Broken Dollies

Photo Courtesy of the Lovely "icy-soul(.deviantart.com)"
If you're looking for something interesting, keep reading. As I was glancing at the recent uploaded photos on DeviantArt.com's homepage, I came across something wonderful - the photo on the left! I found the photo so marvelous that I simply had to check out the artist's gallery, in order to see what other outstanding master pieces they had to offer. To my surprise, there was hardly any artwork in their gallery at all - but for a reason. The artist once had many uploads but recently deleted all of them, in order to organize their gallery. All of her photos should be nicely re-uploaded any day now. Until then, how about a mini interview with the talented, young artist? My interview with, "icy-soul", the artist, is below. My words/questions are typed in a soft purple, while his words/answers are typed in a soft blue - to avoid confusion.

Hey, dollies! Today we're here with.... "icy-soul"! *applause* Greetings, doll - how's life?: Hi there! First, I would like to say that I am a young aspiring photographer and by no means am I a professional and the only formal training I have had in photography is one semester of a high school introductory course where I unfortunately did not learn as much as I had hoped. I did however take visual arts courses throughout high school but nothing past that. Life is busy, but good. Trying to balance my time between class, homework, friends, family, a part time job, other responsibilities and my art can be pretty challenging but I seem to be managing it quite well. *phew* so much to do... but the rewards are so wonderful.

A busy life is a fully lived life. What inspired you to take this photo?: I decided I wanted (and needed) a new photo for my DeviantArt ID and I have always liked the idea of 'what's behind the mask'. It seems to be a common theme throughout much of my art, which unfortunately I do not have fully uploaded on DeviantArt at the moment. For the past 3 years I have noticed myself using the idea of "what's behind the mask" and, for lack of a better phrase, "you can't judge a book by it's cover" in many of my pieces. It goes back to one of my art teachers. She told us to create a piece that was very personal and at that point in my life I had been struggling with who I am on the inside vs. who everyone sees me as. I still have these struggles which is why showing that you cannot always tell who a person really is and the idea of hiding my true self from the world is such a strong theme in many of my self-portraits and personal works. This theme, however, does not necessarily carry over to my other photographs or art, mainly just the ones that directly relate to myself.

The most beautiful artwork comes from within. Is that you in the photo? If not, who is it?: Yes, it is me in the photo. I spent so much time trying to set the tripod up and prepare for the photo but I am quite pleased with the finished piece. It really is rare that I find a self-portrait of myself that I like.

I'm sure all of your self-portraits are great. What's your favorite thing to photograph?: I would have to say that my favourite thing to photograph is either my cats, flowers or anything macro.

Macro makes for wonderful photos. Did you use PhotoShop, or any other program/software, for the photo?: I did use Photoshop however I forget which edition I have... I believe it's Photoshop Elements 9. I find myself turning to Photoshop probably more often than I should. Often when I do use Photoshop on one of my photos, it is just to adjust the exposure back to normal since I don't usually find time to take my camera out until the evening when the light is fading. This image specifically (and a couple others in my gallery that are very similar to it) is fairly heavily edited because I have added some textures and changed the colour hue to something more... 'aged' or 'acidic'.
Yes, I've noticed the "aged" texture; very nice. What's the best thing about DeviantArt.com?: I love that I am able to share my art with the DeviantArt community and view other artists' works. It is a great and lively community of artists who range from amateur to professional. It is also a good way to give and receive feedback and constructive criticism on art.

Agreed, indeed. Where did you get the cool theater mask?: I actually bought the mask in the photo from Michaels Arts and Crafts. Like many of my trips to Michaels I went in looking for just a couple new paintbrushes but came out with much more than I had intended. I can't count how many time or how much money I have spent because I went in looking for one or two items but came out with ten or twelve. I really shouldn't be allowed to shop there alone. ;)

Bring a friend next time! Random, but what's it like living in Canada?: Well, it's sort of hard to describe. I have never been asked this question before. I would guess that it is very similar to living in the USA. I come from a small town in rural Ontario, nothing too fancy but also not a farming community. I love taking trips-- I have been to Florida many times with my family and to New York City once with some friends on an art trip. I must say New York was incredible but I love my life here too much to leave for long. Even though the weather changes from fairly hot in the summer to well below freezing in the winter, I love every day of it. I love when the leaves change colour and fall to the ground and the cool chill of a crisp autumn day. I also love the beautiful snow that blankets the ground during the winter and Christmas certainly wouldn't feel like Christmas without the snow. I also love when the new flowers begin to bloom and everything is reborn during the spring and I even love the heat of the sun while sitting next to a pool. Canada is a wonderful place to live and I am so lucky to live here with my family and friends.

I've never thought so much of Canada before; it sounds amazing. Well, unfortunately, dollies, that all from "icy-soul." for today.
Thank you very much!
No, no, thank you! Without you, this blog post wouldn't be possible. For more photos from "icy-soul", be sure to check out her DeviantArt.com gallery. There aren't a whole lot of photos there right now, but be sure to "watch" her; I assure you her upcoming artwork will be worth this wait. ~ Lola

Photo Courtesy of the Lovely Amazon.com
Just an adorable necklace I stumbled across, on Amazon.com, by the wonderful Betsey Johnson. Considering that it has a doll formed charm on it, I thought it only made since to talk about it on here. The doll is so cute; I love her rosy cheeks. As you can see, it's $55.00 - but look at it! Definitely something to put on your "wishlist." ~ Lola

Photo Courtesy of the Lovely "nathanclone(.deviantart.com)"
I love when people give their dolls little stories, so meet Valtiel. He's an 18 year old male with an adventurous life that you'll find out about later on in this post. Right now, lets talk about his owner for a moment. His owner's name is Devon and is a 19 year old male from Norway. When I told him that I wanted his doll photos and possibly an interview, he was very nice about it and responded to all my questions super quickly. The mini interview is below. My words/questions are typed in a soft purple, while his words/answers are typed in a soft blue - to avoid confusion.

Hi, dollies! Today we're here with.... Devon! *applause* Hey, doll - how's life?: Just great, thank you. :)

Sure thing, I'm glad to hear that. What inspired you to take this photo?: I've been listening to a lot of game soundtracks lately, and some of the tracks gave me these images in my head. So I had to rush outside as soon as the weather allowed me to and take the pictures I had "seen" in my head. :)

Very interesting! Why do you like photographing dolls?: I find them to be the best models to work with. :D I can have them dress and pose the way I want without getting any complaints. Also, you can change wigs and eyes easily, if you want a specific theme or look in your pictures. With humans that would be a lot of stress, colouring hair or wigs, colour lenses and a lot of makeup (unless you use photoshop on all that).

Yup, and they're always available whenever you need them. Besides dolls, what else do you enjoy taking photos of?: Animals, especially cats; cats are such elegant creatures. I also like taking pictures of humans when I can find a model who is actually up for taking more than just plain portraits.

Cats are really elegant. What type of doll is that in the photo (Barbie, Blythe, Bratz, etc....)?: That is a BJD, which is short for ball-jointed-dolls. They are made of hard resin and have strings going through their bodies. The joints make them wonderful to use for photographing and posing. Many people also use them to make doll clothes and accessories.

You're making me want a BJD so badly! Did you use PhotoShop, or any other program/software for the photo?: Yes, I always use photoshop to fix the light a little and crop the images so they keep the balance and contrast. Also, I usually have to change the size, so I don`t end up with pictures that are 3000+ pixels in size.

Ah, I see; that makes sense. In one of the photos' description, it states that Valtiel is 18 years old. Could you tell us more about Valtiel?: Of course. :) Valtiel was born in Scotland. He's got a twin brother called Jeremy (he is curently without a body, so I dont have any pictures of him on dA yet). They grew up on a farm in Crieff. When they were younger, there was an epidemic going through the town and they were, like so many others, infected. They died not long afterwards. Nathan (the vampire, whom I also dont have any pictures of on DA, yet) was in the area at the time and heard about the twins. He decided quickly that he wanted them as his "minions" or "puppets" as he calls them. He put his mark on both of their right eye and awoken them igjenn. Valtiel has a great sense of humor and is social and outgoing. But, he is VERY stubborn; he can easily be angered and has somewhat an aggression problem, but he`s kind and protective towards his brother and those he cares about. Oh... and he loooooves turtleneck sweaters; he`s obsessed with them for some reason. :´D

Wow, they've got a whole story up your sleeve, don't you? Sounds really good! Random, but how old are you?: I`m 19 years old.

Haha, cool - and thanks again, Devon, for making this blog post possible. For more photos from Devon, be sure to check out his DeviantArt.com gallery!

*Bonus Photos!*
Click to see them larger over at DeviantArt.com!
 
Don't forget to leave Devon and his doll a comment while you're there.