Totally new Kokeshi Doll expression

 So here is one of my more recent creations.  She stands aprox. 8 inches tall and is aprox. 3.5" wide.  My photos were rushed as I did not get her completed until just before one of my art/craft shows. And she sold before I was even finished setting up! 

I have great admiration for the Japanese Kokeshi Doll Masters.  I study their work and try to learn as much as I can. I am not able to mentor under one of these artists directly, but they sure have inspired me to find my own expression in the Kokeshi Dolls I create.

I turned her from a piece of Okanagan Birch Wood, that was given to me by some wonderful friends. They had to cut down an old Birch tree that was on their fathers property where they grew up, and they blessed me with some of it to use in my Kokeshi Doll making.

 I wanted to make a fairly large doll this time, and chose a piece of Birch that looked intriguing to me.  As I turned the bark from it, I saw such amazing, subtle grain, and decided to make her as large as I could to keep as much wood as I could. And in my minds eye, I began to see a Kokeshi Doll with carved hair...

 As I continued turning her, I found I had a pretty solid picture of what I wanted to do with her, so I immediately sketched out her initial concept drawing, to capture the design. Once the wood was ready, I sketched her main lines onto the blank and then the fun of carving began...Since this was my first one with defined depth type carving, I was nervous and excited all at the same time...

Once happy with the shape and contour, I began wood burning her hair, section  by section, and yes, it took over 8 hours just to complete her hair!  But it was worth it, the subtle grain pattern that came through ever so gently and the wood burning - gave an effect that thrilled me.

Moving on to her Kimono, I took it slowly, building the design and décor a little bit at a time, in an overall sort of way, until I was happy with it. Her kimono is decorated with wood burning, along with power carving and hand carving.

She is finished with different types of wax on different parts of her body, depending on the shade I wanted to achieve for that section. She is my first Kokeshi that probably took over 18-20 hours to complete, after the first 15 or so, I lost count! For a new, and heightened expression of Kokeshi Doll, she is very special to me.

And as it turned out, she was bought by the sister of the friend that gave me the wood - I felt very humbled and overwhelmed as I realized she was going back to her home! Home to the family that played under her branches years before...

The joy of the journey -the creation of beauty - the tangible expression of the heart - and meaningful connection with special people in our lives; these are truly some of life's simple and most lavish gifts.  She is my inspiration to take my dolls to a new level.

If she has inspired you and you'd like a special Kokeshi Doll made for you or someone you love, contact me and we can connect...

Happy Winter and Merry Christmas =)

Cheryl