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Imperfections on my dolls:
I maintain a single-person studio, creating dolls in the ball-joint
tradition. I do all my own work and have taught myself the techniques
over a number of years. My dolls are handmade creations, start
to finish.
I do not use a pressure pot or vacuum chamber when I cast.
This means each casting may develop tiny bubbles appear at the
top of the molds. Occasionally there are larger bubbles on the
edges of joints or inside joints. These are unavoidable.
“Birthmarks” are places where the dye in the resin
has set differently. Sometimes the birthmark develops from a
concentrated deposit of dye; other times it's inexplicably a
completely different color. Birthmarks can appear in any resin
doll, even those from much larger companies with casting processes
different to mine. Please consider these birthmarks for the
individuality they bring to each doll.
Each of my casts is part of a larger work-in-progress. I am
constantly reworking my sculpts to minimize what some might
consider obvious “flaws”: slight differences in
leg length, strength of the knee joints, etc.
I believe it is important that you understand the nature of
hand casting in general and these hand cast dolls in particular.
If the results of the hand crafting process could disappoint
you, then these are not the dolls for you, and I wish you all
the best in finding one that is!
To those who find joy my techniques and these unusual dolls,
I offer my deepest appreciation.
What's the idea behind
the dolls?
When I was a child I loved to watch the Addams
Family and the Munsters. I especially loved Morticia who I assumed
was a vampire for some reason. Soon all several of my dolls
sported fangs drawn on with white out and pen. As I grew I loved
the idea of monsters as everyday folk and collected many monsters
that lived side by side with my barbies, my little ponies and
She-ras. One of my favorite toys was a knock off Godzilla who
I named “Freddie” and whom I still have.
These dolls are an extension of this childhood
love of odd characters. I wish I could offer them at a higher
quality and larger runs, but I'm just not capable of it nor
financially secure enough to do it.
The dolls anatomically correct,
I'm uncomfortable with that!
Most asian-styled ball jointed dolls are anatomically correct.
Remember how I said I gave my dolls fangs with white out and
pens? I also gave the barbies nipples with puffy paint. It bothered
me when the dolls didn't have sculpted on underwear and just
had a smooth blank surface. At the same time it bothered me
when they had painted or sculpted on underwear and couldn't
wear bathing suits. If the doll being endowed bothers you, you
can always take a dremel and sand off the offending parts. Once
you buy the doll it is YOURS to play with and you won't hear
me bemoaning what you do to it.
How many dolls will be made?
I will continue making as many dolls as I can till my molds
disintegrate. The life of the mold is usually somewhere around
10-30 pulls. I use a tin cure silicone, which does not have
as long a life as a platinum cure mold, but is easy for me to
use. I can only do so many dolls a month since I need to rest
for at least two days between castings. I have a slight allergy
to the part A of the resin and break out in hives if over exposed
to it. This, plus the availability of resin limits just how
many dolls I can release a month.
How are the dolls released?
At the moment it looks as if I can only produce maybe 2-4 dolls
a month and so I am unable to make the dolls more accessible.
Until I get into a groove of production I'm not sure how I will
be offering the dolls. Most likely I will be releasing them
to Ebay and later on DOA, possibly through a waiting list.
What skin tones
will the dolls be available in?
I will probably make a standard white and natural skin tones
as well as blue. Green, grey, tan, and other tints and shades
will be available on a very limited basis.
So they're monsters, what all
monsters do you have in mind?
At the moment the first doll, Timmian, is a ghost. The next
doll will be Zero the Zombie elf. I have plans for a Vampire,
Necromancer, Werewolf, Fishman, and possibly a Zombie master.
And maybe the Beast King. These are all up in the air at the
moment. Zero needs a lot of sanding and patching and the Vampire
has no name and no ears. And before you ask, no I don't have
any plans for a Cthulu doll. I would want all his little tentacles
to be articulate and that would be a logistic nightmare!
Are you going to make girl dolls?
I'm working on one, but she's only 6 inches tall!
Can I order clothing for your
dolls from you?
I'm sorry but at the moment I don't have time to make more than
one or two outfits a month. My dolls fit in jeans that are made
for long legged boys, like volks long leg SD13 and DOT boys. Low
riders work best since his waist is so tiny. He fits in most shirts
for 60-70cm boys.
How long did it take you to complete
him?
1 month for rough sculpting, 1 month for sanding, 1 month for
junk molds and clean up, 1 month for spraying and final molds.
How much did
it cost you to make the dolls?
I would say roughly between $700-1000 just for this doll. I
have previously sculpted and cast several heads and smaller
dolls so that I could learn all I could before I tried to get
a doll. For the Monster boys alone I used four gallons of silicone.
Would you cast my doll/head/hands/ect for me?I'm sorry but
as much fun as that could be, I just don't have time right now.
I suggest checking out my links section and learning to cast
on your own, it's greatly rewarding and not as messy or smelly
as you think. I cast in a relatively small two bedroom apartment.
I have a few suggestions...
That's great! Please email
me and let me know. However, I do ask that you keep in mind
that I have made the dolls to my personal aesthetics and preferences
and respect my work as an artist. Saying the dolls are ugly
or weird is not a suggestion and really doesn't help anything.
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