The whimsical beauty of the doll
Sculptural dolls of Virginia Ropars
Virginia Ropars was born in the northwest of France (Brittany region) in 1976.
For the first time, young Virginia expressed her creative universe in a drawing. Trained as a graphic designer, she has worked as a 2D / 3D graphic artist in the video game and animated series for television industry.
Soon, the idea of sculpting characters with her own hands completely captivated the artist.
Her magical, feminine images, created from polymer clay and decorative materials, live in the space between an art doll, sculpture and clothing design.
The artist's characters make a frightening impression on some viewers, many see darkness in her works.
Virginia herself explains: “The positive only makes sense when there is negative — darkness. My heroes are somewhere in between. I think it looks like nature; it is not good or bad, it is something different, wild, located between opposite poles, and choosing its own path ”.
The master begins to work on the image with sculpting the head, considering each facial feature as something separate, with its own expressive potential.
Virginia Ropars began her creative career with the creation of more traditional dolls. As her style began to drift into the realm of whimsical beauty, many people stopped following her work. However, this did not bother the artist in the least.
Virginia says, “Try to be yourself. Don't try to imitate. Find your own way of doing things, even if it seems useless to you. If it works out well in the end, people will notice and love you. ”
Historical reference:
Since 2004, Virginia has been exhibiting her work in various European countries, as well as at exhibitions in the USA and Russia.
Her works have been published in many magazines and print media around the world.
Jack was awarded the Spectrum 19 Gold Award in 2012 for his character in the American artist Brom's book "Tomboy".
Along with her personal work, Virginia collaborates with other illustrators such as Brian Froud, Olivier Ledroix, Barbara Canepa, Jean-Sebastian Rossbach, Brom, bringing to life the voluminous images that were born in their works.
Virginia shares her thoughts:
“Today I do not participate much in exhibitions and do not create as many sculptures as I used to. I rarely see my works, they quickly fly to collectors. "
“I would be delighted to invite you to visit my workshop in France (Brittany). The main thing is to inform about yourself in advance. It may happen that I have nothing to show you ”- the author jokes.
“I don't discount my work, because buying one of my characters is buying a unique one. You pay for the time, imagination, and technical skills behind this work. By paying the price I ask, you are helping me improve my craft. For which I am deeply grateful to you. "
“The cost of my work is a combination of factors. I have a price scale. I focus on it when I create something special, for example, a custom size, more expensive material and important technical innovations. "
“I rarely take work to order, due to lack of time. But if you have interesting ideas, we will definitely discuss them. In my opinion, the more pleasure I get from my work, the better the result. I never repeat my characters. I'm not interested in this. And I cannot work without inspiration ”.
Photos taken from open sources on the Internet
With love and respect, Tatiana Kalinina
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