Elena Artamonova. Be the harshest critics of your work.
The prize for the fourth season of the Gaudir competition in the Originality category went to Elena Artamonova with her work The Witch (on the cover).
Here is an interview with the author.
How long have you been making puppets and how did you get into this business? Do you have a professional background or are you self-taught?
I have been making dolls for as long as I can remember. I am a professional writer who has published more than forty books, among which there are several devoted to arts and crafts, including dolls. I do not have an art education and sometimes I regret that. But I made that choice in my youth when I chose literature over art. But dolls have kept me going all my life, I've returned to them again and again, and in recent years I've been doing them only, putting writing on the back burner.
Remember your first doll, what was it like?
The first one wasn't. It was too long ago. I still have memories from my childhood of shapely girls in vintage outfits, which I made out of whatever material I could find. Wood, putty, papier-mache, plaster, paraffin, and even cement, any material that could help me form a doll's face and magnificent breasts, were used. Dolls had wireframes, sometimes with simple hinges, and their bodies were often covered with elastic stocking. Many dolls were born, but they did not live long and were subjected to endless alterations, ultimately leading to their "death".
Who did you learn puppetry from?
My teachers were books, art school textbooks and anatomical atlases. Later the internet, but never the MKs of famous puppeteer masters. In my opinion, in order to create dolls, you should first of all have basic knowledge in various fields, such as anatomy, composition, techniques of working with various materials, etc. These skills can be obtained with a teacher as well, but an author's style must be formed independently, without interference or unwitting pressure from famous masters. Otherwise a student will inadvertently adopt the teacher's style and then it will be very difficult or even impossible to break out of the boundaries set.
Why choose the dolls?
There was no conscious choice, just an urge to play, to create my own fantasy worlds. I think it was play that provided the basis for both my literary work and my work on dolls. As I grew older, I forgot how to play, and making dolls began to fascinate me, as I was able to use a wider range of skills. After all, a master doll maker has to be a sculptor, a mold maker, a model maker, a shoemaker, a hairdresser... I also love to embroider and design clothes, and dolls' clothes give me a lot of room and possibilities for creativity.
Your favourite technique, why?
I started working with silicone in 2013. Before that there was wax, wood and papier-mâché, but only silicone allowed me to come closer to realising the dream of a perfect, human-indistinguishable doll. The ideal, of course, is not achievable, but now I know in which direction to go. Movement has always been important to me, but at the same time I didn't like the exposed hinges, and silicone allows me to create fully mobile dolls without visible points of articulation.
Which is more important to you, technicality or expressiveness?
In static compositions, the expressiveness of the image is very important, but such works are more for interior decoration than for play. Moving puppets are designed primarily to interact with humans, they are artists playing different roles at the will of the director. Excessive expression can interfere with the creation of a character, limiting fantasy. Therefore, in most cases, I make dolls with neutral facial features, and expressiveness is achieved by giving them dynamic poses. There are exceptions, but as a rule, such works are not replicated and are created for my own pleasure.
I pay a lot of attention to realistic body anatomy and quality surface finish. So for me it's probably more about technicality.
Do you have a personal secret to excellence that you can share with readers?
This is not a secret, but rather a piece of advice for those who have taken up the difficult craft of puppet making. Never rest on your laurels and be the harshest critics of your work. I've heard it said somewhere that if a craftsman is still happy with his doll after a year, he'd better not start making them at all.
If your dolls suddenly stop being bought, will you give up and find another occupation or continue anyway?
Dolls are not my main source of income, although I am not complaining about sales. The main part of my orders is the population of dollhouses, miniature boys and girls at 1:12 scale. Working to order keeps me energized, makes me work hard and regularly, but sometimes I want to relax, do something for the soul, just because there is a need to invent, experiment, create new and unusual. If there are no sales, I will certainly continue to make dolls, but I am afraid that because of their complexity such projects will turn into "long construction", stretching over many years.
What does winning the Gaudir competition mean to you?
A lot. Getting recognition from professionals who have praised my work is worth a lot. But it's not just about recognition of excellence. I have never entered a competition before, although I have followed some of them with great interest. Gaudir has always caught my attention, but I never saw myself as one of the participants. Whether by coincidence or fate, at the time when I was working on a new doll, I learned about this year's theme, "Goosebumps". And then it was clear that I had to take part. Why? For personal reasons, for the state of mind at the time.
The theme of witch hunts, the stories of thousands of women tortured in dungeons and burned alive, has always been a source of pain and shuddering. Today, the witch is a playful character, a pretty girl in a pointy hat, flying on a broomstick and conjuring up magic potions. The fairytale image has overshadowed the large-scale tragedy of the past, a centuries-long genocide unleashed on the basis of gender. This, the true story of witches, was told in his research by the artist and historian Nikolai Bessonov. His book "Judgments on Witchcraft" in its time greatly influenced my world view. And not so long ago came the news of the untimely death of a talented man, and his new books and paintings have remained unscripted. That was when the idea of my Witch was born. It was created in memory of a man who had passed away, in memory of the thousands of innocent women who had been murdered.
I wanted to share my feelings with others, so for me winning the competition was not only a recognition of my skills, but also proof that I was able to reach people's hearts.
Your wish for future contestants.
Good luck, faith in your abilities, patience and, of course, victory.
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