Sculpture Doll

Sculpture Doll

Artist Creates Unique Whimsical Assemblages

Palm Desert, CA – Artist, Lauretta Lowell, has utilized her whimsical outlook of life to discover an unusual assemblage style in creating her newest series of whimsical dolls. The style, which she said she discovered less than a year ago, is based on the process of lovingly bringing her memorable assemblage sculptures to life with a mixture of humor, antiques, vintage toys, hardware and costume jewelry.  She calls her creations Whimsical Curiosities.

The sculptures take on a personality and story of their own reflected in her titles like:  Wish I Had a Pony, Mr. Wolf Gets in Touch with His Inner Rabbit, Is it Too Late to Run Away and Join the Circus, Stepford Monkey, A Caged Bird Still Sings, and Call in a Wish. These unique, whimsical sculptures, as well as her unusual jewelry, are being shown and sold at Heusso Gallery in Palm Springs, CA, as well as Art & Soul Gallery in Bothell, WA and Gallery 873 in Ivins, Utah.

Lowell said this assemblage technique was discovered out of frustration with traditional media and the constant seriousness of most conventional art. “Art is an explosive expression of humanity; the serious and the silly. It's something everyone is touched by and no matter what culture or background people are from, everyone appreciates the soul and message of art," she stated.

In other news, Lauretta will be selling her art at the upcoming Gilda's Club Annual Luncheon, Boutique and Fashion Show, November 20, in the Westin Mission Hills Resort & Spa, Rancho Mirage, CA. and La Quinta’s Art Under the Umbrellas, November 28.  Her work has been shown and sold in Hawaii - Utah - Santa Barbara, Westlake, San Luis Obispo, and San Francisco, CA. 

For more information see her website at www.whimsicalcuriosities.com.

About the Author

Raised in Japan and Hawaii, Lauretta Lowell, the daughter of an artist and professional coach, moved to Santa Barbara, CA in 1976. While in Santa Barbara she became a single parent of two boys and worked with several corporate businesses in Marketing and Office Management. 2004, after a divorce, the death of her father and two strokes, Lauretta decided to recover in Palm Desert, CA being available to her mother who is suffering with Alzheimer’s disease. While in the desert Lauretta managed the Wentworth Gallery in Indio, CA during 2006-2008. 2009 she started teaching collage and mixed media to locals and decided to participate twice in the juried Art Under the Umbrellas show in La Quinta, CA. Her success at these shows has put her in touch with her passion…design, art, and humor. Now she is selling her ‘Whimsical Curiosities’ creations on-line and in several art galleries and gift shops.

Thinking about beginning sculpturing... and then doll sculpturing...?

Ok, I'm very inspired by these hard working artists that make realistic dolls. I want to start the long project of acquiring those skills. (I'm going to take to take my school's Sculpture class next year to aid me in the journey) So my questions are:

- What types of clay are there (their different purposes)? And what type of clay would be used to make a doll?

- I heard that you need wire before you begin slabbing clay down. What kind of wire, how thick, etc?

- Any other tools? (To get into details of sculpturing, etc.)

-A basic process?

I'm very willing to take this on, one step at a time, so please don't look at me like I don't know what I'm trying to take on.

Many thanks in advance! Thumbs up to all the brilliant answers, and BA to BA!

Wow - that 's a wide open area - so many options.

You can choose to create dolls in polymer clays (Cernit, super sculpey, fimo, etc).
-OR-
You can use various forms of paper mache such as Creative Paperclay which air dries.
-OR-
You can sculpt in traditional clays or polymer clays and make molds for reproduction in cast resin or porcelain.
-OR-
You can learn fabric sculpting techniques and create painted fabric dolls.

To do really good dolls, studying anatomy and general sculpting techniques will be very beneficial.
Each material requires its' own handling and each has its' own characteristics as a finished product.

I would suggest doing a search on the materials listed above for more information on using each. Then experiment with each to discover which you prefer working with.

You might want to check out www.ODACA.org and www.NIADA.org. Both are long standing organizations for doll artists.

Ivaylo Ivanov Masochki@MALE HAUTE COTURE@SCULPTURE (DOLL) THE ETERNAL WOMEN AS MY FASHION AWARD