I have seen so many beautiful dolls on display for this event. Today, I wanted to showcase an artist who I came across back in 2009 and set me on my path to BJDs. Her dolls were partially strung but the hands and feet were affixed with screws however they still allowed a good range of mobility. Her head was not removable, her face was painted on and her hair was glued on.
She was called the Sarangelo Tea Cup Dolls, each doll hand-casted by the artist herself. The face and hair were also done by the artist. The dolls came nude. This was my first exposure to an artist doll. There was just something so eerie yet hauntingly beautiful about these little dolls (which are roughly 15-16cm in height give or take). They were insanely popular when they were first released in 2009 and very hard to get as they sold as soon as the artist had them up on her shop. I was lucky to even be able to get one, let alone two of these girls. Each doll is OOAK.
I'm not sure what happened to the artist, she disappeared around 2014 which is a shame as her dolls were so delicate and beautiful in my opinion, and I would have loved to have collected more of them.
What I love about these dolls is that they look hand-made, they feel hand-made, there are certainly flaws but it's these very things that I treasure most about them. They're not perfect or perfectly polished but that's their appeal, at least to me.
If you'd like to see more of her work, the only thing I could find to showcase them was her old Etsy store which I believe has been inactive for quite a number of years now. It does still have photos of her old dolls on there though.
#proBJDArtists
Hi Alasse,
ReplyDeleteCompletely missed #proBJDArtists this year, had so much of my own stuff going on that I haven't even read any blogs for a few days.
I do like those dolls, being handmade they are quite different from other BJD's and I find that eerie look very appealing. I can see why you would find them so too. :)
Doesn't it make you a little curious when talented people just disappear without any explanation? I know I always wonder what happened to them, she probably had her reasons, but I'd dare not ask for fear of putting my foot in my mouth.
Hugs,
X
I almost missed it too. Been busy working a lot lately. So many unfinished projects.
DeleteI always wonder what happened to the artist. I hope she's okay and nothing bad happened but she did kind of vanish quite suddenly. Maybe she got overwhelmed as her dolls were quite popular.
I have never heard about these Tea Cup Dolls, I am a bit sad about that because the dolls are beautiful. And the flaws just make them special.
ReplyDeleteI made a search for Sarangelo, but did not get lucky at all - just found the closed shop and other owners dolls. It is like Sandi wrote, one can wonder why she just disappeared. What ever the reason, it is sad, because it is a piece of talent....
They are the most adorable little dolls. I like having them around even if they don't get photographed a lot. I am going to buy a proper tea cup for them to display them in.
DeleteIt is a shame because I think she was just getting started with her dolls. She had a lot of potential to go a long way with these dolls. I just hope she's okay and living her life.