Art Dolls

Yesterday I had a short exchange of words with Amy Kuczewski of Torch by Night about this fascinating piece of glass:


Thank you Amy, for the use of your pictures :)
She makes such wonderfull beads with electroforming that I can't help to be intrigued by this process. I simply must try it at some point, but that is not what I want to talk about right now.
I proceded to remember the dolls she has in the gallery section of her website. These were one of the things I remember marveling at as a super newbie lampworker about 1½ years ago. This one is my favourite, as it has bend-able arms and legs and a funky helmet. I'd like to see her face :)


Again - this I must try. I can come up with loose ideas for at least 15 of these already, but if I could finish just one, that would be huge for me.

So how to go about it? I am guessing a detailed, in scale sketch would be the core of success. I would very much like the seperately made parts to fit each other in size at first try. Also, any decorations should be determined before I start, as I would otherwise end up with all different looking parts. What can I say - I have a scattered mind. Perhaps I should try to make a simple decorated beadset before taking on a complete artdoll, yes? Or even a proper face :)

I am wondering how one might make it stand up, and not just hang limply from a hook/string, although the jangle would be lovely. Yes, I am allready considering display of the thing, before even setling on a theme :)
Could all parts be strung on a heavy wire, and then even end up poseable? It could be a wonderful shelf-sitter (with a propper safety belt of course, our floors wobble). Maybe give it a miniature chair to sit on ...
Or how about one of those winged spirits that hang from the ceilling (usually made of wood)? There is also the possibillity of making a working puppet, with a string holding up each limb ... hmm?

So last night I made a search for Glass Art Dolls, and I came up with ... Ta-daa, nothing!
Now I know that can't be right, so if you have any links to share, please do. I am looking for jointed dolls, and they should be lampworked. I did find one nifty picture of a doll, but it was beaded, and while beautiful in itself, not what I were looking for.

As for art dolls in general, here are links to some of my favourites:
Lynn Dewart has a ton of beautiful and strange artdolls.
Amy L. Rawson masters miniature tayloring too, and Beth Robinson has a spooky collection of creatures.

Nice stuff I found while seaching:
Karen Woodward has many funny and sweet lampwork faces in her portfolio, Bruno Torfs has a garden full of sculptures,
and the Needle and Clay blog is full of wonderfull doll related links.

Enjoy!
P~