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About the D.A.D.E. Guild:
D.A.D.E. guild has been formed to reunite a small group of doll artists and friends committed to create reborn dolls and baby sculpts that reflect the highest standard of superb quality. The purpose of D.A.D.E. guild is to promote quality and professionalism in the two arts and to cultivate friendship among the member artists. Artists showing D.A.D.E. logo support each other's creations and offer baby dolls you will treasure for the rest of your life.
(1) DO YOU COME FROM AN ARTISTIC FAMILY?
YES!
I really feel that everyone is capable of be artistic in their own special way. It's just a matter of tapping into the source within.
(2) DID YOU PURSUE ART THROUGH SCHOOL?
I have always been a lover of the art world and tried to express myself using many different mediums. I trained in "Custom Clothing and Design" for four years... After that I worked with a doll museum restoring dolls and dressing them to their proper era. I enjoy painting oil portraits and doing chalk drawings of real children. I also love photography and creative writing.
(3) DID YOU STUDY ART AFTER SCHOOL?
No....After I graduated I got married and began my family. When the children got a bit older I made soft sculptured cloth dolls and toys for them to play with. Later I worked as an apprentice for a local doll maker pouring porcelain dolls, finishing and costuming them. I eventually got a kiln, some molds and began to make porcelain dolls myself. I even tried my hand at reborning for a while. I just felt that I could not express myself the way I wanted to. That is when I began to think about sculpting my own babies in clay.
(4) WHAT OR WHO FIRST INSPIRED YOU TO SCULPT?
After enjoying many ways in trying to express myself ...I still felt as though I was missing something......UNTIL...I bought my first bar of clay and began to sculpt!!!
My deepest inspiration comes ...when I think about where, why and how life began.... I can't help but to look first into the eyes of a precious child ! A baby...a brand new soul...a shinning star...born into this world to show forth a special statement .... I think of a child as the purest form of LOVE. As I sculpt my babies...I only hope to capture a glimpse of the true magic of what the love of a child is all about! My thoughts are to somehow make that doll speak for itself through the expression it displays on its face. I want it's eyes...to shine and show the feeling of "soul" and the "miracle of life"! With each and every baby I sculpt I want to strive to make it even more real looking than the last.
(5) DID YOU START WITH BABIES OR SOMETHING ELSE?
My very first clay sculpture was a tiny newborn baby which I could fit into the palm of my hand. (It was only 3 1/2 inches long.
(6) SOME INFO ABOUT YOUR ONE OF A KINDS. CLAY USED. BODY HAIR AND EYES ECT BUT NOT YOUR SECRETS, PRICE BREAKS?
I started sculpting with Pro-sculpt Polymer clay and had such great results that I stayed with it. I began by sculpting a small newborn that I could hold in the palm of one hand and it gave me the most AWESOME overwhelming feeling! Gradually I started making them more life-sized... and got more detailed as I went along. Once... in the wee hours of the morning...I woke up with an exciting idea about sculpting a new baby! That is when my anatomically correct boy and girl babies were created!
(7) WHAT FIRST INSPIRED YOU TO OFFER SILICONE BABIES AND SOME INFO ON THOSE PLEASE, EDITION SIZE, PAST AND PRESENT EDITIONS AND PRICE BREAKS?
As I enjoyed sculpting the most realistic babies I could possibly make...I also wanted to be able to introduce a real soft cuddliness to them. Clay is not too cuddly and has a tendency to break if it is handled too much. I thought it would be nice to be able to re-create them into a medium that could offer my collectors the qualities of being able to withstand lots of contact, such as changing the outfits and having cuddle time. In doing some research I found that SILICONE fit all of the criteria! It was exactly what I was looking for! My husband who is now retired from 30 years of working with the car industry... decided to pursue (with a little coaxing) the art of silicone mold making. He was trained by a professional on how to transfer my clay sculptures into molds and then into our Limited Edition silicone dolls. We now work together as a team...creating amazingly realistic silicone dolls... that feel ever so soft, can be cuddled, and have their outfits changed, with no worries about breakage. Our most popular babies are our anatomically correct boy and girl newborns. They have solid silicone heads, with arms jointed to a soft cloth upper body ...and stuffed ever so carefully for a perfect balance. Then from the waist down they are solid silicone. Since silicone is very flexible...their legs can move and bend. I use extra fine mohair on my newborns. It is handrooted with a very fine felting needle ..giving that fuzzy newborn look...and the new large pupal blue gray eyes in either glass or silicone. I custom create every body from various weights of doe suede. My babies are weighted and stuffed just right for snuggles and cuddling.
I have recently done a 27 inch silicone toddler ..."Ella Rose" who is so much fun to dress and cuddle with! She is also a silicone limited edition. My edition's usually run between 15 and 20 dolls world wide.
(8) DO YOU OFFER RESIN BABIES IF SO SOME INFO ON THOSE PLEASE?
Resin is a medium that I might try in the future for some of my smaller dolls. I would rather not use it for the larger more realistic dolls because they are too hard and I feel it would not cuddle well.
(9) DO YOU HAVE ANY BABIES IN VINYL AVAILABLE AND IF SO SOME INFO ON THOSE PLEASE?
I have done two kits with a kit company that have been sold out ...and will be doing more kits in the future on my own. I have done several dolls with H.S.E. and The Ashton Drake Company has created some of my mini anatomically correct babies and they are ON SALE NOW! For info go to my "mini babies" page and click on the link.
(10) SOME INFORMATION ON YOUR VINYL KIT DOLLS AND PRICE BREAKS?
My Ella kits are NOW AVAILABLE! Please visit my store for availability.
(11) HOPES AND DREAMS FOR THE FUTURE?
My hopes and dreams for the future are to continue to strive in making my dolls project the look and feeling of ultra realism and I hope they reflect my "love for life"!
Frequently asked questions about me:
June/July 2009
2008
Vikki
Hello,
My name is Vikki Ebbeling. I was born and raised in NEW ENGLAND. I am a wife, mother and grandmother. I have always been a lover of the ART world.
I have been sculpting with polymer clay for about 4 years and I am able to apply my artistic ability with expression and a realism representing the true beauty of a most precious gift... a child. I am the original artist of the "EARTH ANGEL Babies" who are born here at the HEAVENS "LIGHT" NURSERY.
I sculpt ONE OF A KIND babies with NO molds what-so-ever. As the spirit moves me... each baby begins to unfold in my hands and becomes as unique as a real child. LIKE A REAL CHILD EACH BABY CREATED IS THE ONLY ONE IN THE WHOLE WORLD... ONLY SELECTED babies will be made into SILICONE limited editions. I will state the limit on each series. They are signed by ME on the back of the neck... the original artist of EARTH ANGEL'S by HEAVENS "LIGHT" NURSERY. They are all numbered, registered and each baby holds a copyright. They have BIRTH AND ADOPTION PAPERS and a certificate of AUTHENTICITY. ***PLEASE NOTE THAT THESE BABIES ARE COLLECTIBLES AND SHOULD BE TREATED... "WITH CARE"... THEY ARE NOT INTENDED FOR CHILDREN. Each baby is created with MUCH creative thought and is given a name which expresses a true meaning in life.
"HEAVENS LIGHT"... also has meaning to me. Light is the source of all "LIFE". There is only ONE sun to give light... warmth... and life to all of creation... without it... nothing would exist. I believe that the sun is a representation meant to be
interpreted that there is ONE eternal creator that can give US life!
The SUN represents the CREATOR himself!
ELLA ROSE KIT
Honorable mention of advanced category kit contest!
LILLI BETH
Third place winner of advanced category annual Pro Sculpt contest!
Winner
Winner
Awards
July/Aug 2010
