Benjamin and Magical Memories
Very often people ask me how these dolls come to me. I mean for them to appear on my work desk there must be a detailed plan or precise vision, right? Not always to be honest. Sometimes it’s enough to hear a long forgotten tune in the other room, taste a cookie that I used to love in my childhood or finding an old bottle of perfume in the corner of my mothers wardrobe and smell that so familiar aroma. And there you go - all of that forms a certain feeling which tells me what the doll is going to look like, the smirky look in the eyes and even the light angle when I am shooting a picture of this cute face.
During the photoshoot of my little creations I often remember old photos of myself or my children and that’s how some scenes are born. Designing outfits and colour sets also very often come from something that I’ve seen, felt or smelt a long time ago or even yesterday. One thing to note is that the main rule is that there are no rules! A well known fact is that every one of us sees colour a little differently and that is actually so unique and magical!
Another one of my most treasured sources for inspiration is books. Books that I’ve read in my childhood and then relived when I used to read them for my children. I was always passionate about books, but the ones from a childhood is stuck in my head and heart as magical beautiful creatures. This is one of the best ways to infuse some fantasy in one’s creativity when a certain character happily lives in your mind with a soul, facial expressions, clothes… we all have our beloved heroes from adventure books after all!
Benjamin is not an impersonation of any particular character from a story book - he was born from a vision in my mind about a time period that I love so much. This was the time of funny patterned boy
Fair Isle jumpers, short trousers and flat caps. This was the time when we didn’t have clicky ballpoint pens, the time when school kids had their fingers stained in blue ink, the time when kids used to spend all their free time outside playing in the street and come back home in the evening with their cheeks cold and red, with their hair all messed up by the wind. This was the time children dreamt and imagined so much as entertainment forms were much more limited. This is exactly where Benjamin came from.
My dreamy Benjamin has natural mohair hair which was cut into a hairstyle by me. He is around 45 cm (17,7''). Benjamin is a free standing doll, proportions resembles a child of 6 years old. His head, torso, legs and even arms are needle felted, with armature, so it can bend. His fingers can hold little precious things. His outfit is made by me and included.
If you are really interested in adopting him please fill in this form (more information there). The winner will be drawn on Friday, 3rd of March, 1pm EST time. I'll contact this person by email.
I hope Benjamin will be able to find a loving home❤️ Thank you everyone for supporting my work.
