BA Art and Design Week 5 Brief 1 - Multiples

Artist Research

Since the Sculpture process in 3D workshop is currently slow (Everyone in my class is doing it and only two people at a time can make the mould - messy process) I need to find other methods of making dolls.

I decided to go about doing this by researching other doll artists and their methods.

Marina Bychkova

I have always liked dolls but these are beautiful. Porcelain dolls, detailed expressions and even their limbs can be moved. Porcelain!

Dorote Zaukaite

I like how these ones a messy-realism look to them; their bodies are skinny and disproportioned like a cartoon, but the colour schemes, blotchy painted skins and fabulous "Messy" hairstyles give off a sense of realism which I really like.

Miss Clara

This is one I've researched before, for illustrative purposes; she makes dolls to use as images for illustrations. Love the idea and the cute, detailed intricate dolls.

Sasha Petrov

I like these dolls because of how unusual they are; long and disproportioned from normal body shapes, I think they look almost sultry and intricate, but also quiet creepy.

Blythe

Finally I came across Blythe dolls from Japan, and discovered that one of the reasons they are so beloved is because of how easily customisable they are.

One of the interesting features of these dolls are the eyes, which can look side to side or change colour with a mechanism at the back of their heads.

These are examples of "Neo" Blythe dolls

(The biggest body, 28.5 cm)

These are examples of "Middie" Blythe, and is considered the most commonly used body

(Middle sized, 20 cm)

Finally, we have "Petite" Blythe

(The smallest body, 11cm)

I honestly think these dolls are adorable and the middle one is indeed the body I would use.

Rebecca Cano

What I found interesting about the last artist is the fact that makes her dolls by customizing the body of Blythe dolls

I really like her style (Especially the costumes) and thought that her method was really interesting; I've been struggling on "how" to make my own dolls (Other than the sculpture mould method) and I think I would like to try "Customising" already made doll bodies. However I want to make a point of completely changing them by redoing everything, from skin, hair and clothes; I want to make them into "my" dolls/work, so no leaving parts of the previous appearance left over.

But its just an experiment, so we'll see how it goes. 

BA Art and Desgin Week 4 Brief 1 - Multiples

Sketchbook pages, progress

 

After visiting museum of childhood I compared old toys (Left: photos by me) to new toys (Right), particularly the quality of dollhouses.

 

 3D going a bit slow still making the clay sculpture, never was speedy with 3D, a bit of a perfectionist in that area, which is also my downfall.

 

The Doll Room!

 

My Favourite Pages In The Sketchbook, introducing my expanding on my chosen subject. Also I wanted to convey how I felt when I entered the doll room at the museum; a sudden shock and moment of "...Whoa..."

 

All photos are the ones I took myself at the museum

 

 

These pages described how I felt in the doll room (loved it) and how it made me want to do something on dolls even more.

 

Extra

 

Scraffito techniques: carving (drawing) onto paint on top of pastel

 

 

 

 

 



BA Art and Design Week 3 Brief 1 - Multiples

After visiting Edinburgh with my classmates and having dinner at TGI Fridays, I was convinced that I wanted to do something based on the doll room at the museum of Childhood

 

Photos of sketchbook, planning for the trip and places I was interested in visiting; such as the national museum, graveyard, castle and museum of childhood.

  

When I was in Edinburgh, I joined my classmates to visit "Mary Kings Close", which described a lot of the nitty-gritty history of Edinburgh, such as the plague and the awful living conditions for people in the closes.

Left: Planning to see the museum of childhood
Right: After my unexpected visit to Mary king's close (Plague doctor mask out of leaflets)
 

So even though I really wanted to base my project around dolls, I really wanted to incorporate something dark into the project as well.

Moving onto our 3D side of the class, we were told to create basic 3D sculptures based on our chosen themes, so we could make casting moulds out of them.

 

 

I decided to create a simplistic doll shape so I can create my own "Collection" or dolls, in this case it will be many designs, using the one body.