Unbelievably Lifelike Dolls

Posted on by
2

Masterpiece Dolls has offered beautifully sculpted, limited edition vinyl dolls for 27 years.  .  These dolls are so charming and lifelike it’s hard to believe they’re not real!  New releases of lifelike Masterpiece dolls are announced each quarter for pre-ordering.  These newest releases may be ordered by midnight May 22 and shipped in mid August.

The April 2012 issue of Dolls Magazine has a write up about the talented artists.  To view the article, go to http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/b0fdda38#/b0fdda38/23

These precious Masterpiece Dolls may be viewed and ordered at Special Dolls Online.com. 

A History of Ball Jointed Dolls, Part 1

Posted on by
Reply

Ball jointed dolls are any dolls articulated with ball and socket joints.  Articulated clay and wooden dolls of ancient Greece and Rome go as far back to at least 200 BCE.

The modern era ball jointed dolls history began in Western Europe in the late 19th century.  French and German manufacturers made bisque dolls with strung bodies articulated with ball-joints made of composition.  These dolls, measuring between 15 and 100 cm (6 to 40 inches) are now collectible antiques.

The idea of artful doll photography was introduced during the 1930s when Hans Bellmer, a German artist, created dolls with ball-joints and used them in photography and other surrealistic artwork.   This art form continues today with Japanese doll artists, as well as BJD hobbyists

Japanese artists, influenced by Bellmer and the rich Japanese doll tradition, began creating strung ball-jointed art dolls.  Commonly made entirely of bisque and often very tall, these dolls are purely intended as art, and not for play or even the hobby level of collecting.  These dolls are sometimes as tall as 120 cm (4 feet).  They cost several thousand dollars, up to several hundred thousand dollars for older collectible dolls from famous artists.  .   This art form continues today with Japanese doll artists, as well as BJD hobbyists.  Artists regularly release artbooks with photographs of their dolls.

Meanwhile, to view and purchase Bo Bergemann’s artist ball jointed dolls, go to my website at http://www.specialdollsonline.com/page/470065582

Lifelike Baby Dolls Just Want To Have Fun

Posted on by
1

When I grow up I want to be (how to finish this sentence?)  When I grow up I want to be happy, rich, successful.  Or, finish it this way.  When I grow up, I want to be a teacher, a lawyer, a factory worker.    What about, when I grow up I want to be a mother, a father, a friend.  When I grow up I want to be an artist, i.e., I want find joy and meaning in life by learning to work and play at the same time.

To relate my philosophical trivia to dolls, my love of lifelike baby dolls has allowed me to feel like an artist in life.  Being grown up doesn’t mean I have to stop playing.  Dolls have enriched my life with joy, meaning, and purpose.  My childhood memories of being youngest in a family of four girls, playing with lifelike baby dolls and paper dolls are joyful memories.  Sharing my love of dolls through the years with my daughter and granddaughters have been meaningful memories.  Presently, my love of dolls is connecting me with artists and friends who enrich my life with purpose.

Now that you’re grown up, what are you doing to be an artist?  Bo Bergemann has lots of fun creating uniquely original lifelike baby dolls.  Her dolls may be viewed, and are offered for purchase on my website at http://www.specialdollsonline.com/page/470065582

Please share your thoughts via a comment.

 

 

 

 

 

Doll Making and the Healing Power of Art

Posted on by
12

When I met Bo (Karin) Bergemann at this year’s 2012 IDEX show, I was impressed with her ease of sharing her delight in creating art.  After briefly talking with her, I knew her doll making was very special. 

Being personally acquainted with the healing power of art as therapy, I was touched by reading her story in the February 2012 Dolls Magazine.  The article expressed how her doll making gave her life meaning and purpose.

Bo explains how she “knows about hardship and pain from growing up sad, lonely, and hurting.”  She was able to turn adversity into opportunity despite her circumstances.  She “learned how to love, to celebrate life, to share freely, and to nurture others in need.”  She spent 15 years of her life raising foster children.  She took in medically fragile babies and nurtured them back to health until they could be placed in homes.  Although sometimes rewarding, she had to come to terms with the heartbreak of the departure of foster children.  She sculpted a baby in the image of her first departing foster child named Chelsea.  From that point on, she sculpted a doll for every departing foster child’s likeness.

Bo had to give up helping others through foster care because it was taking a toll on her health.  Once again in her life she was able, through art, to turn adversity into opportunity.  “Doll making helped me mourn the loss of the entire lifestyle.”  “Doll making began as my expression of pain so deep it could not be kept in, yet so overwhelming I could not express it,” Bergemann said.  “Finally, it became my place of creativity, growth, healing, and a challenging adventure all on its own.” 

Bergemann explains that when her mind and heart converge to invent artistic solutions, the result is, “a happy accident when something unexpected ends up being exactly what you hoped for, which is often what my best dolls are!”  Three of her best dolls won DOTY awards at the 2012 IDEX Show.

To view and purchase Bo Bergemann’s Artist Dolls, go to http://www.specialdollsonline.com/page/470065582 

Your comments about this article are most welcome.

 

 

 

 

 

Modern Fashion Dolls, An Off-Spring of the American Baby Doll

Posted on by
4

This blog is about modern fashion dolls, a popular kind of collectible American baby doll..  Thank you to the reader who commented on my last blog titled A History of the American Baby Doll, Conclusion., dated March 7, 2012, with the reminder that fashion dolls were around long before the 1990’s.  Modern fashion doll history includes dolls of the 1950s.  Dolls of this time reflected the new fashion sense of the post-war era.  There were increasing numbers of department stores with lots of mass produced fashions (the Christian Dior look of slim waists, accentuated bust lines and full skirts).  Doll designers followed suit with dolls now called fashion dolls, i.e. Horseman’s Cindy, Ideal’s Miss Revlon, and Madame Alexander’s Cissy.  Everyone is familiar with Mattel’s introduction of Barbie in 1959.  Many fashion doll lines have been inspired by Barbie, or launched as alternatives to Barbie.  Tammy was created by the Ideal Toy Company in 1962.  In the late 1960s and early 1970s Ideal Toy Company released several larger fashion dolls that had hair with adjustable length

The mid-1990’s marked a major turning point, and a renaissance both in doll production and collection with the introduction of a new “fashion doll.”  Bob Mackie’s 1990 Gold Barbie introduced an era of haute couture for mature doll figures.  Although not a new idea, these fashion dolls spanned a range of designs from historical re-creations, to contemporary designs and cutting edge modernism.  Dolls have always had an aesthetic appeal; however, these new fashion dolls were also sculpted with great skill.  They are now considered works of art.

Three major fashion doll designers of the late 1990’s through the turn of the millennium had established backgrounds in fashion design and other creative media.  Mel Odom created the Ashton Drake Gene Marshal fashion dolll in 1995.  Robert Tonner introduced his signature Tyler Wentworth in 2001.  Jason Wu was 16 when Integrity Dolls purchased his cutting edge designs for the Fashion Royalty dolls in 2002.  Madame Alexander followed suit with its high fashion model doll, Alexandra Fairchild Ford in 2006.

Some modern fashion doll companies of today are Tonner, Integrity, Horseman, and Wilde Imagination.

To view a variety of popular modern collectible dolls go to my website Click Here.

A History of the American Baby Doll, Conclusion

Posted on by
15

Fifty years from now, the Modern American Baby Doll will be the Collectible Vintage Doll of tomorrow.  Looking back from the future, this concluding blog briefly describes my observations about modern dolls of today.

A major turning point in both doll production and doll collection came about with the introduction of the “fashion doll” in 1990.  Another new modern American baby doll era began with the reborn baby doll and the interactive play doll.  The American Girl series was inaugurated in mid-1980’s.  This 18-inch play doll led the way for other 18-inch play dolls that were popular throughout the 1990’s.

By the year 2000, Asian companies were offering less costly manufacturing facilities to American baby doll makers.  This historical occurrence greatly affected the doll industry.  Besides the mass exit of doll manufacturing from this country, Asian companies developed innovations of their own.   The Asian ball jointed doll (ABJD) became very popular.

Another trend not to be forgotten in the 2000’s is the growing trend for dolls to reflect international tastes.  Multiculturalism, globalization, and culturally relevant are all words that have recently been integrated into the American baby doll world.  Fulla is a Middle Eastern version of Barbie.  Fulla and Razanne are Muslim dolls that represent Muslim identity and values.  The American fashion dolls aren’t accepted in the traditional Arab family.

Gothic and Steampunk dolls reflect a permeating pessimism among today’s youth.  Twilight dolls mirror the darker side of the human psyche as portrayed on TV and in movies.  Tonner’s Ellowyne Wilde (2006) “suffers from chronic ennui (a feeling of weariness and dissatisfaction)” that leads to low keyed but wonderfully sophisticated fashions.

All of these trends in modern doll history have led us where we are today.  My blogs will continue to take us on the exciting journey of exploring these landmark trends in depth, and discovering new trends to come.  I hope you will continue to follow.

Do you know of other trends not mentioned here?  Please feel free to express your thoughts by leaving a comment.

To view Ashton Drake Gothic and Steampunk dolls offered for purchase, click here.

Happy Tymes with Beverly White

Posted on by
14

Attending IDEX Shows in Orlando, Florida, is a great way to see doll collectors and doll and bear artists, renew acquaintances, and make new friendships.  One such friendship I’d like to tell about is my friendship with Beverly White, the world renowned Teddy Bear Artist of Happy Tymes Collectibles.  I first met Beverly at IDEX 2011 and right away became intrigued with her uniquely creative bears.  In the course of our conversations I invited her to stop at my place for a visit on her way home to her state of Pennsylvania.  Even though that didn’t happen, I was honored when she allowed me to offer her Teddies To Go line for collectors to purchase on my website. 

This year at IDEX Beverly and I renewed our acquaintance, and, since our friendship included our “better halves,” it felt comfortable when they accepted our invitation to visit this year on their way home.  What a delightful two days we had showing them around our part of the world!  The four of us found a lot to talk about.

Most important to me, I learned how Beverly began her artistry and how she became the artist she is today.  I’m happy to know how her creative spirit was sparked by a set of childhood nursery rhyme books, and in 1986-87 she produced her first limited edition bears to accompany her miniature wooden Goldilocks nursery rhyme dolls.  Those first bears set the stage for her first original bear pattern in 1988, Say Your Prayers Bear, a kneeling bear whose likeness was taken from her childhood book.  Her creative energy is inspired by her desire to create art that has a history that will last, and art that inspires memories and friendships sure to last a life time.

To view the Profile of American Teddy Bear Artist Beverly White and her history go to her Happy Tymes Collectibles website.

Your comments about this article are most welcomed.

A History of the American Baby Doll, Part 6

Posted on by
24

This blog is the sixth in the History of the American Baby Doll series, the series which began with baby doll making in Colonial America.  We will follow the theme to its completion with present day modern doll collecting.

From the 1930’s through the 1970’s, with a few exceptions, doll sculptors weren’t publicly credited for creating commercially successful play dolls.  This changed in mid-1980 when doll designers were legitimate artists and sculptors who often began their own lines with limited editions of dolls.  Many of these artists were able to license their creations and mass produce them, transforming porcelain and polymer clays into marketable vinyl and cloth dolls.  As a result, many doll artists were able to attain individual commercial success.  At the same time, some known doll artists continued to create molds for doll companies who produced their dolls, using their names and mass producing the dolls under the doll company name.

Today, the doll market encompasses original American baby doll artists whose names are recognized in the world of doll collecting.  Also, in today’ doll market, there are toy and doll companies that offer mass produced collectible dolls.  Sometimes the doll artist who created the sculpt is recognized, and sometimes the artist is not.

Dianna Effner is an example of a well known Modern Doll Artist who created a mold for the Modern Doll Company, Ashton Drake.  To view Dianna’s lovely doll and other American baby dolls, go to my website at http://www.specialdollsonline.com.

Please feel free to leave a comment about this blog, or any other blog in the American baby doll series.

 

Ashton Dolls Commemorates Valentines’ Day

Posted on by
6

I wonder what you did on Valentines’ Day.  Did you share it with someone other than yourself?  Did you eat chocolate?  Did you give or receive a gift or a card?  For me, holidays are a time for contemplating.  What’s behind the meaning of Valentines’ Day?  My life partner didn’t give me a name brand card, but he did give me a Large Valentine Card to tell me he loves our life together.  It is a special day for me.  I like to honor the day by thinking about love and life and what it’s all about

The more I pondered this year, the more I realized I’ll never figure it out.  So instead, I made a list of some things I love about Valentines’ Day.  To name just a few, I love the color red.  I love to say, “Happy Valentines’ Day” to everyone I meet because for me, it is a way of saying “I Love You.”  I love sending a gift to family who is far away.  I love chocolate.  I love the fact that on this day, I notice that we are having more days of day light hours.

Please feel free to comment to tell us what you love about Valentines’ Day.

If you’re wondering what this blog has to do with dolls, I also love dolls, every day and not just on Valentines’ Day.  As a special tribute to love, Ashton Dolls offers two adorable Mickey and Minnie Tribute to Love Dolls.  To view these dolls and for information on ordering, go to my website at http:www.specialdollsonline.com

Masterpiece Dolls Debut Again

Posted on by
3

Are you familiar with Masterpiece Dolls?  These beautiful girls loom large and life like, super-sized into imposing 40 to 48 inch (102 – to 122-cm) sizes.  Silky hair, sparkling eyes, engaging expressions, and endless posing possibilities, they have full body sculpts, 11 ball-joints (head, shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips and knees.

These statistics really don’t do justice to these Limited Edition Collectible Masterpiece Dolls.  To experience their essence, go to my website at http:www.specialdollsonline.com to view the dolls and watch the beautifully put together videos.  Each one is a charmer.

Two of these beauties are Doll Reader 2012 DOTY Award Winners. 

After viewing, please comment to express your opinion of these very realistic, life like Masterpiece dolls.