When starting a new doll, I start with a basic image in mind. The finished doll will never end up being what I originally visualise, but rather takes on its own unique personality as the creative process takes place during the many different stages.

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Polymer Dolls

With my polymer dolls, I start with an armature formulated to human proportions.  I then begin the sculpting process and shape the clay around the armature using polymer clay specifically formulated for doll making. This process can take days to weeks depending on the size and complexity of the doll. Once sculpted, it is baked in a dedicated oven according to guidelines set out by the clay manufacturers. Then starts the carving and sanding process, the benefits of polymer is that is can be carved and new clay can be added where need be.  This process can take many hours.  I will hand paint my dolls, blushing them, but the majority of the 'skin' is left as the natural clay.  I will sometimes mix clay/and clay colours to achieve the desired skin tone.  A lot of my dolls have hand painted eyes, but can also be made and inserted during the sculpting process. My polymer dolls are painted with Genesis Heat set paints which are not permanent until heat is applied.  This allows me to repaint until I am happy with the effect. Once heat set, the paint is very durable and permanent.

Once painted, they are assembled ready for dressing.  My soft bodied dolls are made with sculpted head, arms/hands, and legs from the knee down.  The body is made of strong natural calico/material and filled with glass beads for weight and stability and natural wool stuffing.  The upper arms and upper legs can either be wool stuffing or wire armature wrapped in natural wool batting for posability.

 

The hair is either Tibetan Lambs wool or Alpaca.  Some of my smaller sculptures will have natural animal hair.  It can either be applied by making a wig or attached directly to the doll, usually lock by lock.

Costuming the doll is done by choosing colours and outfit ideas once the doll is complete so I can see what personality has appeared during the creative process.  I will usually create patterns specific to each doll as the sizing can be different for each one.  Sewing is usually completed with a mixture of machine and hand sewing. I purchase quality materials, such as silk, silk brocade, cotton lace and quality cottons and linens. Most costumes are not removable. 

Shoes are completed last and are chosen to suit the costume of the doll.  They can be made from leather, material or even polymer clay.

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Porcelain Dolls

My porcelain dolls start out as my polymer dolls do.  The original sculpt is completed according to the above process, but is done using paper clay. While sculpting for a porcelain doll, the features must be sculpted specifically with mold making in mind.  No undercuts can be present or molds cannot be made correctly or successfully. Also, porcelain will shrink during the firing process, so size proportions must be calculated before sculpting to achieve the desired end size of the doll.  Once completed and sanded they are ready for making molds.

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Molds can be made in two, three or four parts, depending on the complexity of the doll piece.  My molds are made using quality casting plaster.  I mix the plaster as each part of the doll is ready to be cast.  I will typically complete one doll part cast in a day. 

The molds must dry completely before they can be used to cast in porcelain.  This can take weeks, depending on the temperature/time of year.

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Once dry, porcelain slip is cast into the molds.  I use quality doll casting porcelain by Seeleys.  Once poured, they can take hours to dry, before removing the pieces from the molds.  Once removed, they must be left to dry completely - I will do some 'clean up' during this phase, using a knife to cut away any extra porcelain that is not needed.  Holes (in arms/head) ect will be cut out roughly in this stage.  Once completely dry, they are soft fired in the kiln - and are now in the greenware stage.  The next stage of cleaning is probably the most in depth stage of the process.  The parts are submerged and soaked in water, so they can be 'cleaned' without the risk of fine porcelain dust which can be quite harmful if inhaled.  Pieces are carved and smoothed ready for the final bisque firing.  This process can take many many hours, again depending of the complexity of the parts.  Fingers and toes take the longest!

Parts are placed in the kiln for a high temperature firing and will shrink the porcelain to the final size of the doll proportions.

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Painting process - China paint is applied in layers, and after each layer, it must be set by another kiln firing.  My dolls can have anywhere from 5 to 15 layers, again depending on the part of the doll.  The face and eyes will have the most layers. Being somewhat of a perfectionist, close enough is not good enough, and I can wipe and repaint many times until I am happy!

This process is well worth while, as once completed the paint can never be washed or worn off.  China paint is permanent - hence so much time getting the painting right.  Once fired, it cannot be undone, and I will spend hours painting and repainting until I feel I have it right.

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Once all the China Paint firings are complete, I am ready to follow the above process in assembling and dressing my doll.  My porcelain dolls will have the same soft body as my polymer dolls.

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Final Words..

I hope you have enjoyed reading a little about my process - while it seems short here, each stage is quite indepth and takes many hours, and months to fully complete a doll from the initial concept to completion.  

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I take care and pride in each step, to finally bring you a doll that will hopefully bring you as much joy as it did to me in creating it.

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