Who will be useful to me and my practice?
People who can offer me a job.
Offer advice/information.
Pass me on to more contacts.
Interesting Practitioners
FROUDS
Brian Froud (concept art for Labyrinth - books - folk art - publishing)
Wendy Froud (sculpting - doll making - books - publishing)
Toby Froud (Toby in Labyrinth - performance - sculpting - directing - film making - public funding - puppet making)
Mr Finch
Textile art - sculpture - exhibiting - Leeds based - persona and enigma
Chris Sickels
3D Illustration - photography - model-making - prop-making - storytelling
Puppet Companies
Longnose Puppets
Polly Dunbar & Katherine Morton - illustration and puppetry - performance - application - stage
Stop Motion Studios:
Mckinnon & Saunders
Laika
Art Directors (Alice Bird, Rob Desue) - Character Designers (Juliaon Roels) - Storyboard Artists (Julian Narino, Brian Ormiston)
Book Publishing:
Flying Eye Books
Nobrow
Nosy Crow
IlLUSTRATORS:
Carson Ellis
Tuesday, 31 January 2017
Thursday, 26 January 2017
Meet the Maker
Just a little idea for my online presence/creative persona...
Making myself visible and showing WHO I AM on social media. Put this on Instagram.
I'd love a fun and mysterious persona like Mister Finch or Felt Mistress, but I have built (a tiny) little following for 'Jay Stelling' so I don't want to confuse or diffuse that.
I'm not a mysterious person. I'll shout out wherever I go that I'm Jay. I'm a tiny little weirdo who loves Moomins and Bagpuss. I eat pasta and listen to too much David Bowie. There's no secrets and it all informs my work so I think this IS all important in my creative presence.
Wednesday, 18 January 2017
Anna Denison
Saw Anna's work at the end of year show and I really admired her passion for puppet-making. A handmade approach to animation. When I was choosing my uni course, all I saw of animation was cartoons and CGI - I didn't realise that this more traditional form of constructing/stop-motion animation was still practised or taught.
Denison's models stood out for me because they were not only beautiful, but they also functioned. Rigs, armature and joints - all things that need consideration and attention. Her study has involved a great range of animation experience, from character design to fabrication and molding.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWQzUzSMzf7taVhy1UkWTsQEikYaSn2B6pEN-63crg84wTOutgEJet1qQshvQ8XxBGR70ptZDPw0QTshtci00t321rlgVn3tbYHXRPttGfmKYTOeAaGh-DDnuCT3VZzLc3gZBiBARXH-RJ/s320/Portfolio+25.jpg
Anna's work was displayed in the college as the curator's choice. This stag was exhibited in a glass box, demonstrating how animation can be exhibited as a work of art.
I found her uni blog!
'Ultimately, the main lesson which I will take from this experience is one which I was beginning to suspect: that I am far more interested in the design, modelling and fabrication of props, puppets and other assets than I am in the animation process itself.'
Anna's blog is very professional and reflective. It's inspiring to see all of the behind-the-scenes decisions,
http://www.leeds-art.ac.uk/news-events/news/2015/04/06/students-visit-mackinnon-and-saunders-studio/
http://www.mackinnonandsaunders.com/jobs
Tuesday, 17 January 2017
Doll Order - KERI SMITH!
An order on Etsy from Keri Smith... I recognised the name but couldn't place it until I went to her Etsy page... YES! KERI SMITH. AS IN KERI SMITH, THE AUTHOR. CREATOR OF WRECK THIS JOURNAL.
KERI SMITH ORDERED ONE OF MY DOLLS.
Why?
Keri told me she's interested in doll making and wants to get into it. She was browsing existing products on Etsy and was purchasing in order to inform her practice and learn from the best (!!!!)
Her sister found my dolls on Instagram and said that she had referred Keri to my Etsy because they were just what she'd been looking for.
Brief:
Major free reign. No brief. Agh! Terrifying to have no starting point, no point of reference. Usually the client will send over a photo of the person they want it to look like/describe the look they want but Keri said she would be happy with anything...
Decided to make one that looks (sort of) like Keri herself. Also (of course) made a tiny Wreck This Journal for her because customers seem to love props!
I have a tin of random accessories/broken earrings and jewellery that I use to embellish dolls (make hair pins/necklaces and made a quick necklace for this one.
Being sent to the USA and after the Germany fiasco I've been tracking this one the WHOLE WAY. Was worried that there would be some issue/disruption but it got there safely and really quickly.
Feedback:
'Hello Jay, I just wanted to tell you she just arrived! And we love her! My five year old daughter is really smitten and has just claimed her (which I expected). She just told me "I just love her!". Wonderful work, I love all of the little details, thank you SO much!!
p.s. you should charge more money!'
Celebrity endorsement!
Thursday, 12 January 2017
Creative Doll Artists Project
A collective group on Facebook for doll artists! It will be great to meet and connect with some like-minded doll artists, discover new techniques, find friends and build my audience.
A great idea and I've already started chatting to some fellow dollmakers. This will act as a support group (so you can post and ask a question e.g. DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY EXPERIENCE WORKING WITH GLASS EYES?) and also as a gallery/portfolio of our collective creations (they will host monthly competitions and challenges).
A great idea and I've already started chatting to some fellow dollmakers. This will act as a support group (so you can post and ask a question e.g. DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY EXPERIENCE WORKING WITH GLASS EYES?) and also as a gallery/portfolio of our collective creations (they will host monthly competitions and challenges).
Tuesday, 3 January 2017
Pantovola
Who are they?
Pantovola is a textile artist from Edinburgh, Scotland. She worked as a singer, performer, illustrator and printmaker before establishing her doll-making business. I really admire her dolls and think they are beautiful products.
“Pantovola” was born in the spring of 2015. "I had graduated from art school 10 years prior and worked as a singer, performer, illustrator and print maker. After traveling around for years between jobs and tours I moved onto a canal boat in London. There I simply could not afford to create the work I used to; the living space was small and dark (however cozy it was though, painting by candle light didn’t seem to really work) and studio space was too pricey in London.
Though one evening sipping some natural wine by the little wood burner, I had a vivid memory of the child I once was, creating her own magical dream world with not much more than a sock and some cotton wool. Something magical sparked inside of me and the next day my first ‘grown up’ doll was made (not a very good one however, but a welcome beginning of something new..)
Two years have past, I moved from the south to the north and have been sewing like a maniac. Currently I work as a full time textile artist and doll maker from my home studio in Edinburgh."
What do they do?
Pantovola creates one of a kind art dolls imbued with narrative and inspired by mythology.
She also makes bespoke dolls for customers called 'Heirloom dolls', inspired by memorial art of the Victorian Era.
How do they relate to my practice?
She makes and sells completely handcrafted dolls, like I do. She uses different media and processes to me, but I think they are so precious and unique. She does this full-time, as I have been considering doing after I graduate too. She sells her work through Etsy and will have similar customers to my own. She sells her work for a LOT of money...
What can I learn from them?
Her product photographs are elegant and smart. Black backdrops work with her gothic tone. Real flowers and strung tags add interest and balance the composition. I could learn a lot from how she composes these photographs and improve the quality of my own by doing so.
Pantovola's website design is magical and inviting, but still quite simple and easy to navigate. A big photo of a doll as the banner/homepage. Doll laid sideways to fit the format.
Pantovola is a textile artist from Edinburgh, Scotland. She worked as a singer, performer, illustrator and printmaker before establishing her doll-making business. I really admire her dolls and think they are beautiful products.
“Pantovola” was born in the spring of 2015. "I had graduated from art school 10 years prior and worked as a singer, performer, illustrator and print maker. After traveling around for years between jobs and tours I moved onto a canal boat in London. There I simply could not afford to create the work I used to; the living space was small and dark (however cozy it was though, painting by candle light didn’t seem to really work) and studio space was too pricey in London.
Though one evening sipping some natural wine by the little wood burner, I had a vivid memory of the child I once was, creating her own magical dream world with not much more than a sock and some cotton wool. Something magical sparked inside of me and the next day my first ‘grown up’ doll was made (not a very good one however, but a welcome beginning of something new..)
Two years have past, I moved from the south to the north and have been sewing like a maniac. Currently I work as a full time textile artist and doll maker from my home studio in Edinburgh."
What do they do?
Pantovola creates one of a kind art dolls imbued with narrative and inspired by mythology.
She also makes bespoke dolls for customers called 'Heirloom dolls', inspired by memorial art of the Victorian Era.
"As Pantovola, I create dark and dreamy art dolls (ooak) and textile art and soft sculptures, using mainly second hand materials. I make animals and otherworldly creatures by hand with cloth, clay, discarded scraps of fabric, vintage and antique lace and secondhand haberdashery collected from thrift stores and markets. I decorate each piece with natural dyes, water colors and handmade embroidery. I prefer to work with old materials that show wear and tear, incorporating its own history and narrative into my work. My work has a narrative that is rooted in a life long fascination with folklore tales and mythology, fairy tales, the occult, animals and the natural kingdom. But I also translate personal stories into my work. I hope my art engages with people on an emotional, subconscious level, without being too obvious, leaving room for individual interpretation.But also adding beauty to the world, much like the old folklore stories do, using suggestive, often archetypal symbolism and metaphors to touch on tougher issues."
How do they relate to my practice?
She makes and sells completely handcrafted dolls, like I do. She uses different media and processes to me, but I think they are so precious and unique. She does this full-time, as I have been considering doing after I graduate too. She sells her work through Etsy and will have similar customers to my own. She sells her work for a LOT of money...
What can I learn from them?
Her product photographs are elegant and smart. Black backdrops work with her gothic tone. Real flowers and strung tags add interest and balance the composition. I could learn a lot from how she composes these photographs and improve the quality of my own by doing so.
Pantovola's website design is magical and inviting, but still quite simple and easy to navigate. A big photo of a doll as the banner/homepage. Doll laid sideways to fit the format.
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