A doll maker is born

People frequently ask me if I loved dolls as a kid. The truth is that I did not. I was a tomboy. The one brief stint of doll obsession I had was with She-Ra because she carried a sword. So when I fell into doll making it was as much a surprise to me as anyone else.

In 2003, a friend sent me a link to a Japanese doll gallery that showcased artists who created hand made, child sized ball joint dolls and set them up in rather elaborate installations to be viewed like a nightmare from childhood. I don't think my friend realized that it would open a flood gate of creativity for me that, almost 13 years later, has not subsided.

I was able to combine my various, and seemingly unrelated creative interests, in sculpting, sewing, and painting, into one unit: doll making. By using the doll form, people immediately have an established emotional or sentimental response to it. I like to use that emotion that is already present to manipulate or distort the childish glamor behind an object.

My work has been featured in a variety of television, newspaper, and magazine appearances. You can find out more at www.strangedolls.net. Find out when new dolls are available, click here to join my mailing list: http://ymlp.com/xgusumeygmgs