailed directly to the winner from Northlight Books.

B) One Aves Power Pack (selection of their most popular formulas) from http://AvesStudio.com. (This will be mailed directly to the winner from Aves Studios)

C) Fluid Chalks Online Workshop by Lesley Venable on her The Art Of Altering site which features many other awesome online workshops. More information about this workshop can be found here: http://theartofaltering.ning.com/group/fluidchalksbackgroundsbeyond

D) Two Digital Collage Sheets of your choice by Alicia Caudle of Altered Bits. You can see her awesome sheets at http://alteredbits.com/digital-collage-sheets.php

E) Sample pack of Silputty 40 silicone putty mold mix from Silpak. This is the formula Kerin recommends in the book that has the longer cure time. If you want to order any of these materials or have any questions, call Jerry at Silpak 909-625-0056. He was her technical advisor for the book and so it’s great that you can talk to him directly and get any assistance you may need!!!

F) 1 OZ ICE Resin and a mixed metal bezel from http://www.iceresin.com/

Additional prizes for this blog post only:

My Vanessie blog readers will also be entered to win one of these additional prizes for this blog post (all you have to do is leave a comment to enter, just like you have to do for the other prizes):

A) A soft cover version of my photo book
B) The Victorian fascinator from the mini tutorial in this post

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Usually I use Aves apoxie sculpt to make:

A)all the parts for my automata
B)the open skirts for my open skirt dolls
C)the vignettes/bases for my wall dolls
D)the bodies of my small skull dolls
E)the hands of all my dolls
F)props for the doll settings
G)a strong basic skeleton for all my dolls
H) insert eyes in my dols
I) "glue" everything together
J) to repair things in my home

So as you can see this material is priceless to me. I really can't create my art without Aves Apoxie sculpt.
You can see my work here

Now I'm gonna show you in a mini tutorial how I will make a Victorian Fascinator.
This is not how you MUST do it but just the way I did it.
I never made a fascinator before and......I never made a mold before but I wanted to show you something that was inspired by Inspired Remnants, Curious Dreams and still has my "hand" so here we go:

I use sillicreations for food molds (as I can't get the mold making supplies Kerin used here in the Netherlands), aves apoxie sculpt, Vaseline/petroleum jelly (to prevent the apoxie sticking to my hands), baking spray (for the mold making) and a miniature picture frame from the miniature dollhouse store. I start with spraying the frame with the baking spray.

Weigh 2 equal parts of the silicone part A and part B (preferably using an electronic kitchen scale). It’s advisable to lightly grease your hands. Place parchment paper on your workspace whilst working with the silicone.
Kneed and mix the paste for approximately 1 minute until you get a homogenized paste and a uniform color is achieved. The work time of silli plastique is about 10 minutes. If you wish to make more moulds or a bigger mould then you can prolong the work time by placing the silicones in the refrigerator. Never use too much at once(that is why Kerin use Silputy from Silpack, longer working time!!!!).
Kneed and mix the paste for approximately 1 minute until you get a homogenized paste and a uniform color is achieved. The work time of silli plastique is about 10 minutes. If you wish to make more moulds or a bigger mould then you can prolong the work time by placing the silicones in the refrigerator(if you need more time to make the mould, make sure that the 2 components are as cold as possible, this slows down the work time, giving you a bit more time.) Never use too much at once.

Press the object carefully, applying some pressure, in the silli plastique. Make sure all the details have been pressed into the silli plastique. If necessary a thin layer of silli plastique can be rubbed into the details of the object. De silli plastique should cover the object completely, making sure the layer is thick enough. Rub over the mould with your fingertip for a smooth surface.Leave the mould to cure for at least 2 hours at room temperature.

Remove the object from the mould and place the mould in a pre-heated oven 100 degrees C or 212 degrees F. Make sure the silicones are fully cured.

Weigh 2 equal parts of the Aves apoxie sculpt part A and part B (preferably using an electronic kitchen scale). It’s advisable to lightly grease your hands with vaseline). Place parchment paper on your workspace whilst working with the Aves apoxie sculpt.
Kneed and mix the apoxie for approximately 1 minute until you get a homogenized paste and a uniform color is achieved.

Now fill the mold with the apoxie. I make a thin roll from the apoxie and push it all around in the mold, that way you'll know there will be no lines or cracks from where you pushed the apoxie together. I rub the top of the apoxie with a little bit of vaseline to make it flat and smooth.

After one hour I carefully remove the apoxie from the mold and place the frame (on baking paper!!) in the oven (100 degrees C or 212 degrees F)for 20 minutes. Let the apoxie frame cool down completely.

While the apoxie is in the oven and during the cooling down you can sew the hairclips to the basic fascinator. I bought the fascinator, hairclips, feathers, Russian veil and millinary flowers on Etsy.

Now make sure you decrease your frame. I do this with alcohol tips and then clean them under the water tap. After the cleaning you can paint the frame, I use a quick drying spray paint(yes I know...I'm not the most patient girl).

If you also use spray paint: always use it outside or in a very well ventilated room!! Of course you can also use acrylics but make sure you don't make the paint layer too thick otherwise you will lose the beautiful details in your frame.
After the basic paint I use this awesome Inka Gold from Viva(bought at triskelfantasy shop).Use a little piece of foam or paper towel to rub the Inka gold on the frame, the longer you rub the more it will shine.

Now it's decoration time. Cover the basic fascinator with feathers(you can use seperate feathers, feathers on ribbon or feather pads (all at Etsy))and sew them tightly on the fascinator at the bottom, middle and top with small stitches in the same color as the feathers.
Stitch flowers,leaves, ribbon, feathers whatever embellishment you like at the pointy bottom of the feathered fascinator. Make sure you attach all the embellishments and feathers firm!

Now you can attach the frame to the fascinator, I use black Aves apoxie to do this but you can also use a very good glue, like E6000. Now you attach a very thin layer apoxie on the feathers and millinary flower stem and a thin layer apoxie on the backside of the frame and push the frame firmly in the right place.

Now place a thin layer of black apoxie sculpt inside the frame, be careful not to rub the apoxie on the outside of the frame, and smoot it with a little bit of the vaseline. To make the surface more interesting you can use a piece of lace and push it in the apoxie and carefully remove it again (this will be easy to do when you cut the lace bigger then the frame so you will have enough lace to hold without touching the apoxie).

I'm using a real bat skull to decorate the frame but you can also make a mold from a real skull (see Inspired Remnants, Curious Dreams), use a beautiful photo or any other embellishment you like. Press the skull, embellishment or photo into the uncured apoxie. If you use a photo you don't need to do the lace texture step of course. You can finish the fascinator with Russian or French veil. Sew the veil with little stitches to the front of the fascinator (underneath the feathers with the other end of the veil facing your side)then push it back over the fascinator, gather the end of the veil and stitch it underneath some feathers.

Now sew some pearls, beads or sew on crystals to the veil and fascinator at the same time. That way your veil is beautifully draped and attached.
Your fascinator is now ready to wear.

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Make sure you visit all other blogs hop posts and have lots of fun!

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May 1
Kerin Gale, Remnants of Olde
http://RemnantsOfOlde.com/posts

May 2
Alicia Caudle, Altered Bits
http://alteredbits.wordpress.com/

May 3
Lesley Venable, Flatwoods Folk Art
http://www.flatwoodsfolkart.typepad.com/

May 4
Christine Lehto, Lilly Bug Studio
http://lillybugstudio.com/blog/

May 5
Seth Apter, The Altered Page
http://thealteredpage.blogspot.com/

May 6
Nancy Perennec, Little Bit Wired
http://littlebitwired.blogspot.com/

May 7
Jen Cushman, ICE Queen Zine
http://www.iceresin.com/category/inspired-remnants-blog-tour/

May 8 Mother’s Day

May 9
Beth Robinson, Strange Dolls
http://strangedolls.wordpress.com/

May 10
Brenda Schweder, Brenda Schweder Jewelry
http://www.brendaschweder.com/

May 11
Esther Verschoor, Vanessie Art Dolls
http://vanessies.blogspot.com

May 12
Kecia Deveny, Lemoncholy’s Flight of Fancy
http://www.lemoncholys.blogspot.com/

May 13
Rachel Whetzel, A Year In The Life Of An Art Journal
http://oneyearartjournal.blogspot.com/

May 14
Shannon LeVart, MissFickleMedia.com
http://missficklemediacom.blogspot.com/

May 15
Marlaine Verhelst, Marlaine Verhelst Art Dolls
http://marlaineverhelst.com/blog/

May 16
Lisa Jurist, Mud Hound Studio
http://mudhoundprimitives.blogspot.com/

May 17
Michelle Bernard, Yesterday’s Trash
http://michellereneebernard.blogspot.com/

May 18
Kerin Gale, Remnants of Olde – Alan Rogerson feature
http://RemnantsOfOlde.com/posts

May 19 Facebook Party!
Apoxie Clay & Epoxy Clays Page
https://www.facebook.com/#!/home.php?sk=group_15815967756276

Inspired Remnants and Curious Dreams Blog tour

2011-04-29T13:41:00.000-07:00

The book Inspired Remnants and Curious Dreams is filled with projects, tips and ideas about working with Apoxie sculpt and other resin clays.
For sale here

This Sunday, May 1st, the Online book tour of Kerin Gale's Inspired Remnants and Curious Dreams will start.
The book blog tour will run for 19 days and will end with a Facebook party on May 19th.
Make sure to go to each participating blog on the date shown in this list to read about the book and what that particular artist can do with resin clay and......the chance to win some great prizes.

May 1
Kerin Gale, Remnants of Olde
http://RemnantsOfOlde.com/posts

May 2
Alicia Caudle, Altered Bits
http://alteredbits.wordpress.com/

May 3
Lesley Venable, Flatwoods Folk Art
http://www.flatwoodsfolkart.typepad.com/

May 4
Christine Lehto, Lilly Bug Studio
http://lillybugstudio.com/blog/

May 5
Seth Apter, The Altered Page
http://thealteredpage.blogspot.com/

May 6
Nancy Perennec, Little Bit Wired
http://littlebitwired.blogspot.com/

May 7
Jen Cushman, ICE Queen Zine
http://www.iceresin.com/category/inspired-remnants-blog-tour/

May 8 Mother’s Day

May 9
Beth Robinson, Strange Dolls
http://strangedolls.wordpress.com/

May 10
Brenda Schweder, Brenda Schweder Jewelry
http://www.brendaschweder.com/

May 11
Esther Verschoor, Vanessie Art Dolls
http://vanessies.blogspot.com

May 12
Kecia Deveny, Lemoncholy’s Flight of Fancy
http://www.lemoncholys.blogspot.com/

May 13
Rachel Whetzel, A Year In The Life Of An Art Journal
http://oneyearartjournal.blogspot.com/

May 14
Shannon LeVart, MissFickleMedia.com
http://missficklemediacom.blogspot.com/

May 15
Marlaine Verhelst, Marlaine Verhelst Art Dolls
http://marlaineverhelst.com/blog/

May 16
Lisa Jurist, Mud Hound Studio
http://mudhoundprimitives.blogspot.com/

May 17
Michelle Bernard, Yesterday’s Trash
http://michellereneebernard.blogspot.com/

May 18
Kerin Gale, Remnants of Olde – Alan Rogerson feature
http://RemnantsOfOlde.com/posts

May 19 Facebook Party!
Apoxie Clay & Epoxy Clays Page
https://www.facebook.com/#!/home.php?sk=group_15815967756276

New doll I'm working on

2011-04-22T04:00:00.000-07:00

This doll will have an inter changeable head: 1 animal skull head and 1 human head.
With the woman head on the body she will look like cat woman and with the skull head on she will be a fetish doll.
For now I'm working on the woman head (almost finished)
This head is 3cm/1.2 inches and made of polymer, liquid latex (mask) and real human hair.

Listed on Etsy: the Psycho billy gang

2011-04-18T06:13:00.000-07:00

I just listed the four members of the psycho billy gang to Etsy.
After a successful Dabida exhibition they are ready to be sold :D
Of course there will be a discount if you want to buy more members of this gang.
The new work I will be making shall be displayed at the II International Moscow Exhibition “Art of the Doll” in Moscow.

Frenzy

2011-03-31T05:45:00.000-07:00

Frenzy is finished.
skull doll
58 cm / 22.8 inch (incl her double base)

Here is member four from the Psychobilly gang: Flaming Frenzy.
Frenzy is made of apoxie and paperclay over a metal wire and rod/tube frame.
Her gorgeous head is an artificial museum quality cat skull from BoneClones.
She is painted with acrylics and has realistic eyes with long black eyelashes for that flirty look.
Her hair is made from red painted locks from Gotland lambs.
Frenzy's dress and her highschool sweetheart baseball jacket are made from jersey.
Her petticoat is from black tule.
She also wears nylons, roll socks and sneakers.

A gift from Yovanka

2011-03-22T06:35:00.000-07:00

I ordered German mouth blown crystal glass eyes from my friend Yovanka 4 days ago and they arrived today (super fast, Yovanka lives in Greece and I live in the Netherlands).
The eyes are drop dead gorgeous, a very high quality and very realistic.
They were beautifully packed in a satin lined gift box.
But the biggest surprise was the gift Yovanka packed with it.... a stunning hanging art doll!!!
Photo's don't do her justice at all, she is so beautiful and her body looks like she's been living in the turquoise Greek waters for a while now.
I'm totally in love with my new art doll.

La Pastorella listed

2011-03-20T12:37:00.000-07:00

I just listed La Pastorella in my Etsy shop
http://www.etsy.com/listing/70423041/la-pastorella

Group show Dollirium

2011-03-17T11:37:00.000-07:00

Tell Me Why, High Upon A Pedestal and The Bone collector are in a group show at
Dollirium
1 Cliftonvale Ave
London Ontario
N6J-1J5
Canada
Grand opening March 20th from 4-8pm
All dolls will be displayed for ca 6 weeks
Line up: Lateefah, Christy Kane, Sheri DeBow, Christine Benjamin, Wooded Woods, Sarah Lagault, Debbie Mellor, Colleen Downs, Jacqui Gallant and Esther Verschoor.

Toyah and her new adopted puppy

2011-03-11T06:59:00.000-08:00

Our Toyah hate cats!
This morning there was one in our/her garden and she wanted to eat the cat alive.
Then to my huge surprise I found her, this afternoon, adopting this cat as her puppy.
She washed her/him, eat together from the food I just gave to her and after that they took a sunbath together.
It was so cute!

Kat von W.

2011-03-09T07:02:00.000-08:00

Let me introduce to you member three from the Psychobilly gang: Kat von W.
Kat's official name is Cat von Wildthing but she prefers to be called Kat von W.
Kat is 58 cm/22.8 inches (incl her double base)and made of apoxie and paperclay over a metal wire and rod/tube frame.
Her beautiful latina head is a real cat skull.
She is painted with acrylics and have realistic synthetic eyes.
Her hair is real human black hair and her shirt and skirt are made from silk.
She also wears real nylons and leather strapped shoes.

The Creature From the Black Leather Lagoon

2011-03-05T06:39:00.000-08:00

Skull doll
56cm/22 inches

Snapping turtle skull with glass eyes on a apoxie body sculpted over a metal wire/rod and tube frame.
He wears a jersey t-shirt with a the Cramps album cover(printed on silk)on it, jeans, a leather jacket and Doc martens.
All clothes also handmade by me
His guitar is a miniature Fender.
He is securely attached(not removable)to a double, solid wooden base covered with black and white painted tiles.

Work in Progress Psychobilly boy

2011-03-04T04:30:00.000-08:00

This is gonna be one of the Psychobilly dolls I'm making for the Dabida exhibition on April 10th
At this point I still have to make a collar on his leather jacket, stitch his jacket together, make hands and sand his Doc Martens to make them look a bit older.
Working my butt off to get everything finished on time O_O

The latest publications

2011-02-26T13:16:00.000-08:00

Recently I was surprised with a few new publications that I want to share with you.

My work can be seen in Kerin Gale's Inspired Remnants, Curious Dreams

In Doll Collectors Magazine March issue

In the first print version of Altered bits Artzine

A short interview on Vive Les Robots

So as you can see, this was a good month for me once again and this list doesn't even cover the blog features and Etsy treasuries.
I'm such a thankful lucky ducky :D

Tell Me Why

2011-02-21T02:51:00.000-08:00

Tell Me Why
14 cm/ 5.6 inches
Wall mounted
For sale through Dollirium Canada(from March 20)

My new skulls

2011-02-12T04:33:00.000-08:00

My new skulls arrived......wow.
They take my breath away and make my creative juices flow.
It are a Flamingo skull, Iguana skull, Snapping Turtle skull and a Cocatiel tail

All that glitters is not that gold

2011-01-31T10:23:00.000-08:00

Hotel room skull bust. ;))
2 inch, hair made of a cotton ball that was inside my anti histamine bottle, lashes from a Japanese dollar store, paint from a childrens water color set, crown from different Japanese Harajuku bijoux, clay from Pattee, eyes from Pattee and dress from a Japanese slipper sock and the most terrible yellow, awful smelling, thread pulling glue there is!!!!! small bird skull bought at Paxton Gate.

My studio in San Francisco

2011-01-26T15:23:00.000-08:00

Whahaha doesn't that sounds cool: My studio in San Francisco.
In fact it is only a very small desk in our hotel room.
Pattee made it possible for me to sculpt, she brought tools and paperclay with her for me.
So here I'm sitting in my hotel room, balcony doors wide open to let in the summer weather, sculpting small skull busts an making metal animals while hubby dearest is working hard in the San Fran office LOL.

A funny storie:
I'm a MART member, as most of you know, so are the beautiful Loved To Death couple who own a fabulous store on Haight street 1681 San Francisco CA.
Last Saterday Rene, Pattee and I went to their store but couldn't go in because a camera crew from the Animal planet station were filming for a documentary about Loved to Death.
After went back three more times we decided to try it ones more before we left to Paxton Gate gallery to buy skulls.
And yes we could go in.
One of the LTD designers looked at my birdskull necklace and said he like it and that they also sell beautiful skull necklaces (love the hummingbird!!!)which are a coop of his wife and another artist.
I said I'm also a mart member so they asked who I am and guess what......they know me and said they are very impressed with the way I make the clothes etc for my dolls. After a while I noticed that the camera crew taped our whole conversation . After we went through the store, admiring the gorgeous items, we walked outside where a girl from the camera crew came to us and, while I signed a release form, told us that it was a coincidence we came that day.
The designers from LTD talked about my dolls on camera the day before we came. O_O
Now isn't that special being at the other side of the world!
No need to say my jaw dropped, my eyes popped out and I was confused for the rest of the day lol.

Hey Cas, I made a pic for you

2011-01-26T13:32:00.000-08:00

Those American co-worker Fire rescuers keep me out of my sleep every night ;))
San Francisco must be heaven for every fire rescuer, never heard so much sirens during the day and night.

More pictures from our San Francisco adventure can be seen here we will be uploading our pictures here after we made them :D
What a great town San Francisco.

Dali Twins- first version

2011-01-13T08:25:00.000-08:00

First version, I'm not satisfied with them (price you have to pay when working to quick!!) so I'm gonna redo them after our trip to the States and send them to P and S.
10 cm/3.9 inches
rare vintage email pallet in her hair
silk clothes

A few weeks to go, enough time to make an awesome Time inspired doll

2011-01-03T08:29:00.000-08:00

Annual DABIDA Doll Award:
Hannie Sarris Doll Award 2011

Theme :
"Time"
We invite you to send your entry for this prestigious Award.

How to work out this theme is completely up to you, as long as it is a 3-dimensional figure or group of figures. All media and styles are allowed such as clay, fabric, abstract, realistic etc. 1 entry per person. No entry fee.

This competition is open for doll makers from all over the world. To enter this competition, please send in one total picture and one portrait picture of the doll(s) (with a maximum of 900x600 pixels per picture) to :

astrid.j.mulder@xs4all.nl

Accompany your entry with your name, address, E-mail address, phone number, the name of the entry, information about the use of material, size and a short description.

The jury is formed by all DABIDA artist members who will judge the entries on the following criteria:
expressiveness, originality, personal style and technique.

The closing date is February 1, 2011. Mid February 2011 we will place the 10 entries which received the most votes from the jury on the DABIDA website. Before the end of February the 3 best entries will be announced. The other 7 nominees will receive a digital certificate of nomination with quotations of the jury rapport plus a nominee banner which can be used for their own website.

The makers of the 3 best entries will be invited to be present at the 5th DABIDA day on April 10, 2011 where their entries will be displayed during the exhibition and they will receive a certificate with quotations of the jury.
This will be followed by revealing the winner who will receive the Hannie Sarris Annual Doll Award 2011.

All the nominees will be posted on the DABIDA website during one year, with extra information about the 3 best artists and a report of the presentation.

We wish you all a lot of success!

And the winner is....

2010-12-31T10:55:00.000-08:00

..... Laurina Bartmann-Lucius

This draw was held by Vanessie in a fair and unbiased manner, using RANDOM.ORG's Third-Party Draw Service. For details, please see the draw's record.

Rianne would you please email me your address so I can send you the book.
XXX

Look what the postman just brought.....

2010-12-31T03:12:00.000-08:00

.....this stunning piece of Art Mariet made for me.
What a big surprise this is, I'm such a lucky girl.
Thank you very much Mariet, I'm so happy with it XXXX
You can find Mariet here

Book Give Away drawing will be tonight

2010-12-31T00:58:00.000-08:00

I close this give away at 7pm CET and the drawing will be at 8 pm CET using Random.org.
For original post go to the give away post here

The list so far:
1.Mattie
2.Bridget
3.Laurina Bartmann-Lucius
4.Emce
5.Corry van der Heijden
6.Bonnie Jones
7.Trolineke
8.Aude Berger
9.Tracey
10.Zephyr Dreams
11.Dew Jadine
12.Patrizia Cozzo
13.horriblesweet
14.Kristine Brunelle Hudson
15.realmofthebluerosedragon
16.kakihara
17.☞ ⒶⓃⓃⒺ ☜ anne Fleetwood
18.Melan Dolly
19.Kamilla Meesters
20.julie campbell
21.Tania
22.Pattee
23.Joji
24.dreamkeeperfae
25.JenW!~
26.Donna Balje
27.Amanda Rainey Daniels
28.Anita Collins
29.Julie
30.Otto Rapp
31.Candis Jamison
32.corrie
33.Natalie Ruiz
34.Annelize Bos
35.Stephanie Smith
36.Carol
37.Kristel Jacobs
38.Ellen Liss
39.Vera Lisa Smetzer

Give away

2010-12-27T14:45:00.000-08:00

Only a few days left in my book give away.
Not as many participants as there are usual on my give aways so a higher risk on winning this one :D
See the original post here

Vanessie by Esther Verschoor | Make Your Own Book

The making of a skull doll robotica part two

2010-12-13T05:10:00.000-08:00

Oh yeahhhh the lower part is finished

And best of all.....it's working.
This new skull doll will be able to walk ;D

Now it's time to build up the upper body of this walking beauty

The making of a skull doll robotica

2010-12-12T06:10:00.000-08:00

It started with this beautiful Amazon parrot skull

After some work there's the core body of the robotica

Helpppp what did they write there?
Japanese is hard to understand!

A lot of work....

but I will manage.

This is it for today,the upper legs are attached.

I'm getting tired so see you tomorrow.

Book Give Away

2010-12-03T04:18:00.000-08:00

As a thank you for all the great support I've got from all of you this, for me very successful, year I'm gonna do a give away.
On December 31 2010 on 8 pm CET I will draw a name (using http://www.random.org/) who will win a copy of my book (soft cover version).

Vanessie by Esther Verschoor | Make Your Own Book

The only thing you have to do to get your name in the drawing is to share this blog post on your own blog and/or Facebook and leave a comment here on my blog at this give away post.
Make sure I can contact you for the shipping details when you are the winner.
(if you can't comment here on my blog, let me know and I post your name to the list)

La Pastorella finished

2010-12-01T10:14:00.000-08:00

She is finished.
There will be more pics on my website later tonight.
The video will be finished this upcoming weekend.

WIP La Pastorella automata

2010-11-29T03:55:00.000-08:00

I almost finished my 4th simple automata after I let her drop on the floor yesterday.
Her skull was in multiple pieces but I luckily could repair it with the good old apoxie :D
I'm working on her hands right now and after that I can attach her to the automata base and she will be finished.

My book, now for sale!

2010-11-19T05:38:00.000-08:00

Here you can preview and buy my book

Vanessie by Esther Verschoor | Make Your Own Book

TIME is tickin' away- deadline February 1- 2011

2010-11-02T03:08:00.000-07:00

Annual Hannie Sarris Doll Award 2011

Theme :

"Time"

We invite you to send your entry for this prestigious Award.

How to work out this theme is completely up to you, as long as it is a 3-dimensional figure or group of figures. All media and styles are allowed such as clay, fabric, abstract, realistic etc. 1 entry per person. No entry fee.

This competition is open for doll makers from all over the world. To enter this competition, please send in one total picture and one portrait picture of the doll(s) (with a maximum of 900x600 pixels per picture) to :

astrid.j.mulder@xs4all.nl

Accompany your entry with your name, address, E-mail address, phone number, the name of the entry, information about the use of material, size and a short description.

The jury is formed by all DABIDA artist members who will judge the entries on the following criteria:

expressiveness, originality, personal style and technique.

The closing date is February 1, 2011. Mid February 2011 we will place the 10 entries which received the most votes from the jury on the DABIDA website. Before the end of February the 3 best entries will be announced. The other 7 nominees will receive a digital certificate of nomination with quotations of the jury rapport plus a nominee banner which can be used for their own website.

The makers of the 3 best entries will be invited to be present at the 5th DABIDA day on April 10, 2011 where their entries will be displayed during the exhibition and they will receive a certificate with quotations of the jury.

This will be followed by revealing the winner who will receive the Hannie Sarris Annual Doll Award 2011.

All the nominees will be posted on the DABIDA website during one year, with extra information about the 3 best artists and a report of the presentation.

We wish you all a lot of success!

The show is over

2010-10-31T14:46:00.000-07:00

We're back home from the Ahoy Doll and Bear show 2010.
We had so much fun with all the visitors and other artists.
It was good to see and to talk to everyone.
We had the best neighbors you can get: Kristel Jacobs, Marijke van Ooijen and Triskel Fantasy shop.
We laughed a lot, what a sweet people to spend those two days with.

And again I'm spoiled, and how!!!!
I won the donation from Corrie van Gossum in the Pink Ribbon lottery, a beautiful and powerful bust with a pink ribbon in the place where a breast used to be.
I love this piece,there is so much emotion when looking at this work as if it was made for me!

I also received a beautiful gift from my sweet friend Donna.
She gave me a piece she knew I love so much: Sarah Lee.
I'm so happy with her.
Thank you so much sweetie.XXX

If you want to get an impression of the show you can look at the pics we made at the show here
Now it's time to rest, it was so much fun but also very exhausting for me.

Did Es made something sweet? Or.......????

2010-10-28T02:55:00.000-07:00

Mother
By Siouxsie and the Banshees

The word you learn to love The disapproval that you hate that's Mother from Mother
They teach you to respect... Makes you always want to please Mother Mother

The one who keeps you warm The one who keeps you warm And shelters you from harm And shelters you from harm Watch out she'll stunt your mind She'll open up your mind 'Til you emulate her kind To make you good and make you kind Is that Mother? Mother

Downstairs I don't know Downstairs I don't know If it's the springs in her bed Why I feel safe in my bed Or her joints I hear When I know I'm alone Creaking overhead She must be watching overhead Mother Mother

She'll twist the words you speak She'll kiss and say goodbye If she thinks you're near escape If you want to go away Mother Mother
So she clutches at her brood So she gathers up her brood And sits across its face And smiles into their face She sucks up all its energy She beams down vital energy And smothers their last breath She gave us out first breath Oh Mother Mother

Three Brothers Stephenson

2010-10-19T01:56:00.000-07:00

A very small side project: altered German bisque men(antique and numbered on the back).
8cm = 3.1 in
I gave this headless antique German bisque men a bird skull head, glass eyes, orange Tibetan lamb hair and a leather cap.
They represent old railroad men (the reason why I called them Stephenson: George Stephenson (1781-1848)invented the train).

Halloween prezzies

2010-10-18T00:26:00.000-07:00

This Saturday the mailman rang on the door and handed me a big box.
It came all the way from the USA to the Netherlands.
The box was stuffed with props for a real American celebration: Halloween.
Here in the Netherlands we don't celebrate Halloween so I'm really chuffed with my new props.
I made this Little Halloween alter in my living room with most of the props and the most awesome witch the generous friend who sent this box made for me.
There was much more in the box then you see on this pic: delicious candy corns (hmmmm), a really awesome necklace, lace handkerchiefs, nail polish, hair glitter spray, fabrics, ribbons, napkins,black beads, crosses, purple light strings (gonna be on my alter when I have bought an converter)and beautiful photo postcards from the area where this dear friend lives (I really need to go there one day).
Now you want to know who this generous friend is, won't you?!
The gorgeous, sweet and talented Mrs Pattee.
Isn't she the sweetest?

boingboing

2010-10-12T11:38:00.000-07:00

Cory Doctorow made a feature about me and my work on boingboing .com
I'm as proud as a peacock with her feathers open ;D
boingboing article
MART article

M.A.R.T - The Roque Taxidermy 2

2010-10-05T05:50:00.000-07:00

Today I received my official member certificate, badge and t-shirt from the Roque.
I'm as proud as a peacock with full feathers :p

http://www.roguetaxidermy.com/members.php

Feline La Rouge in her daily wiggle dress

2010-09-28T03:35:00.000-07:00

I changed Feline La Rouge her clothes from her performance clothes into her daily clothes.
She is so much more "Vanessie" this way :D

Feline La Rouge at work at the Cabaret

2010-09-27T04:24:00.000-07:00

Feline La Rouge dressed for her performance at the cabaret.
Right now she is slipping into her normal day clothes, pictures follow later this week

Work in progress - Feline La Rouge

2010-09-25T04:01:00.000-07:00

Poor girl, standing here without hair and in her lingerie.....I better get my butt in gear to give her clothes and hair :D

M.A.R.T - The Roque Taxidermy

2010-09-19T14:14:00.000-07:00

I'm very proud to announce my membership as a working member of The Minnesota Association of Rogue Taxidermists.
This is the website of the MART http://www.roguetaxidermy.com/members.php

I'm so spoiled

2010-09-15T11:15:00.000-07:00

I'm so spoiled with features in many Etsy treasuries, it's unbelievable.
I'm so honored and happy, thank you all who featured my work.
Here you can see all the treasuries I'm in from the end of May until today.
Etsy treasury list vanessies

Paper Biennial 2010

2010-09-12T12:59:00.000-07:00

Today we went to the last day of the Holland Paper Biennial 2010.
OMG so many gorgeous creations.
There I discovered Riki Moss and I'm sold, her art is so beautiful look for your self
on her site here

You can see some of the pictures I made here

Human heads

2010-09-09T14:26:00.000-07:00

Someone asked me who sculpted the head of my last doll Alma.
She thought I can't sculpt a head because I always use skulls :D
This made me laugh, I can sculpt heads but use skulls just because I love skulls.
As prove the last few heads I sculpted lol
Okay I'm not that good in faces but I think they are not that bad either.

Alma and Nibbles

2010-09-08T03:52:00.000-07:00

Alma with her pet Nibbles, in mourning for her parents
This doll is inspired by the short movie Alma http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63fwk_pQFIE

27cm/10.6inch (would be approx. 43cm/16.9 inch when standing)
Alma is made from paper clay (head and hands)and Apoxie sculpt (entire body) over a strong wire frame.
Her hair is made from the softest black Tibetan lamb with a black/white checkered bow.
The dress is made from black dupioni silk and black/white ribbons and have a white taft silk collar with a tiny cameo.
Alma is wearing a black/white stripped legging, black camisole and a black bloomer (with ribbon bows) underneath her dress.
Her Victorian child shoes are made from soft lambs leather.
Alma is holding a picture (Victorian memorial photo printed on glossy photo paper)of her parents in her hand

Nibbles is a real little mouse skeleton with a soft pink ribbon bow.
7cm/2.8inch long and 3cm/1.2inch high

Always much more photo's on my website vanessie (gonna post them later this evening)

progress on the Teenage orphan and her mouse pet

2010-09-02T05:48:00.000-07:00

Well I'm almost there :D
I'm working on a bit larger white collar (I find this one a tiny bit too small), then her shoes and hands.

Work in progress - Teenage Orphan

2010-08-31T08:04:00.000-07:00

A little bit further, here she's wearing her underwear.
Always a pity that you won't see the undies when a doll is finished but for me it is necessary to dress a doll completely to create a "soul" in my dolls.

This doll would be around 43 cm when she would be standing.
Her head is sculpted from paperclay and her body from apoxie.

Teenage orphan and her mouse pet

2010-08-30T06:34:00.000-07:00

This is the teenage orphan and her pet I'm working on right now.
Just the start so still a lot to do :D

Fossette La Toutouque

2010-08-23T08:00:00.001-07:00

Let me introduce to you: Mdm Fossette La Toutouque.

Fossette's head is a real cat skull painted gold with high quality gold paint.
She is 59cm/23.2inch big and wears a silk brocade trouser and shirt with a lace collar.
Her over coat is made of silk taffeta lined with silk brocade and fastened with golden and black pearls.
Fossette's high heeled boots are made from soft deer leather with (faux)golden buttons.
Her hat is made from felted wool with beautiful feathers, golden mini pearls and buttons.
Fossette lean on a posh cane topped with a huge diamond.

Strange men in pinstripe suits award

2010-08-18T09:55:00.000-07:00

My dear Dutch friend Ineke from http://trolineke.blogspot.com
makes such beautiful art creations that gives you a smile on your face.
She has given me the "Strange men in pinstripe suits" award.
I'm so honored to receive this award because I'm proud to be "strange". MUAW ;)

The award originated with Cate Gardner who is celebrating the pre-release of her book,
"Strange Men in Pinstripe Suits"
and receiving this award also qualifies you for a contest with some pretty cool prizes.
To accept the award, however, you have to do some "strange" things--like, go forth and celebrate the strangeness of friends (and strangers, who are always allowed) by nominating seven blogs run by strange folks.

I'm gonna work on my list of my favorite strange bloggers this weekend.
So be aware........ maybe I'm nominating YOU this weekend whahahaha *** evil laughter***

WIP Golden Kitty Cat (temp work name)

2010-08-16T05:01:00.000-07:00

Halfway this piece.
I'm currently working on her overcoat as you can see.
After this I have to sculpt her high heels, walking cane, hands, make a hat and finish her base.

2010-08-14T05:48:00.000-07:00

I'm working on a golden kitty cat from the early 17th century.
She's almost finished.

Two new dolls

2010-08-08T07:58:00.000-07:00

Dark Bride
70 cm/27.6 inch

Her skull is sculpted from apoxie with a paperclay layer and painted with acrylics.
Her body is also made from apoxie and sculpted in two parts so she is seperatable at her waist (rod/tube) for safer shipment.
She's got glass eyes and mohair/sheep wool/viscose hair.
I used 100% dupioni silk and 100% crepe georgette silk for her dress and vale, and lace and swarovski crystals on her underskirt.
The roses are Mulberry paper flowers.

Every Inch A Lady

75 cm/ 29.5 inch big

Her skull is made of paperclay on apoxie and metal wire mesh and she's got realistic eyes.
And her body is made of apoxie over a metal rod frame and she is made in 3 separable parts for easy shipment (head, torso, lower body).
She is painted with acrylics
Her dress is made of Dupioni silk, georgette silk and crushed silk.
The hairdo is in Japanese style and made from a mix of Viscose and mohair.
She wears high leather boots

Memento Mori Bust

2010-07-15T05:46:00.000-07:00

Bust 8 cm/3.1 inch, total 20 cm/7.9 inch
Made of Paperclay, acrylics, varnish and wooden base with metal plaque.

Made for the Memento Mori bust challenge from the Dark Artist Guild.

Inspired by this Memento Mori Photo of a beautiful angel who died in 1870.

The Artist Doll: Standard Definitions

2010-07-08T06:44:00.001-07:00

As set by the Original Doll Artists Council of America, the National Institute of American Doll Artists, and the British Doll Artist’s Association.

The National Institute of American Doll Artists, The British Doll Artist’s Association and The Original Doll Artist Council of America have adopted the following definitions for their members. We encourage all doll makers, collectors and retailers to use these terms as a guide for uniform communication in their doll producing, collecting, and marketing endeavors.

If a collector is concerned about a long-term investment and the creation of a quality collection with re-sale value, they should be familiar with all types of doll production. Before making a purchase, the collector should take care to read advertising closely, and should question and ascertain facts when in doubt. As with any art object, quality, rarity, and originality are the prime considerations to the collector. Dolls of the highest quality of craftsmanship, made by or under the direct supervision of the artist from his original designs and those fewer in number are most likely to be of lasting value.

The National Institute of American Doll Artists, The British Doll Artist’s Association and The Original Doll Artist Council of America have provided a relationship diagram as part of “the Artist Doll: Standard Definitions” for their members. We encourage all doll makers, collectors and retailers to use these terms as a guide for uniform communication in their doll producing, collecting, and marketing endeavors.

Artist’s Original Dolls

Artist – Designer

One who takes an idea and transforms it into a three-dimensional doll form by using his or her hands to sculpt or re-arrange raw materials.

the Idea

The starting point of the creation of any doll. The idea may be inspired by a story, an illustration, or a life experience of the artist or it may be a concept given to an artist by an individual or manufacturer who is commissioning a specific piece

the Original or First Doll

The first doll is the object made by one artist who takes a lump of clay, a piece of wood, a length of fabric or other raw material and re-arranges it into a doll form which reflects a particular idea or concept. The work of the artist’s hands and mind, the individual nature of the artist’s approach to technical process and the fact that this particular portrayal has never before been seen in three-dimensional reality makes the resulting work the first doll or original.

One-of-a-Kind

When the original or first doll is sculpted, assembled, costumed and finished by the artist and this doll is never made again, it is called a one-of-a-kind doll. One-of-a-kind dolls are almost always entirely designed and handcrafted by the creating artist.

Design Prototype

If the original or first doll is used for the purposes of reproduction, it becomes a design prototype. A design prototype may be used by the creating artist for the production of his own editions or it may be sold to a company for commercial reproduction.

Ghost Artist

One who has been commissioned by a company to create a three dimensional doll from a graphic artist’s original painting or illustration. The graphic artist does no hands-on work, in the execution of the idea in doll form. The ghost artist rarely receives credit for his execution of the idea in doll form. Manufacturers should advice buyers/collectors when a doll has been “inspired by” or “designed from” the original art work of another artist. Ghost artists are generally artists well-known for their own original work.

Artist Doll Production

Artist’s Original Limited Series

Individual one-of-a-kind dolls handmade by the creating artist which form a “family” or related group because of shared similarity of character, theme, or costume. Dolls in this type of a series may appear to be very similar. However, as each one is individually sculpted and constructed without a mold by the artist. They are essentially one-of-a-kind originals..

Limited Edition

When an original/design prototype is used to make molds and identical dolls are reproduced from the molds in a pre-determined number the group of dolls resulting is called a limited edition. The amount to be made is advertised with introduction of the doll. The molds will be broken at the completion of the specified number of dolls in the edition to guarantee the “rarity” of the edition.

Artist’s Signature Edition

If the original/design prototype is used to make a mold and identical dolls are reproduced from this mold by the artist himself, the resulting dolls are called an artist’s signature edition. Signature editions are usually produced in very small numbers and are usually entirely hand made by the artist. They should carry the artist’s signature or mark as well as the name of doll, number in edition and date.

Artist’s Limited Edition

If the artist has help with the construction (pouring, cleaning, costuming) of dolls made from his original molds, but does the majority of the work, maintaining full control over design and execution, the resulting dolls form an artist’s limited edition. Edition sizes are usually small in number and may or may not be signed.

Artist’s Studio Edition

The artist has control over production and quality, but all work is completed by his or her staff. Edition sizes can vary from a few to several hundred.

One-of-a-Kind Costume

A limited edition in which each doll is finished with a different costume. Hairstyle and eye color may also be different.

Commercial Reproduction

Reproduction

A reproduction, or “copy of,” is any doll made or produced by an individual or company from an existing mold or model. In general, the term includes dolls made by artists from molds of their own original design prototypes. The more common usage of the term and its abbreviation “repro” refers to dolls made from purchased craft molds or antiques by makers who did not create the original design prototype. With the exception of purchased craft molds and some antiques, making a mold from a doll not of your own creation without permission of the creator or manufacturer is not acceptable. Copyrights may still be active even if doll is unmarked or original company is no longer in production It is not acceptable to call any reproduction an original.

Craft Molds

An artist may produce or have a commercial company produce molds made from his original sculptures. These molds are sold to the public. Dolls made from these molds are never originals or artist dolls. All work made from commercially available molds, even if significantly changed by the hobbyist, should carry original marks followed by “reproduced by . (craftsman’s name or initials).” To do otherwise can constitute infringement of creator copyright. Makers who sell works made from other’s molds as their own originals may also be subject to charges of fraud.

Collector’s Edition

Editions of dolls mass produced by commercial manufacturer’s in large numbers. Generally, they are produced in a pre-determined number or in a limited time period. The artist has no control of quality or final form of the finished product. Collector editions usually recognize the creating doll artist by name, although, in some cases “ghost artists” are used to execute graphic artist’s designs. Collector’s should note that the artist whose name is listed as the designer may not have had anything to do with the actual prototype doll design and construction. In some cases, the listed artist has only contributed the design concept or the costume design drawing. Collectors wishing specific information or having questions should contact the company in question.

Design Team

In the commercial world, a company may employ several persons to come up with ideas for dolls. When one person is responsible for the concept, another for the design sketches and another for the three-dimensional prototype, this is called design team production. Usually, members of a design team are employed in-house by the manufacturer and no one individual is given credit for the design when it is marketed. However, collectors should be aware that sometimes in design team production the person who has the original idea – especially if a marketable “name” – will be given credit for being the doll’s designer. This person often has not done any of the actual design graphic or sculptural work.

Mass Produced

Dolls produced in large numbers with no production time limit and with no set edition number. Generally, these are items produced for the toy market.

Manufactured Limited Edition

Edition advertised with predetermined number. Doll costumes may not be repeated, but actual doll form may be used in several different editions.

Limited Production

Dolls mass produced within a specific time period – generally limited to what can be made in a period of two years. Edition is closed at the end of time period. Neither doll nor costume is produced again. Closing dates are usually advertised in advance.

Original Doll Artists Council of America, the National Institute of American Doll Artists,
and the British Doll Artist’s Association.
www.odaca.org

HELP

2010-06-29T13:08:00.000-07:00

Can anyone tell me which skulls (like pigeons, duck, common pets like cats, rats etc) can be imported (as a piece of art like my figures) into the USA without problems?
I buy my skulls from a legal taxidermist, they are NOT killed for their bones and or fur.
Maybe I can import my figures with the right papers(which?)from my taxidermist?
I tried to find out myself but I can't get through all the official (and for me undecipherable)text.
I already sent some pieces to collectors in the USA before I realized that it probably is against the law.
I tried sculpting the skull myself but that doesn't give me the same emotional feeling as using a real skull.
For me it's more special to use the real skull so that the beautiful animal it ones was can "live" on as a beautiful, cherished piece of art.

So please please can someone give me more info?

xxx
Es

Hannie Sarris Doll Award / DABIDA

2010-06-26T03:29:00.001-07:00

Theme "Time"
We invite you to send your entry for this prestigious Award.

How to work out this theme is completely up to you, as long as it is a 3-dimensional figure or group of figures.
All media and styles are allowed such as clay, fabric, abstract, realistic etc.
1 entry per person.
No entry fee.
This competition is open for dollmakers from all over the world.
To enter this competition, please send in one total picture and one portret picture of the doll(s)(with a maximum of 900x600 pixels per picture) to

info@dabida.eu

Accompany your entry with your name, address, E-mail address, phone number, the name of the entry, information about the use of material, size and a short description.

The jury is formed by all DABIDA artist members who will judge the entries on the following criteria:
expressiveness, originality, personal style and technique.

The closing dat is February 1, 2011.
Mid February 2011 we will place the 10 entries which received the most votes from the jury on the DABIDA website.
Before the end of February the 3 best entries will be announced.
The other 7 nominees will receive a digital certificate of nomination with quotations of the jury rapport plus a nominee banner which can be used for their own website.

The makers of the 3 best entries will be invited to be present at the 5th DABIDA day on April 10, 2011 where their entries will be displayed during the exhibition and they will receive a certificate with quotations of the jury.
This will be followed by revealing the winner who will receive the Hannie Sarris Doll Award 2011.

All the nominees will be posted on the DABIDA website during one year, with extra information about the 3 best artists and a report of the presentation.

For more information, please see our website: www.dabida.eu
We wish you all a lot of succes!

My Newest

2010-06-18T06:57:00.000-07:00

Very bad pics made inside because of the dark rainy weather outside.
You can't see all the detail but I will make new ones when the weather is better.
This is just for those curious ones who asked for pics LOL.
These photo's don't do her justice at all.

Skull is made of paperclay on apoxie and metal wire mesh.
Body is made of apoxie over a metal rod frame.
Her dress is made of Dupioni silk, georgette silk and crushed silk.
The hairdo is in Japanese style and made of a mix from Viscose and mohair.
She wears high leather boots (pics follow later)
She's 75 cm/ 29.5 inch big and she is made in 3 separable parts for easy shipment.

Book publishing

2010-06-12T01:49:00.000-07:00

It's official now my work will be published in two books at the end of this year.
I just signed the second permission for publishing form.

Coming Out Of The Dark will be published in Inspired Remnants, Curious Dreams a book about Apoxie Art expected release date November 2010

And Cross Eyed Lizzy will be published in Who's Your Mistress a book about Fetish fashion in Australia expected release date October 2010

Dark Artists Guild Blog: LuLu Kellogg: The Coastal Sisters

2010-05-23T04:37:00.000-07:00

Dark Artists Guild Blog: LuLu Kellogg: The Coastal Sisters

There is a nice interview with Lulu Kellogg on this blog.
Very worth reading :D

Daydreaming

2010-05-19T07:56:00.000-07:00

Collaboration with Millie Meesters.
Based on Midnight offering from Ana Cruz.
Piece is made as donation for the Pink Ribbon lottery which will be held in October 2010 during the Ahoy Dollshow, Rotterdam The Netherlands.
W 16.5 inch / 42 cm D 5.5 inch / 14 cm H 11.4 inch / 29 cm

The doll would be 54 cm when standing
Her mask can be held in her hand or tied on her head.

Daydreaming

2010-05-18T14:36:00.000-07:00

Almost there, just a few little touch ups.

Collab: Millie Meesters and Esther Verschoor.
Inspired by Midnight offering from Ana Cruz
This piece is a donation for the Pink Ribbon lottery Ahoy in October.

WIP Pink Ribbon auction donation piece

2010-05-10T04:19:00.000-07:00

Halfway with this collaboration piece of my best friend Millie Meesters and me!
Now working on the lower legs and Victorian boots after that i will work on the last finishing touches and she will be ready for the Pink Ribbon auction in October.

Inspired by the stunning work from Ana Cruz

Rest in peace dear Hannie

2010-05-02T23:23:00.000-07:00

My dear friend, great doll artist and founder of DABIDA
Hannie Sarris
died last evening.
I'm devastated and heartbroken by her sudden dead.
This is so unfair, so unreal.
My thoughts are with her husband Chris and her sons.

Hannie thank you so much for your friendship and your believe in me.
I will never forget you.

Sence Of Sadness by Hannie Sarris

WIP Midnight offering

2010-04-19T03:48:00.000-07:00

A little bit further with Midnight offering, the collab piece of Ana Cruz, Kamilla Meesters and me.

I just finished sewing her hair and lace neck piece.
The neck piece has got 3mm small buttons in the back and a 5mm long cameo in the front.

DABIDA Annual Doll Award 2011

2010-04-14T14:01:00.000-07:00

Theme "Time"
We invite you to send your entry for this prestigious Award.

How to work out this theme is completely up to you, as long as it is a 3-dimensional figure or group of figures.
All media and styles are allowed such as clay, fabric, abstract, realistic etc.
1 entry per person.
No entry fee.
This competition is open for dollmakers from all over the world.
To enter this competition, please send in one total picture and one portret picture of the doll(s)(with a maximum of 900x600 pixels per picture) to

info@dabida.eu

Accompany your entry with your name, address, E-mail address, phone number, the name of the entry, information about the use of material, size and a short description.

The jury is formed by all DABIDA artist members who will judge the entries on the following criteria:
expressiveness, originality, personal style and technique.

The closing dat is February 1, 2011.
Mid February 2011 we will place the 10 entries which received the most votes from the jury on the DABIDA website.
Before the end of February the 3 best entries will be announced.
The other 7 nominees will receive a digital certificate of nomination with quotations of the jury rapport plus a nominee banner which can be used for their own website.

The makers of the 3 best entries will be invited to be present at the 5th DABIDA day on April 10, 2011 where their entries will be displayed during the exhibition and they will receive a certificate with quotations of the jury.
This will be followed by revealing the winner who will receive the DABIDA Annual Doll Award 2011.

All the nominees will be posted on the DABIDA website during one year, with extra information about the 3 best artists and a report of the presentation.

For more information, please see our website: www.dabida.eu
We wish you all a lot of succes!

Dabida exhibition

2010-04-12T00:34:00.000-07:00

It was a great day!
Very nice interested public and such a great and extremely talented bunch of artists.

From left to right
first row kneeling:Marlaine Verhelst, Sandra Artega, Tonia Wezerijn.
second row:Gerda Schaarman, Yvonne Flippse, Nel Groothedde, Hennie Koffrie, Virginie Ropars, Hannie Sarris, Kathleen Engelen, Tine Kamerbeek, Gelske Koopmans, Esther Verschoor, Kamilla Meesters
last row: Saskia Hoeboer,Amy van boxel, Kim van de Wetering, Astrid Mulder

from left to right
Kamilla Meesters, Virginie Ropars, Esther Verschoor

Kamilla Meesters and Esther Verschoor

from left to right
Kamilla Meesters, Sandra Artega, Esther Verschoor, Kathleen Engelen, Lydia Dekker, Ana Salvador

Marc Almond - Tears Run Rings

2010-04-02T13:58:00.000-07:00

Tears Run Rings, a tribute to Arjen Grolleman.

KINK FM presented 'TEARS RUN RINGS a tribute to Arjen Grolleman', at Sugar Factory, Amsterdam. with Audiofeel, Anne Soldaat, Spinvis and Marc Almond.

Arjen Grolleman was DJ and Station Manager of KINK FM, he died january 20 after a fatal accident.

My Hubby and I were so lucky to be invited to this tribute evening.
Marc sang three songs:

If You Go Away
Tears Run Rings
Say Hello Wave Goodbye
It was superb.

Collaboration: Ana Cruz, Kamilla Meesters, Esther Verschoor

2010-03-30T03:45:00.000-07:00

WORK IN PROGRESS

This piece is a collaboration between:

Ana Cruz (Digital art work)
Kamilla Meesters (Sculpting head and upper torso)
Esther Verschoor (body, paint, wig, mask, clothing and tomb).

Ana Cruz Anacruzarts
Kamilla Meesters kamillameesters
Esther Verschoor vanessie

High upon a pedestal

2010-03-24T03:04:00.000-07:00

The second figure of my 7 deadly sins: Vanity.
Her torso is placed on a pedestal (like all pride/vain people want) and a picture of herself is in the frame (vain people can't get enough of them self)

This piece is in Rococo style: Rococo is a style of 18th century French art and interior design.

WIP Vanity

2010-03-22T05:14:00.000-07:00

The second figure of my 7 deadly sins: Vanity, made in Rococo style(Rococo is a style of 18th century French art and interior design.).
Her torso is placed on a pedestal (like all pride/vain people want) and her picture will be repeated in the frame (vain people can't get enough of them self)

I'm working on her jacket, hair and painting for in the frame.

A must have for Doll Art lovers !!!

2010-03-15T02:41:00.000-07:00

Aude Berger wrote this special art book of 192 pages features the work of
several prominent international doll artists, such as:

Virginie Ropars, Wendy Froud, Diane Guelinckx,
Bets and Amy van Boxel, Hannie Sarris, Marlies Theillout,
Martine Brettar Jansen, Laurence Ruet, Marijke van Ooijen,
Tine Kamerbeek, Veronique Jacquelin, Heloise.

The book is written in French and the work is accompanied
by poems of Aude Berger and others.

The price for the book is 30 euro
Excluded shipping from France to your address.

You can order the book directly from her editor!
see here the link for the email:
lespresseslitter@free.fr

Dabida day 2010

2010-03-13T12:27:00.000-08:00

DABIDA Day 2010
Sunday the 11th of April 2010

Location:
De Steenfabriek
Steenfabriek 7
5126 PB Gilze

This 4th DABIDA Day will be a very special one,
with beautiful doll art of our members,
many demonstrations, a doll-quest for children,
and the DABIDA Annual Doll Award 2010.

The 3 nominees for the DABIDA Doll Award
will be present:

Opal en Carpathia - Sandra Arteaga - Spanje
Balance - Tonia Wezerijn - Nederland
Heaven's Rider - Nefer Kane - Frankrijk

Guest of honor DABIDA day 2010:
Virginie Ropars
interview and pictures of this wonderful doll artist
DABIDA day 2010 CD

During the DABIDA day on April 11,
2010 many beautiful and high quality pictures
will be taken of the dolls and figures of the DABIDA members.
After the DABIDA day a CD will be made of these pictures.
You can order the CD on the DABIDA day or after.

Pleasure

2010-03-12T09:38:00.000-08:00

7 deadly sins
Sin: Lust

20 cm/7.9 inch

Clothes, cat o' nine tails and base are made of very soft lambs leather.
Pleasure is made from a real bird skull and Aves apoxie.
Her bondage is in Shibari (Japanese bondage Art) style.

Nicole

2010-03-11T14:13:00.000-08:00

Look what the postman brought.....the gorgeous Nicole made by Yve.
Yve did a give away for Haiti.
She made two gorgeous dolls, Nicole and Lauren and I won Nicole just by donating a little.
I think this was such a great generous thing to do by Yve.
I'm blown away by the beauty from this doll, her face is painted so perfectly.
Please take a look at Yve's work here or here and you can buy her beautiful art here
Thank you so much Yve.

Pleasure, almost finished

2010-03-11T01:55:00.001-08:00

Pleasure.
Work in progress: still have to make her shibari bondage and her cat o nine tails.

20 cm/7.9 inch
Clothes and base are made of very soft lambs leather.
Pleasure is made from a real bird skull and Aves apoxie

Work in progress - Pleasure

2010-03-10T02:06:00.000-08:00

Pleasure.
Work in progress
20 cm/7.9 inch

I'm working on her hands, hair, bondage and her cat 'o nine tails now.
Then she will be mounted on her base and ......finished.

Clothes and base are made of very soft lambs leather.
Pleasure is made from a real bird skull and Aves apoxie.

and it doesn't stop...................

2010-03-08T04:06:00.000-08:00

Again a feature :D
Today I'm featured on the famous blog A Skull A Day.
How awesome is this ?!
You can find it here

Etsy treasury from MotherMidnight

2010-03-06T10:29:00.000-08:00

My Where The Wild Roses Grow made it into another treasury on Etsy.
Those who know Etsy knows how marvelous and what a big honor this is.
So yes...I'm very proud my work made it into a treasury for the fourth time :D
You can find the treasury here

Feature

2010-03-05T10:50:00.000-08:00

What a great surprise when I looked at my dashboard a few minutes ago!
Polkadottoadstool has made a feature about my dolls on her blog.
you can find the feature here
And when you are there make sure to take a look at her beautiful creations and follow her.
Thank you so much for this beautiful feature, Cheri.

An orphan called Darkness

2010-02-26T03:29:00.000-08:00

An orphan called Darkness.
42 cm/16.5 in

Her head is partially a duck skull and partially apoxie sculpt with English viscose hair.
Her body with x knees is a full sculpt body made of apoxie sculpt.
The wool felted cape is embroided with many antique (late 1800) jet mourning beads and can be removed.
Her dress is made of silk and linen with antique mourning jet.
Under her dress she wears undies from antique fabric and lace (also late 1800)
Her shoes and suitcase are from lambs leather and also handmade.
Her little voodoo doll is also made from the antique fabric.