International Doll Art
Carol Duvall Show : Episode CDS-530 -- More Projects »
At the Sweeney Convention Center in Santa Fe, N.M., doll artists have an opportunity to exhibit their art at the annual Santa Fe Doll Art Symposium of Excellence, founded by Jean Wiley. The 1998 event was avenue for doll creators from around the world, including Bridgette Deval, Ankie Daanan, Chizuko Inabe, Marlaine Verhelst, Uta Brauser, Jacques Dorier, and Nancy Wiley.
The spectacular array of dolls was at once whimsical, breathtaking beautiful, and painstakingly detailed, with sources of inspiration as varied as the nationalities of the featured artisans:
- Italy's Bridgette Deval's inspiration stems from the Italian Renaissance and Flemish masters' paintings of children (figure A). She is especially intrigued by the faces and tries to convey the appearance that the dolls have "something on their minds."
- Ankie Daanan from the Netherlands derives inspiration from her native surroundings, finding her muse in shops, flower gardens, and even at the circus (figure B).
Japanese doll artist Chizuko Inabe knew after making dolls for only six months that it was the work she wanted to do for the rest of her life (figure C).
Marlaine Verhelst of the Netherlands began making dolls more than 20 years ago after graduating from art school, where she specialized in illustration. Bored with drawing, she wanted to try her hand at something three-dimensional. Marlaine's background in illustration is still evident, however, as she draws each doll to determine correct proportions prior to the actual construction.
Once a graphic artist, Germany's Uta Brauser found that her sketches led to three-dimensional sculpting which, in turn, led to creating dolls. She considers her doll sculptures to be extended clay sketches (figure D).
Often finding his inspiration in Japanese magazines and sometimes acting on his own fantasies, French doll artist Jacques Dorier creates Japanese-style dolls using exotic papers (figure E). For the sculpture influenced by the Orient, Jacques uses only mulberry paper from Japan. When he experiments with other characters, Jacques obtains and uses papers from all over the world, including from India, Africa, and other parts of Asia.
American doll maker Nancy Wiley feels that creating dolls is such intense, time-consuming work that the process is nearly meditative. According to Nancy, creating a doll is almost like making a personal statement (figure F).
Resources Santa Fe Doll Art
Check Website for additional information.
Santa Fe Doll Art
E-mail:
paulcreescollection@bigfoot.com
Website:
www.polle.net/santafe/noshock.html
Sweeney Convention Center
Sweeney Convention Center was the site for the 1998 and 1999 Santa Fe Doll Art Symposium. The 2000 Doll Art show was exhibited at the Albuquerque Convention Center.
Sweeney Convention Center / Santa Fe Convention and Visitors Bureau
PO Box 909
Santa Fe, NM 87504-0909
Toll Free Phone: 800-984-9984
URL:
www.santafe.org/destination/sweeney.html
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