My love affair with dolls

Like a lot of dolls collector, it began when I was a kid, I have a vivid memory of being 12 and being told that I was too old to play with dolls when that's all I wanted for my birthday. I was broken heart and I remember the "serious conversation" my parent had, they thought  I was immature and not doing enough thing "my age". They agreed, it would be the last time that I would get a doll and got me Skipper and the gym set! (I was in love with that tiny pink gym locker…) A couple year later they told me I had to give all my dolls away to my little cousin… I was crushed but did it anyway.

The thing is, it's was never truly about the dolls themselves I simply loved to create clothes, furniture and accessories for them. It was all about creation I don't even remember doing the 'play pretend" thing with them at all. Maybe once … but still, the main game was to create them the perfect wardrobe with old clothing and scrap fabric I would find around the house. 
Sticking an image to a leftover piece of wood found in the street that looked like an old tv. Building beds, dressers out of matchboxes, turning pout old kleenex boxed into loveseats. My grandmother taught me that one, she would fill them with all kind of goodies for me. She would cover them with fabric and I absolutely adored them. 

For a while, I pretended to keep building for my younger cousin so they would have something to play with when they were visiting but let's face it although I was happy that they loved them it was all for me!

As I grew older I started to learn painting and to draw more activities that were less frown upon. I say less because I was said by many that it was a waste of time but that's another battle. 

It wasn't until years later after I started sewing again and making plush toys, then soft sculpture that I came across the world of art doll, took the class A doll Story by Danita art, but since I'm never truly satisfied until I truly make a project my own I developed my own pattern that it always a work in progress as I transform them each time. 

Then I realized people were customizing kids dolls. Came across Monster high dolls, became obsessed with them, collecting them more than I did anything with them, so many are in progress of becoming something else. 

Maybe one day I will create my own bjd but for that, I will have to learn sculpting, I keep saying I need a few clones because I love to create so much! Not enough hours in a day. 

In the last year, I started working on Blythe dolls, taking a step further in my customizing skills… I feel like the adventure is only beginning and I can't wait to discover more. 

I will be doing more videos about it in the year to come. I want to share more of them. I remember a "friend" once ask me how I was expecting to get a boyfriend with all the dolls I had lying around the apartment as if it was shameful. I was once again faced with others opinion about what I love to do. Only this time I'm the grown up. I decide. And you know what? if someone finds it weird and don't want to be with me because of it, he is not for me. Life is way too short for me to dim my light so someone else will love me so I hope you join me in the adventure.  :)

you can also expect a complete revamp of the site to include them as part of my art not just an hobby. But don't worry the painting and everything else will still be a big part of it. A new canvas journey will be taking life in 2019 as well. My watercolor skills are blossoming and i want to shared them with all of you! 

Karine xx