Adele Sciortino is a dollmaker originally from the US who now resides in Canada. Her work is completely stunning - she is well known for her very detailed costuming and embellishment. Her dolls are always presented properly posed with suitable props and a base upon which it is displayed. (Image 1: Music by Candlelight - (c) Adele Sciortino - used with permission)
Journey Woman's Fish Tale (c) Adele Sciortino - used with permission.
Ming - Origami Gypsy (c) Adele Sciortino - used with permission.
Adele has a fabulous quarterly newsletter which she offers free to readers - all that is required is a quick registration - according to the latest newsletter there are over 3000 subscribers for her newsletter. It's not hard to see why! They are PDFs with wonderful colour photography and in depth articles about the various topics which to date have included Santas, Mermaids, 18th Century Fashions, Elizabethan costumes, the Art Deco period and so much more. It's an essential read for those who are serious about creating art that's "a cut above".
Neptune's Daughter (c) Adele Sciortino - used with permission
Adele's gorgeous creations don't stop at figurative sculptures. She also creates stunning beaded pieces such as beaded cuffs, necklaces and so on.
(All images (c) Adele Sciortino - used with permission)
I caught up with Adele's latest news via email. She is working on two new classes, is planning a workshop in Italy and launching a new online class "A is for Artistic" in March. The workshop in the Tuscany area of Cortona, Italy will be May 25 to June 1 of this year. The trip includes workshops with Adele but apart from that there is a wonderful list of things to do including a Renaissance Festival, Tuscan Cooking Class, visits to local Etruscan Museums, a day trip to Florence, a farewell wine-tasting dinner and all meals, accommodation and more. To find out more or (better still) to book your spot - you can go here .
Australian readers will be happy to know that Adele is also scoping out a possible visit to Australia to teach her workshops. If you have a doll making group who would like Adele to come and teach, or you are an individual who like to attend a workshop you can contact Adele to let her know you are interested. I know I am!
Apart from all that activity Adele also runs the Figurative Art Consortium Conference on a bi-annual basis. 2009 saw the last one with a wonderful line up of teachers including Adele, Marilyn Halcomb, Pearl Moon, Barbara Schoenhoff, Wendy Rinehart, Edwina Sutherland and Peggy Wilson. Apart from the workshops, there was also a Shoe-Delicious Challenge, a Vendor's Market, Pin-doll swap and Auction, hands on workshops and a whole lot more! The next Conference will be June 9 -12, 2011 at the Algonquin College in Otowa, Canada. with a theme of time-travel, hot air balloons and starships.
Adele has also produced a beautiful Figurative Art Calendar which is available from her website. She is currently working on the 2011 Calendar which is her fourth. This very busy lady has also just started blogging too - you will find her blog at http://www.adelesciortino-figurativeart.blogspot.com/ be sure to bookmark her blog - it will surely be worth reading!
Thanks to Adele for sharing her plans for 2010 and beyond and for her permission to use her images. Be sure to subscribe to her wonderful newsletter - it is chock full of information for doll artists.
Good books about dollmaking are not overly common occurrances. Some of my absolutely favourite ones are by Patti Medaris Culea. The books provide wonderful "eye-candy" and inspirational "galleries" where different dollmakers have interpreted the patterns in their own, unique way. There are also interchangeable patterns (from Book 1 through Book 4) and wonderful step-by-step instructions - particularly for that challenge for all doll-makers - the face.
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