I made my first doll in January 2008.

I remember well when I sat down at the computer to find a beautiful doll for my little daughter as a present. Before I knew it, I was immersed in the wonderful and unknown to me world of designer dolls. At that moment, the world around me changed, as if the doors were opened to me into something new, desirable and infinitely interesting. Then I understood why I studied at the St. Petersburg School of Arts in the Art Department, then at the Restoration Department of the Roerich College, at the Academy of Fine Arts (FTIIOZO).

I immediately remembered a sad episode at school, when I accidentally walked into the wrong class and ended up in the drama club. Why sad? Because I was not accepted because of my age and was escorted with the phrase "come to us next year...". And I saw in the hands of a teacher made of plasticine the head of a puppet, which was prepared for the removal of the form. How unfamiliar that plasticine doll's face looked. It was like a white sheet of paper for a graphic artist, like a primed canvas for a painter. Anybody could have emerged from the form. It all depended on the person whose hands were holding the plasticine. How I longed for that circle. But soon we moved to another district, and the new school didn't have one.

The dream had been put on hold for years... and now I saw what I wanted to do myself. The night in front of the monitor flew by and in the morning I already knew where and what I needed to buy to make my first doll.

At that time I was working at the State Russian Museum, in the restoration department, and I thought my profession was defined. But from doll to doll, I realized that the time I had left after my main job was woefully inadequate for all the things I wanted to do. For about a year I hoped to be able to combine work and creativity, but the desire to make dolls won. Now the author's art doll occupies all my time, thoughts and feelings.

Creating an image, choosing a character, is the most exciting, most important and my favourite part of the job. I never start modelling before I have a clear feeling for a new doll. Only after I've got the idea for the composition, the character and the image of the doll, do I start materializing it. But whether I succeed with it depends on my skills, which I try to build up every year, with every new doll.

I'm sure that for an artist the idea and meaning are the main thing, and the material he uses to express himself is not so important. Of course, everyone has their favourite materials and techniques. I have them too, but even if for some reason my materials are not available, I will find others. It doesn't matter! It might even be the impetus for new ideas.

So far I've been working with baked plastic Living Doll. I love it for its velvety surface, natural colours and the ability to capture the finest details.

I am proud of the fact that I can only afford to do what I love. All other achievements I consider insignificant. Exhibitions, diplomas, publications - that's very nice, of course, but nothing more. The main thing is that each new doll is better than the previous one. The main thing is the ability to create new images. The main thing is to create.

Material prepared Olga Timofeeva