An International gathering of doll makers and OOAK artists

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Successful second year for Quinlan Doll and teddy show in Philly

The Art Doll and Teddy Bear Convention presented by the Susan Quinlan Doll & Teddy Bear Museum was held May 3-5 at the Ramada Airport Hotel in Philadelphia PA. The convention featured around 130 doll and teaddy bear artists. The show offered workshops taught by some of the industries most talented artists, presentations, panels and demos by leading artists, a Market place for supplies and Book signings and fantastic and informative forums. Last year I did not find out about the show until very close to the date and was only able to attend the Saturday show but was impressed enough to attend the entire convention and set up and display my own work this year. I was not disappointed and had a successful show, met may wonderful artists and made a few new friends.

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Snap shots from the 2011 Quinlan convention

Click here to see snap shots from the 2012 Quinlan Convention

Goblin Fruit Studio

Marinart

Beth Robinson

Beth Robinson.jpg

Anne Marie Gibbons

Rose Rojas

Marilyn Radzat

Eneida Rosa

Dorote Zaukaite Villela

What is an art doll? by Linda Ehrenfried

According to Wikipedia.com "Art dolls are dolls created by artists and intended as expressive and unique art objects rather than children's toys. Art dolls made by professional artists may be considered fine art. Made using a wide variety of styles and media, some are abstract or tribal, while others are incredibly realistic. They range from dolls with pre-manufactured parts to being wholly fabricated by the artist or sculptor. The term "art dolls" usually refers to human-like dolls, but not always. Art dolls can depict animals, mythical creatures, or abstract beings".

There has been alot of debate over what exactly an art doll or figurative art doll is and what qualities they should have. Many articles have been written lately and many experts opinions gathered. The main issues seems to be if there is a difference between a figurative art doll and doll art and should there be a division between dolls which are in appearance toys designed to be played with, figurative sculpture which would be any solid non posable sculpture, and jointed sculptures like BJD and sculpture designed with bodies made to be posed or is it all the same being titled art doll?. In trying to figure this out for myself it occured to me that the term, "figurative art sculpture" without the word doll encompasses far more then just art dolls made of clay. For example Bronze statues, Base relief, Stone and wood sculpture including abstract art all fall into this broad catagory of fine art sculpture. So perhaps ART DOLL or more precisely figurative art doll does best describe this art form. It does still leave some questions as to the art doll status of dolls that are made as OOAK aka one of a kind art dolls as they are actually dolls made of porcelain, resin, or fabric but hand finished by the artist as a one of a kind and are still concidered a doll but called ooak art dolls. If figurative sculpture has a cloth dress and hair is it a doll? does the dress, hair and body all have to be clay to be a figurative statue? Does size matter? Must it be large and intricate to be art or can the tiniest minature crafted by skillful hands and fashioned as a figure in clay also be concidered art and by definition an art doll? Are the answers to these questions even important or should it just as simple as," I may not know art, but I know what I like."

There is a fabulous article by Stephanie Finnegan in the December 2010 issue of Dolls Magazine. In it a series of artists and experts in the art doll world discuss what is and isn't Doll Art. She mentions the very same saying I mentioned before. " I may not know art, but I know what I like" Her article discusses how Art in general is very subjective. She also mentions the fact that you can show a painting to a hundred people and get potentially 100 different reactions and art dolls are the same. So many things are left to interpretation and those impressions may or may not match the artists original idea. Her article is very informative and if you can get a copy is is very much worth the effort. I will see about getting permission to post a snap shot of the pages. Her article also touches on an issue that I myself had dealt with when I attempted to join a local artists group. Many artists do not concider art dolls to be art. The group of "fine artists" I attempted to join concidered art dolls to be more novelty and collectible then fine art as I mentioned previously. I directed them to my website. I was informed yet again that the group was comprised of serious fine artists and that my work was more of a craft then art. I was truly shocked and gave the woman a quick education on figurative art dolls or Doll Art as it were. She said perhaps she had judged to quickly and invited me to join the group. I declined at least for the moment. Apparantly they were still to set in their ways to appreciate an art doll artist like myself. But it illustrated to me that I needed to do something to help the art doll community. So I started building this site.

In setting up this site the issue of what is an art doll and what is not has come up a thousand times. Even within the art doll community there is this division line drawn between Realistic and non realistic, mixed media, sculptural art dolls, figurative sculpture and half dozen more titles that we all choose for what we do. It seems that we want to separate even ourselves artisticly from being called doll artists. I find artistic merit in every artists work I see. A great artists in not born that way. It is developed over time. Pop culture, impressionism, even performance art movements are less devided over what qualifies as art in their media. I believe this confusing division is what gave birth to mixed media art. Why choose one or the other and limit yourself as an artist when you can be all things and create anything? Makes perfect sense when you think about it.

Most artists begin making art dolls with little knowledge of how to do it. But their desire to create and their personal taste steers them towards a particular medium. Some artists start off with a natural talent and can create anything they can imagine right out of the gate. Others will find they have to spend years practicing before they achieve the level of skill to create works that they themselves admire. I myself feel like I will never know enough about this art form. There are so many avenues I have yet to explore. So many different materials to experiment with and subjects galore to keep me busy learning for many many years to come. Art dolls can be paper, wood, Clay or a multitude of mixed medias. I have seen sculptural art that runs from thick muscular monster to brave handsome realistic heros and lovely cartoonish damsels all the way to tiny minature babies and fairies and everywhere in between. Art dolls have one main thing in common that stands out. They are not toys. Dolls are toys; art dolls are art. What ever material they are made of they are art first and art is meant to be enjoyed visually not handled or played with. Even in the case of Ball joint dolls in porcelain and other materials. They are made to be posed not played with. For some collectors of art dolls they have a particular style or genre that they collect exclusively, while others enjoy a broad range of works from many different artists with completely different styles. Art and why we connect with it is as personal as selecting a mate. You really can not predict love. When it happens you just know it. For me I love art dolls the way some people love a sports teams. I would rather spend all day looking at page after page of art dolls in magazines rather than watch a World Series or Super Bowl. Please feel free to tell me what it is about art dolls that you love and I will post your responses here on the site. email me at Linda@charmcityoriginals.com

Fantasy characters like mermaids, fairies, centaurs, faun and elves share the stage with Goblins, trolls and Dragons in the art doll world. Human dolls with loads of character and personality depicted as babies, children, adults and elders can be posed and graceful or whimsical and mischievous and everywhere in between. I don't believe in drawing lines in the sand and saying all of you on one side and the rest of you on the other so I have been privelaged to know and enjoy the craftsmenship of many artists whatever style, media or genre the work in. Visit our facebook page and leave your opinions.

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Industry Magazines Announce Merger January 30, 2012

by Linda Ehrenfried of Charm City Originals

I just learned that there will be a merger between 4 of our industries most popular magazines. Dolls Magazine will be merging with Doll Reader magazine. Also Teddy Bear and Friends magazine will be merging with Teddy Bear Review. These magazines have been staples of the industry. After seeing Doll Crafter and Costuming Magazine end its publishing in 2010 we artists need to support the remaining publications. Combining their individual strengths will no doubt lead to a better stronger magazine that can give even greater support to the doll world. It is a merger I hope leads to increased coverage of the overall doll and teddy bear artist communities and manufactured dolls as well. This site www.ooakartdolls.com was built under the same principle, when we bring our collective talents together we can accomplish much more then as individuals. It was pointed out to me by Susan and Terence Quinlan of the Susan Quinlan Doll & Teddy Bear Museum in PA, that this news while positive a way is also a rally cry to all of us artists that we need to support these magazines as they are our biggest allies in supporting our art forms and promoting the doll industry during these rough economic times. In an email I received Susan and Terence said, "The antique collectable world has the auction houses, price guides and their own publications to promote their dolls and teddy bears. The major doll and teddy bear manufacturers have huge advertising budgets to promote their contemporary collectable world. However, the doll and teddy bear artists, dealers, and show organizers have very few publications to promote their world. Four of those publications will now be down to two. It is time that we support the merging publications as much as possible, whether it be through advertising, subscriptions, article and picture submissions, creating links to their websites, or promoting the magazines with your customers and friends. Magazine subscriptions make great gifts, door prizes, and raffle donations. The price is a bargain compared to the alternatives. We are confident that if conditions improve enough for the magazines, we will see improvements in their publications that will benefit all of us. We hope that in return the magazines will not only be more open to suggestions from the artists, collectors and dealers but actually implement as many of their suggestions as possible.  It is beyond the point of just pointing fingers, as we need to accept the fact that there are forces at work that cannot be changed. It is now all about survival by stopping the retreat and taking a stand." Susan and Terence continued by saying, "When any industry suffers from the economy or reduced demand, one of the two strategies is to gain a larger share of the competitors’ markets, and those markets are made up of a lot of other types of collectibles and art forms out there. The other strategy is to merge efforts, as the magazines have done. We also need to stop thinking as individuals with concerns only about our shop, our show, our sales table, our web site, our customers, and our troubles. If each of the major peer groups within the doll and teddy bear world would think and act as one collective force, the synergy of the parts could far exceed the power of the whole. We intend to do our share to make a difference. We hope you will join us. Our first task is to support these merging magazines in any way possible."
Susan and Terence will be hosting a Convention in May of this year featuring many doll artists as well as Teddy artists. Check our home page for more information. I have owned my own gift and collectibles business for over 15 years. In that time I have sold thousands of dolls and teddy bears from many major manufactures. I have been creating my own ooak art dolls for over 3 years. From my perspective I believe that with their combined resources and talents, the new entity these two mergers create, will no doubt result in a much stronger magazine for both the doll world and the Teddy bear world. As Jack Johnston, who is one of our industries most talented and well know artists pointed out this morning on his facebook wall, " From now on, we can depend on a growing magazine for our news, shows and information." pointing out that this merger will make a stronger magazine as the two merge into stronger magazine. I for one look forward to the new magazine and will be subscribing to it to ensure I have access to the premiere issues. I would like to wish congratulations to the Editors and wish them huge success in there future endeavors.

Thanks to the generous contributions of the many artists and collectors who donated this year we have paid for another years hosting for the site. Thank you all so very much for helping me keep the site going and growing. Gratefully yours, Linda

It has been suggested that my site needs some additional text content. So I will be adding some additional information to each page. These will be one paragraph interruptions I promise. The main page will get its overhaul and will have news and some other new features. Anyone who has ever received an novel length email from me knows how difficult that is for me to keep it short and up until know I have but accoring to Google and other search engines I need to talk more. GO FIGURE. LOL So please bear with me.

Also if you have any content to contribute. A short doll making story. Famous doll artist quotes". Poems about dolls or doll making. Interesting doll history. Please feel free to email it to me. I will be acknowledging the original authors so if it is not your quote please include the authors name and let me know where it comes from. If it is yours please include your information. Ideally I would like to add quotes from all of you. Linda@charmcityoriginals.com Collectors I would welcome pictures of your collections and please tell me about what attracts you to OOAK art dolls.

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Know an artists site that belongs on this list. Please forward their name and website to us at Linda@charmcityoriginals.com.

There is much more to come.

"If we as artists open our minds to see the world as a child does. There is an infinite supply of new ideas. If you are ever stuck, lay down in the grass and watch the clouds in the sky. A magical dance of form and fantasy will errupt in the clouds and shape after shape appear and morph into an endless parade of new characters. The faces that reside there will astound you as much now as when you were a child.. So grab yourself a blanket and a sketch book and head outdoors. If your lucky you may just spot a fairy as they love to watch the clouds go by as well. " (Linda Ehrenfried)

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Races of Fairies and the eight families

A repost from Wikipedia for education purposes

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairy_(Artemis_Fowl)

This is one of the biggest questions I hear inmy shop and since just recently someone another artist also asked me this question I thought I would post this here. I would say of all the texts on the subject this is pretty accurate. Enjoy!

The Eight Families

In Artemis Fowl and the Lost Colony, it is said that 10,000 years ago, there were eight families (or species) of fairies. It is possible that Centaurs and Trolls used to live not underground but above ground, and were recruited by the fairies for the war against the mud people (Humans). This would explain the links between many animals these two species have, and would explain why they don't have magic. Centaurs are also cousins of unicorns, so they couldn't be in the fairy family without the unicorns. The fairies, however, are mostly humanoid.

Elves

Elves are similar in appearance to humans, but are around 1 metre tall. They have pointy ears and tanned skin, and it is mentioned in the first book that one theory of their evolution is that they evolved from the pterosaurs, which may explain their apparent love of flying, as well as the small nub of bone located on their shoulder blades. However, such a drastic evolutionary leap is unlikely, and therefore it is more likely that they, as well as many of the other fairy species actually evolved from a shared common ancestor, possibly even from an offshoot of human evolution. Elves have the gift of tongues, which allows them to speak any language. Elves have several types of magic. They can heal themselves and others, can shield themselves (which makes them appear invisible by vibrating at high speeds so the human eye cannot see them), can create positive magical vibes, and they have the mesmer. It is also hinted in the first book that some Fairies have the power of telekinesis, but this may only be the case for warlocks. Captain Holly Short, the late Commander Julius Root, current Commander Trouble Kelp and his brother, Corporal Grub Kelp, are all elves. Elves are the first of the eight families of fairy People.

Dwarves

Dwarves look like small humans, but are less proportional than elves. Dwarves have many abilities. They can unhinge their jaws to chew through earth extremely quickly. When digging they shovel the dirt into their mouth, digest it to remove any useful minerals, then (sometimes for self-defence or as a weapon) excrete the remnants. Their spit glows in the dark and hardens once it leaves their mouths. Dwarf spittle is also a sedative, as seen in the fifth book. Their hair can be used as keys because rigor mortis sets in once they pluck it off. When the hair is still attached to the dwarf, they can be used to detect vibrations. Since dwarves can drink water by absorbing it through their pores, if they go long enough without drinking, their pores create a vacuum effect, allowing them to stick to walls. Dwarves can also flatulate with colossal power (enough to knock out trolls). Their flatulence also is a by-product of a gas used for deep sea divers to prevent 'the bends'. They also have the gift of tongues. Dwarves are extremely sensitive to sunlight, and can burn after three minutes in the sun. They also hate fire and ice. Dwarves despise goblins as a general rule, and often erupt in turf wars against them. Another ability was shown in book six, where Diggums touched his beard to a deep cut on his head, which resulted in the wound "sewing" itself together with only a scar left in its place.

Goblins

Goblins are reptilian fairies, often described as upright, raptor like creatures (minus the claws and feathers). They are quite stupid as they have small brains, but they can still talk and (to a certain extent) work machinery like lasers and sometimes even computers. They have the ability to create fireballs in their hands, or shoot them through their nostrils (sometimes by inhaling fireballs created in their own hands). Groups of goblins are involved in an ongoing turf war with groups of dwarves. They make their clothing from their own shed skin. In Book 3, Holly describes goblins as "Evolution's little joke", with the reasoning, "pick the dumbest creatures on the planet, and give them the ability to conjure fire". Notable goblins include General Scalene who was killed along with Julius Root in book 4, also a general in the goblin revolution and public enemy No.2 (after Opal Koboi). Also there are Generals Sputa and Phlebum, leaders of the triad, and captain (now lieutenant after killing D'Nall and Aymon) Nyle, a young, cocky goblin captain also enlisted in the goblin revolution. Another notable goblin is Lieutenant Poll. He was the leader of the goblin hit squad who nearly killed Root and Butler in book 2. After straying too close to an avalanche to inspect the "bodies" of Butler and Root, a one-ton pane of ice put "some big hole in Lieutenant Poll. I could see right through 'im. An' I don't mean that like he was a bad liar." in the words of Aymon.

Gnomes

Gnomes are seen and mentioned in every book, but we are not told very much about their race in general. They are about 2 feet tall. We know that some of them are professional wrestlers (fairy wrestling is done in zero gravity chambers). Gnomes have been described as slightly stupid and very argumentative, and that they have massive backsides. It is not mentioned on whether or not Gnomes are a family of the fairies. There is more or less one notable gnome mentioned in the Artemis Fowl Series (Ark Sool) as the successor to Julius Root. Jerbal Argon is also a gnome.

Pixies

Pixies like to play tricks like stealing horses at night and bringing them back in the morning with their manes tangled. Pixies appear more child-like and grow the same height as a young child. These fairies are regarded as 'walking therapy' by other fairies, due to their innocent faces and usually sunny exuberance. Pixies have the gift mesmer and the gift of tongues. They have large brains, fragile skulls, small lungs, and short legs. Many pixies are extremely cheeky; However,their large skulls and brain makes them susceptible to carry diseases. Doodah Day, Opal Koboi and the Brill Brothers are members of this family.

Sprites

Sprites are very much like elves, but they have wings and green skin. Most males are flirts, who believe that they are 'God's gift to women'. Their favorite pastime is flying and some have been recorded to try to fly to the moon, but it is doubtful that they succeeded. They have limited healing abilities, in book 2 it was said "Sprites can magic away a wart, but gaping wounds are beyond them.". They also possess the gift of tongues. Sprites have the fastest reflexes of any type of fairy, as mentioned in book 2 "Even if Foaly had the reaction of a sprite, there was no way that he could draw up all of his hooves before the plasma shock blasted him right out of his specially modified swivel chair". There is a type of sprite called the water sprite which has batlike wings. A notable sprite is Chix Verbil, who was present in the Fowl Manor siege, was injured by the goblins in book 2, and also allowed Mulch access to his starter chip in book 4

Gremlins

Gremlins have only been mentioned once or twice in the Artemis Fowl series. We do not know anything about them, except some work in the LEP. We first heard of them when Commander Root "doused his cigar in the coffee cup of a passing gremlin" just before he saw the footage of Captain Holly Short's kidnap in the first book. Also, as Root was in the terminal on his way to Fowl Manor, the attendant is being mobbed by a large amount of gremlins. It's also possible that in the graphic novel a gremlin is seen attaching an arm patch to Root as they prepare to head to Fowl Manor. They have also been mentioned when Commander Root slapped at a paramedic gremlin who was applying burn salve to his forehead after being burnt on a whaling ship in book one page 123. Gremlin could also be another name for goblin as gremlins only appear in the first book. It Is also likely that they are related to goblins, but more intelligent

Demons

Seen in the fifth, sixth, and seventh books in the series, The Lost Colony, The Time Paradox, and The Atlantis Complex respectively. They are born as small, elf-like creatures (imps) with grey skin, stubby tails, posing no harm, and some warlocks have reddish runes on their heads and bodies. These warlocks never transform into demons and remain in their imp form their entire lives. Warlocks also have the strongest magic of all fairies. Other imps, when they achieve a certain level of bloodlust, they transform through a cocoon process called warping into large beasts (demons) with horns, pointed ears, tough plates on their skin, and extreme physical strength. The warping is the end of any magic a demon may or may not have possessed. As of the great battle between the humans and fairies, they have resided on a moon-rock island floating in a space in which time doesn't exist. The pack leader is/was, and has/had been for a long time, Leon Abbot, who controlled the pack's council through magic he acquired in the time tunnel between Earth and their island of Hybras. Demons are the eighth of the fairy families. Notable demons are Leon Abbot (who sabotaged the warlocks' time spell, absorbing Qweffor in the process) Bludwin, whose energy was sufficient enough to taint the time spell, and Gristle. Notable warlocks are N°1 (pronounced number 1), Qwan and Qweffor

Non-Magical Creatures in the Lower Elements

Trolls are the least intelligent of the non-magical creatures. Most of their decisions are based on their instincts. They are quick for their size and have large serrated tusks which produce a narcotic venom which renders the prey mindlessly—and defenselessly—happy. If they can, their preferred kill tactic is to slip their claws under the rib cage and pop the heart out before the muscles have time to tense up, rendering the meat mostly unharmed and tender. They have an extreme aversion to light, noise, and water. The largest pack of trolls were seen in the Eleven Wonders of the World Exhibit in a run-down part of Haven. Very few people have ever managed to single-handedly down a troll. Holly Short once did it with her helmet's eight-hundred-watt high beams, the shock of the light rendering the troll unconscious. Domovoi Butler did it with his combat training, and a mix of medieval and modern weaponry.

Centaurs

Half horse and half human creatures with hair covering their bodies. Centaurs don't possess any magic, but are the second largest and possibly the smartest of all fairies. Centaurs have the gift of tongues and they can hit hard with their hind legs. They are not very social, as Foaly mentioned, and are regarded as vain and paranoid computer geeks. They are not very aggressive physically. Centaurs are known to be the cousins of the now-extinct Unicorns, which were killed by humans. The most famed centaur in the series is Foaly and other centaurs include Caballine, Foaly's wife.

Trolls
A large, barnacle-like aquatic creature, up to 3 miles long, appearing in Artemis Fowl: The Time Paradox, of which only seven specimens remain. They are often mistaken for islands, like the Kraken of myth, however they lack tentacles and are docile. Kraken shed their shell usually only once in their lifetime, but when they do, under the shell is a huge amount of methane which is set ablaze, creating an explosion, and propelling the shell off. Although it is thought that Kraken shed their shells only once during their lives, one, known as 'Shelly' by the Kraken Watch and the oldest of the seven specimens still alive, blasts its shell off a second time while Holly is checking a red-lining sensor on it.

"I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free. "( Michelangelo ) Michelangelo spoke of marble as it was what was available to him at the time.