Feature - An Artist's Original: Liebchen

Feature - An Artist's Original: Liebchen

To start the interview off, please introduce yourself :

I'm Diep also known as Fancyboots online.

Have you always been interested in art?

My family are all first generation immigrants from Vietnam, so as a shortage of money was always a factor, both of my parents were always working. As a result, all 5 of us kids had a lot of time to ourselves with very little supervision. I would spend my days reading, drawing, or roaming the woods all around our neighborhood. A favorite pastime was to climb under the huge weeping willow tree with a beloved book and an apple and spend the whole afternoon there. Looking back, I think that it was having so much time alone and with nature, as well as having few financial resources, that allowed me to develop more introspective, resourceful, and creative aspects that I wouldn't have if we were growing up like most children do today. That was when I first realised that almost anything that I wanted to learn could be found in books. I think that I probably have my name in just about every single craft and art book at my childhood library!---that was back when you checked out a library book by signing your name on a little yellow card that went into a little envelope inside of the book. It was fun seeing who else had checked out the book before you did!

I think that my mother purchased my first sewing machine for me when was in 7th grade. Before that, I had been handsewing for a couple of years so I've probably been sewing for over 25 yrs now.

Do you have other dolls besides BJDs?

I adore dolls! If I could, I'd own at least one of most artist dolls being made. But, alas, my humble collection is limited to a few Helen Kish, one or two Tonners, and a reproduction Bleuette. I've had a few Himstedts and Zwergnase, but while I loved them (especially the crazy expressions on the Zwergs) I couldn't live with the nonjointed dolls. I need dolls that can move and pose in a way that is at least somewhat similar to a human.

Have you had any formal art training?

I have had a little. I completed two years at Parsons School of Design in New York---The first year was the basic foundation year that everybody is required to do, which encompasses a wide spectrum of basic art & liberal arts education. The second year was spent half in fashion design and half in fine arts. I was torn between being a fashion designer and being a sculptor. Now, I realise that the dollmaking is a logical extension of both of those interests! After Parsons, I spent a few years working with my future husband, then returned to finish my fashion design degree at Kent State University School of Fashion. After school, I was lucky enough to intern for a summer at Ellen Tracy in NYC, and then to be mentored by one of my former instructors, who was a previous designer with Christian Dior in Paris. She also had a lot of industry experience in airline uniforms, so while it was not glamorous work, I learned a lot by working freelance under her designing uniforms for major airlines and theme parks. I also did a few freelance designing and illustration work for assorted small and midsized companies that were referred to me from KSU. But after a time I wanted to spend more time with my first daughter as she had grown out of infancy during this time and was requiring much more of my time. I wanted to put her first, so all of the freelance was shelved.

I still firmly believe that while school is very much worthwhile as you can learn so much from people who are actually doing what you want to do, especially for arts related fields, you can also learn a lot simply by believing in yourself and having the desire to learn...that's the sort of learning that you can do anywhere and doesn't require being in a classroom.

What inspired you to make a BJD of your own design?

I was getting frustrated because I would buy dolls with great excitement, but shortly after having them, I'd find faults with them or some aspect that I wasn't crazy about. I found myself becoming disappointed and not feeling as if any of the dolls out there were just what I was looking for. At around the same time, I discovered the works of some of the Japanese artist dollmakers, which just blew my little world away. Their dolls had the perfect balance of "doll" and "art", which is what I was searching for but didn't realise it before that time. I felt as if their dolls were not just dolls, but had some kind of essence that more commercial dolls possibly didn't have. I don't even remember how it came about, but somehow I found an online tutorial that showed how to sculpt a child's head out of clay. I had some paperclay, so I just followed along w/ the tutorial, and somehow, right away I just "got" it. The technique in the tutorial just clicked with me, and I found that I was able to sculpt a doll. The tutorial can be found here.

I honestly learned all that I needed to know (to make Liebchen, at least) from that tutorial. I've since been reading whatever I can get my hands on about sculpting, moldmaking, and casting, but the important basics of how to sculpt and how to handle clay are all there in that tutorial. I was posting my efforts as I went along on Livejournal. My LJ friends would follow along, and encouraged me to keep doing it and to produce a doll. I made one complete doll but somehow she wasn't "right" so I put her aside and gave it a year to stew in my head and when I went back to sculpting, Liebchen was born. I guess she just needed that gestation time, like a real baby! The first sculpted doll is still here, but she won't ever be cast as I like her just as is. It's nice to see where you started from, so that you can gauge how much you've learned and grown as time passes.

How long did it take you to make the first Liebchen?

Approximately a month and a half. Most of her was completed in a month because when I work on something, I work on it night and day. I'm a mother, so of course I made most of the time for my family, but every spare moment and most of every night was spent sculpting. Plus, it was in late summer so the girls wanted to spend many hours at the pool so I'd just bring clay and Liebchen parts and sculpt at a table under the big umbrella! There were parts that I had to stop for a while and let work out in my head, but once things worked out I'd go back and work again.

What materials did you make the Liebchen prototype out of?

Red label Premiere air-dry paperclay. I'll be starting on a new doll sculpt soon, but this time I probably won't use the paperclay as even a tiny bit of water softens the clay. That's a plus, but it can also be a minus when you are working poolside... I've since discovered that most artists, who plan to cast their work, do the initial sculpt in sculpting wax, polymer clay, or oil based sulfur-free clay. There are some waxes and oil clays that I'm eager to try out.

Where did you find inspiration for her?

I was crazy for Unoas at the time, so I'd definitely say that I was inspired by Unoas. I really liked their petite size compared to the much larger abjd dolls of other companies. I also liked the fact that most of their joints were covered, so that you didn't see such prominent slots like most abjd have. I don't have a Unoa and don't know anybody nearby who does have one, so I just looked at all of the photos that I could find so that I could understand how it was possible that Unoa joints could be covered up yet still function like other abjd who had exposed ball joints. But the photos that I kept around me for inspiration, the whole time that I sculpted, were from books of the Asian artistdoll makers such as Koitsukihime, Kayuli Hiina, and Yoshida Ryo. I'm not familiar with Japanese naming conventions, so please pardon if I inadvertantly put their last names first...

What has been the hardest part of the process? Did you encounter many obstacles in making her?

The most difficult part of all this has definitely been the pace of production of the dolls. I found someone to make the doll molds and do the resin casting for me, as I don't know how to do that. Unfortunately, while he does beautiful work, this type of doll was a first for him also so we ran into some production difficulties early on. There were issues with tiny airbubbles in the resin and some other issues with the tolerance of certain pieces when he would finish sand them. It took time to work those issues out with him, but the process was made more difficult by the obstacle of distance. Plus, he would use molding and casting terms that I didn't understand and I would use certain terms in the abjd world that he didn't understand. It took awhile for him to understand that the resin had to be perfect. He thought that perfect meant that it could have flaws in certain places or places that wouldn't show since the artists that he usually produces for would paint their dolls or would put on clothes that were not really meant to be removed. He was used to working with people whose dolls were meant as finished art objects, but that's entirely contrary to the general world of abjd where most dolls are only the beginning point. The customer then takes the artists' creations and make it their own, so there is no disguising flaws. That was something that I had to work with him---I felt as if these ideas were quite alien to him. But we did get those initial issues worked out. All in all, I learned some very important production and business related lessons that will be very important to keep in mind in future dollmaking endeavors. The making of Liebchen was a piece of cake, it's the production of Liebchen that has been much more difficult!

What has been the most rewarding part of the process?

Definitely, the hugest reward is finding that people actually like, and in some cases are touched, by what I'm doing! That has meant quite a lot to me and is spiritually enriching. I started out wanting to make something to satisfy myself, but in the process, I discovered that I can make some people happy so that's been just HUGE. Yes, there have been some unhappy correspondences regarding the above mentioned production issues, but I think of all of this as a learning process so I'm grateful to hear from the not quite satisfied customers also since what they have to say helps me learn quite a lot.

What have you learned from the entire process?

Keep it small and go slowly. Keep things close to the vest. Also, there is a reason that most companies offer many of their dolls as nude dolls.....

Where did Liebchen's name come from?

I remembered reading a book somewhere where the grandfather (or father?) kept calling the granddaughter (or daughter?) "Liebchen" as a term of endearment and as a nickname. It just stuck in my head as the more that I worked on her, the more that the little clay piece became a "Liebchen" to me. She started to take on more humanistic qualities that I wasn't expecting to find...I thought that I was making a doll, but somehow she became imbued with a certain spirit to me....that's when I had to name her.

Can you give us Liebchen's details? (edition size, eye size etc.)

Ultimately, Liebchen will be an edition of 75, but I plan to stop producing her in the very near future as I really want to work on the next doll that I have in mind. Liebchen is approximately 15 inches, and takes an eye size of 10mm for a natural look and 12mm for a larger eyed look. Her wig size is 6-7.

What clothes does she fit? Shoes?

She seems to fit in some Unoa or Serendipity items and shoes, as well as some Tonner Tyler Wentworth garments (but not shoes) but it's hit or miss as she's 1 inch shorter than all 3 of those dolls, with different proportions. The width is the most critical factor in fit for dolls, so because her width around is not that much different that is why she can wear some of their garments. Her lengthwise proportions are different, though. Her feet are the same length as Unoa, but they are narrower. MSD clothing will not fit her at all.

How long has the entire process taken you? (from the first day you started sculpting to the first Liebchen completed and on her way home)

I think that I started sculpting in late June or early July of 2005, and finished in August. She was sent to the moldmaker in September. The first two batches received from him were not usable, so the first Liebchens came from part of the third batch which was probably received in November. The first few customers received their Liebchens around mid or late November, I think, but as not all of the 3rd batch was perfect, I could only work on 3 from that batch. After that, it took until the 3rd week of January before I received the rest of my order. They were sent in dribbles and fits and stops....which was not really what I was expecting. It was precisely because of these production issues which have led me to want to learn how to do the moldmaking and casting myself so that I can have better control over production and quality. Also, it has been greatly inspiring to see other "regular" people such as Donn of Bishonen House doing his own molding and casting. He makes it seem so easy and logical, but I suspect there is probably a large learning curve. I'm eager to try my hand at it.

How long does it take you to complete one Liebchen when she arrives from the mold-maker?

When I receive a package from the moldmaker, the box contains mummified Liebchen parts. Each mummy is unwrapped and checked to ascertain that all of the parts are there. Each individual Liebchen is made up of 18 pieces altogether. I also learned recently to also check to make sure that everything that is supposed to be drilled is actually drilled because it's not fun to be down to deadline on a doll and find that she can't be strung because her legs or arms are missing channels for stringing! Then each individual piece is sanded as, although the entire resin is matte all the way through, there is a slight sheen left from what I believe is the mold release or the mold itself. The moldmaker does a beautiful job, though, as there are virtually no seamlines when I receive the parts. I just sand to matte the finish and to generally smooth the pieces. The pieces have to be sanded as I tested with just trying to matte with Mr. Super Clear, but that was not successful---only sanding makes it all smooth and matted.

Once sanded, everything is soaked in a warm baking soda bath for awhile, then rinsed and dried individually as we have hardwater which leaves water marks if left to air-dry. Once dried, I then airbrush to blush her body and cheeks. Then I go through with a miniature sable brush and do her faceup. All of the pieces then go into a big box and sprayed with 3 coats of Mr. Super Clear, with time to dry in between each coat. The first few Liebchens were much pinker and heavier in the blushing than I would have liked, so the later ones are done with a much lighter hand.

After coating, I then suede her hip and knee sockets for greater poseability. She poses wonderfully even without the sueding, but I think that the sueding just makes her nicer for the customer. With the sueding she'll stand forever unless you bump her or bump whatever she's standing on. After the sueding comes the stringing. I put the eyelashes on after the stringing so that there is no chance of messing the eyelashes when I have to hold her head to string. After the eyelashes, I set her eyes with sticky Tac and then attach her headcap w/ Dr. Scholl's moleskin and then put on her French faux fur wig. The final step is packaging for presentation and for shipping---the whole packaging takes approximately one hour for one doll!!! But I want her to be secure during her travels, so whatever it takes!....

Where can someone buy Liebchen? How much is she?

Right now, there will be only one more order available through a special event for Liebchens. There will be approximately 10-15 Basic Liebchens available, but after that I won't produce any more for a long time, if ever. I like to keep things fresh so that I stay excited and interested, so I'd like to go on to other plans for future dolls and for Liechen clothes. Basic Liebchen is $395 plus shipping.

Are you planning another head or doll? What are your future plans?

Yes, I am definitely planning more dolls! I like to work in contrasts, so the next doll will not be similar to Liebchen. She'll be almost the opposite of Liebchen, I suppose... I also like to experiment, so hopefully I'll be able to try some things that I have in mind. But I don't forget Liebchen or my customers, as I've heard requests for garments and shoes for her so I plan on designing a line and making the patternwork, but I'll then hire some seamstresses to produce....so hopefully Liebchen will soon have a wardrobe!