Doll making tips

Or should I better say "Wollstock"? Last weekend I had been to Holland to an international meeting of Waldorf style doll makers. This was the second meeting organised by Berend and Kamrin de Kronie in a very picturesque little dutch town, called Elspeet. Basically nearly hundred doll makers from 25 different countries including Mexico, US, Turkey, South Africa and several European countries, meeting and teaching each other in improving each other's doll making skills. I knew already couple of...

Here are some pictures of my creative process and my working space. (Pictures by Eva Raduenzel)

I have been on holidays the last couple of weeks. Spending time on the Aegean coast, enjoying the beauties of the region. On one of the days as we were traveling, I saw a Shepard with his goats on the mountings near by the coast. It was already warm, the artichokes were blooming, the crickets were singing, the air full with the intense smell of thyme and oregano. And in between the bells of the goats were to hear. This is holiday for me, with all those scents, voices and beautiful views over...

I have been thinking a lot the last months. Mostly thinking rather than doll making. I had very flourishing discussions with doll makers and doll lovers. What makes a doll unique, loveable, adorable? Does a doll have to be adorable at all? What is the intention of a doll maker, if she/he has any at all? What makes a collector to be appealed to a certain doll? And more questions...

A doll maker friend who started to make dolls recently asked me recently if there is a formula according to which I make my dolls, which makes them easier to sell. At the end I had to confess that I don't believe in a secret formula. Even if there were a formula, I think it would have not been a big help. I am not a mathematician who works with formulas :) As an artist (earning life with my paintings) and a doll maker, I work mostly with heart and hands. Basically the hands follow the heart....