In order for you to know more about me, I would like you to know the process that takes place in creating a One of a Kind Art Doll.

In preparation for the creation of my Santa and Elf Art Dolls I have studied and read extensively. I have studied body and facial expressions and came to realize how important it is to have the correct muscle movement to create a natural expression or a proper body position. The sculpt of the head alone, depending on the size, can take as much as a week or longer, while paying close attention to balance and the detail of each feature including the wrinkles in the skin, the teeth, the lips and the pointed elf ears. I use Pro Sculpt clay for my dolls as I find it to be the finest quality and give the best results. Each face is carefully painted in a three stages process. The faces are tinted with water based oil paints. This medium gives a soft, delicate, blended appearance to the skin.

The eyes are of utmost importance. Great effort is taken to achieve the proper expression by creating just the right amount of wrinkling, and shaping to bring out a sparkle in the eyes. The eyes are hand blown glass and the eye lids are lightly tinted to enhance the color of the eyes. At this point, tiny delicate real white hair eye lashes are applied to the upper lids.

The bodies are specially crafted soft body sculpts with a wire armature. In a very large art doll, preformed foam with a wire armature may be used. In the soft body sculpts, great attention is given to special stitching to create the chest, a chubby tummy, cute cheeky buttocks, squared off shoulders, and a nice curvature to the spine. These features allow the costumes and the fitting to become a part of the sculpt. Most of my Art Dolls are positioned in such a way as to give the feel of movement and the costumes are made to flare with the position of the body.

The bearding is made of curly mohair or sheep’s wool and designed to fit each doll. Bearding and hair can take up to a full day depending on the style and design.

The hands, feet and elf slippers are sculpted and painted with water based oil paints. Special detail is given to the hands which have knuckles, wrinkles, veins and fingernails. The slippers are elf style with cuffs, turned up toes, stitching and adorned with jewels, tassels, buckles or beads.

Thru my studies of Renaissance costuming and tailoring I have realized my vision and fantasy of the proper costuming for my Sumptuous Santas and Elegant Elves. My imagination takes me way beyond the typical red Santa suit. Most of my designs are inspired to reflect a historical period with a whimsical attitude paying close attention to detail from the top of his head to his adorable sculpted elf shoes. In choosing my fabrics, only the highest quality materials are used, which include velvets, tapestries, special trims, recycled furs and adornments of tassels, beads, lace and ribbons. Attention must be given to the scale of the fabric weave and design assuring that it is appropriate for the size of the Art Doll. Fabric must fall naturally, and must be sturdy enough to withstand the wear of time. Painstaking attention must be given to every in every aspect of the creation.

The end result is an original creation and it is my hope to bring out a spirit of whimsy and fantasy that will give the discriminating collector that special uniqueness that they desire to celebrate the most loved season of the year.