The Lost Doll - Upcoming Auction

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This is Kay. I call her The Lost Doll, because she is a one of a kind 2010 Resin prototype with hand painted eyes and pearl-white skin that was never replicated again.

She's always been a special favourite of mine and has lived in my personal collection for 8 years, traveling the world with me to different gallery shows.

You've seen her before in this lovely rainforest photoshoot earlier this year. I thought I would never sell her, but the time has come for me to let her go. It finally feels right.

Stand by for more details.

 

The Last Unicorn 2015-2018

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At last, I finished my latest porcelain doll! She is Lady Amalthea - the Last Unicorn! This doll was inspired by a character from a 1968 fantasy novel by Peter S. Beagle, who undertakes a quest to find others of her kind, becomes a mortal woman and begins to experience human emotions. It is one of the saddest, and most beautiful fairy tales written, and I believe it is a poignant allegory for environmental destruction, rampant consumerism, loss of biodiversity and extinction. But it is also about love, courage, hope and transformation. This doll will be available for sale in September. If you are interested please contact me at inquiries@enchanteddoll.com.

“Once, I can’t remember, I was long ago, someone strange. I was innocent and wise, and full of pain. Now that I’m a woman, everything has changed. Once, when I was searching, somewhere out of reach, far away, in a place I could not find, or heart obey. Now that I’m a woman, everything is strange.”
— Lady Amalthea (Unicorn), The last Unicorn 1968, Peter S. Beagle.
 

I’ve worked on this piece for over three years, dismantling and reassembling it multiple times as the image of the Unicorn slowly shaped itself. The 24k gold-plated bronze head piece was inspired by Hans Holbein’s 1539 portrait of Anne of Cleves, who was the 4th wife of King Henry the 8th. It is very light for its size, weighing only 82.3g (2.9oz). The costume is constructed with gold appliqué embroidery on fine tule, 2,435 gold-lined glass beads (24k), 1,880 seed beads, 635 Swarovski crystals, 148 Mother of Pearl flowers, 46 fresh water Pearls and 21 Amethyst gemstones.

“I am afraid of this mortal body...”
— Lady Amalthea (Unicorn), The last Unicorn 1968, Peter S. Beagle.
“Drown out my dreams! Keep me from remembering whatever wants me to remember it!”
— Lady Amalthea (Unicorn), The last Unicorn 1968, Peter S. Beagle.
“I can never regret. I can feel sorrow, but it’s not the same thing”
— Lady Amalthea (Unicorn), The last Unicorn 1968, Peter S. Beagle.
 
 
“I’m a little afraid to go home. I have been mortal, and some part of me is mortal yet. I am no longer like the others, for no unicorn was ever born who could regret, but now I do. I regret.”
— Unicorn, The last Unicorn 1968, Peter S. Beagle.
“She will remember your heart when men are fairy tales in books written by rabbits. Of all unicorns, she is the only one who knows what regret is - and love.”
— Schmendric, the Magician, The last Unicorn 1968, Peter S. Beagle.

Nature Shoot with a New Porcelain Doll!

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I finished a new, Costumed Porcelain Doll. She's been in the works for over three years. I've been surreptitiously adding more layers to her face and more jewels to her veil for the past year and a half, and it's finally feeling complete. It didn't for a long time, but when her eyes started 'speaking' to me, I knew it was time to put the paint brush down. I'll reveal her name and her costume in the next post. In the meantime enjoy these nude nature photos and help me select one to make into a print. Tell me your favourite.

This Doll's eyes were inspired by one the earliest memories from my childhood, of the illustrator Macoto Takahashi. I believe his work had left a profound and irreversible aesthetic imprint on the formation of my young subconsciousness, because I can still see his influence lurking in the faces and themes of my dolls. I keep looking for the origin of my aesthetic; the beginning of my style and my path as an artist, and I think he might have been it. Or perhaps I was drawn to his work because it already resonated with my emerging identity. It's like a dream I can't remember.

A Mid-Summer Dream

A Mid-Summer Dream

Forest Spirit

Forest Spirit

Blessed By The Bumble Bees

Blessed By The Bumble Bees

In mid-summer all the luscious, moss is dry and yellow. The only patches of green are to be found in shady woods, where the sunlight is speckled and cool. I laid The Doll down into a bed of green moss at the base of a Douglas Fir. There was a small patch of sunlight, and the porcelain just came to life, glowing and shimmering like moist human skin.

All The Stars Below

All The Stars Below

Gallium Triflorum, also called Fragrant Bedstraw is one of my most beloved plants. It blooms in tiny, delicate little stars along the pathways and smells sweetly on contact. When I place the doll into the mids of it, its fuzzy stems tangle in with her soft hair as if they want to be a part of her.

We staged these shots in a sunny and fragrant glen of Daisies, Foxgloves and Gallium Triflorum, with Bumblebees buzzing all around us. I said to Chad that it would be really cool if we could somehow photograph the doll with bumble bees. A few moments later, 3 bumble bees flew right into the frame and hovered over the doll just long enough for us to get a burst of shots. One of them worked out! They must have heard us talking, and came to bless the doll with their presence and fuzzy bums.

Dog Assistants

Dog Assistants

I have three of them. They are not very professional, I'm afraid. The spotted Anya usually takes off first to chase Bald Eagles in the sky. The ginger Sadie likes to waddle off and eat rotting deer carcasses in the forest, then nap in the shade. The curly Bandit, on the other hand, has separation anxiety and wants to stick his little snout into all my shots. Like I said, all three are very unprofessional and kind of smelly. But they are my crew, and I love them.

Star

Star

Immortality

Immortality

Loss

Loss

Bumble Bee Blessings

Bumble Bee Blessings

Assistant Number Three 

Assistant Number Three 

Short documentary on Enchanted Doll

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Hey guys, do you like videos? What about behind the scenes looks at artists's studios? If you answered yes to either of those then I have something for you.

OhMore Story recently spent some time in my studio space filming and asking me all sorts of questions, which resulted in this cool video. Check it out on Youtube, and keep an eye out for my two furry assistants.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJLknO23cpM

 

The Messenger

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“People once believed that when someone dies, a crow carries their soul to the land of the dead. But sometimes, something so bad happens that a terrible sadness is carried with it and the soul can't rest. Then sometimes, just sometimes, the crow can bring that soul back to put the wrong things right.”― James O'Barr, The Crow

Boobs!

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I just got my copy of the "Boobs Art" exhibit catalogue! My piece "Surviving" was part of the show (in print form) alongside many other works of art on the topic of the female breast.Boobs Art opened on March 23rd and runs until September 9th, in Brussels, Belgium.

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