Artist Statement
At first there was a search… a search for happiness, the meaning of life, harmony.
Since early childhood, I loved to sculpt and invent various devices, I invented cities and could play in an imaginary world. At school, I loved mathematics in all its manifestations, and my acquaintance with drawing and painting was given to me by lessons at an art school.
A technical mindset and a craving for art and beauty eventually led me to creating dolls. This happened completely unexpectedly, when I first came to a doll exhibition and could not live without trying to create something similar myself. I found that very cherished business, doing which I become happy and make other people happy
Working on a doll combined all my knowledge and skills accumulated earlier. And a vast horizon for new insights opened up.
Working on dolls combined invention, development of collapsible structures, thinking through drawings and frames, sculpture, working with color and searching for spiritual harmony. And most importantly, it is working on yourself and communicating with people who are on the same wavelength with you. And when the accumulated knowledge began to overwhelm me, then students appeared, whom I love very much and every time I prepare for classes with inspiration and great trepidation.
It is impossible to achieve the ideal, but the path to it is incredibly interesting!
There is a lot of uncertainty, evil and sadness in life, but in my soul there lives an idea of beautiful and spiritually rich people and it is these images that I want to share with other people, to tell them how wonderful they are.
Education
I graduated from art school (5 years), where I learned the basics of painting, sculpture and decorative and applied arts.
Received a bachelor’s degree at the National University named after T. Shevchenko, faculty of cybernetics
Attended sculpture courses for a year.
Additionally, I independently studied painting and art history.
Artist membership questionnaire
Do you have any doll-related work experiences?
Throughout my creative path, I have tried various materials, techniques and methods for creating dolls. I have worked with baked and self-hardening plastics, cast porcelain dolls, experimented with movable and static dolls. But my favorite direction is a sculptural doll with realistic painting. In this technique, I can maximally express my concept and idea and convey my view of the world and people.
Have you exhibited your dolls?
I publish my works on Facebook and Instagram, I have taken part in exhibitions in Ukraine, the Czech Republic, Great Britain, Georgia, Latvia, Russia.
My works are exhibited in museums in Ukraine and Russia.
Have your dolls been published in any books or magazines?
Artistic olimpus – catalog of the best artists of Ukraine Catalogs of exhibitions
Doll Prague, Modna Lalka, Art of the Doll.
Articles were repeatedly published in newspapers and magazines in Ukraine, and I also repeatedly took part in radio and television programs
Have you won any doll-related awards?
I participated in competitions only at the very beginning of my creative path. In recent years, I have been a co-organizer of online and offline competitions and exhibitions, and have also been a member of the jury of doll competitions on numerous occasions.
How long have you been creating dolls?
18 years
How did you get started in dollmaking?
Since childhood, I liked to create little people from any available materials, mostly natural ones, and to come up with stories for them.
Then, when I studied at an art school, I got acquainted with different types of decorative and applied art in practice and delved into the history of art. Most of all, I was always attracted to ancient art and the Renaissance.
This was my base from childhood and youth. And then one day I got to a doll exhibition and was amazed by this art. I realized that it was in a doll that I could express all my thoughts and feelings, my understanding of the world and man, and I could know myself as a creator from very different sides.
And also, a doll for me is a path, it is a search for an ideal and aspiration for an ideal.
List any art, dollmaking, or collecting organizations to which you belong.
N/A
In what medium do you work? (eg. Paperclay, porcelain, textiles)
LaDoll, Flumo, porcelain
If you work in reproductive media, do you make your own molds?
Yes, I do
What type of paint do you use? (do you have a preferred painting technique)
Acrylic tinting and oil painting
Do you make your own wigs? (please describe your process)
When I make sculpted dolls, I glue goat hair directly to the head with matte varnish or polyurethane glue. For porcelain dolls, I make a base of primed wet wipes and glue the hair to this base. The result is a cap with hair that fits tightly to the head.
Do you make your own accessories? (please describe your process)
I make various accessories for my dolls. I mold musical instruments from baked or self-hardening plastics, tint them with paints and metallic wax, use patina and artificial aging, use metal elements; sometimes I make animal masks for dolls, adding wool or feathers if necessary. Several times I turned to a jeweler I know, who created items for me from silver or other metals: a miniature laptop, ska
Do you make your own clothing? (please detail any help you may have in pattern drafting or construction of clothing)
I sew all the clothes for the dolls by myself. The clothes for the sculpted dolls are non-removable. I develop a sketch and cut out the elements I need from suitable fabrics, decorate with embroidery, lace and beads, if the image requires it. Then I glue or sew these elements directly to the doll’s body. I also sometimes dye the fabrics in the colors I need using aniline dyes. Sometimes I create clothes for dolls using the nunofelting technique. For movable dolls, I also sometimes use non-removable clothes, and sometimes I sew completely removable clothes. I like the clothes to sit on the doll like on a living person, so I can additionally tint the finished removable clothes with pastel and make folds in the places of bends in the elbows and knees.
Do you have assistants? (what/how do they contribute to your work)
I don’t have any assistants, but sometimes I order doll parts from a jeweler or wood craftsman. I then finish and decorate these blanks by myself.
Have you designed dolls, toys, or other work for commercial manufacture?
Sometimes I make New Year’s toys in small editions, I also had experience making dolls for a quest game, where people had to complete tasks and find some clues in my dolls to pass to the next level.
How do you sell your dolls? (wholesale, retail, consignment, commissioned work)
I am an active user of social networks and regularly participate in various international exhibitions in person. Therefore, my works are sold on these platforms, and I have also repeatedly made custom works. These were both specific images especially for the customer, and dolls with portrait resemblance.
Do you advertise? (if so, where)
I have posted advertisements on Instagram several times, and I also regularly publish my works in catalogues of international exhibitions.
Why do you want to be a member of NIADA?
I am interested in doll art and I create my works with great inspiration. I am very interested in what other artists create and what new technologies they use in their work. A doll is a way of self-expression and learning. I want to join a creative team of professional artists, share my experience and learn from other artists. I admire the works of many NIADA members and would be happy to join this international team and contribute to the international development of doll art.
