Doll artist Natalia Zotova

Spread the love

Life is a tragedy when you see it close up, and comedy, when you look at it from afar. Charlie Chaplin. Hyperrealistic dolls by Russian doll artist Natalia Zotova

Doll artist Natalia Zotova
Russian artist Natalia Zotova creates hyperrealistic emotional dolls with character, their own story, and their attractive magic. Besides, with a thirst for life, which they transmit to their owners. According to the artist, in dolls she does not like flashy “puppettry”. Instead, she tries to put life into lifeless, and soul which would play in the eyes of her creations. “This, in my opinion, is a real miracle! I love artistic realism combined with severe emotional world of the character – it captures me completely, and very interesting to me!”

Charlie Chaplin closeup

A few thoughts about doll art. You can read books, visit the exhibitions and workshops, learn in puppet mastery school. But if you are not ready internally for independent creativity, constant search, do not have enough vision and developed aesthetic sense, you will not become successful. Alas, the best thing you’ll be able to – copy someone’s not very difficult work. To create a doll with a character, you should have a character and nature of a self-sufficient person. You can fall in love with your character. But to look at the world through its eyes is much more difficult. So, before you start – think twice.

You must be willing to learn. Moreover, your willingness appears not in a minute, and you will feel the moment you are ready. And the teacher appears when the disciple is ready for this (Chinese proverb).

“I think carefully about all the details: the pose of the doll, expression of its face, clothes, and accessories. All this happens in a few approximations, until finally begin to emerge the smallest details. For myself, I do not see any reason to carry the idea on paper in the form of a sketch of the future dolls. Because, often it is in the process of creating a doll, so I just keep it in my head”.

Masterpiece. And what is it? On the day when you decide that you have created a masterpiece, you die as a creator. Salvador Dali claimed that perfection is not attainable. And therefore, the best doll – is a doll not created yet.

During the birth of a new doll, a true master goes through several stages in his psychological state:
– During carrying on the ideas, the artist always feels a sense of love for the conceived image.
– In the process, this feeling is transformed, becoming a mixed feeling of satisfaction and frustration born of mistakes.
– Upon completion of the work – dissatisfaction, and, perhaps, a shame for the difference between intent and result. And always tired – if he does not, then he has not invested all his soul in the work.
– A short respite and a new plan replaces all the old feelings.

Doll artist Natalia Zotova

Actress Faina Ranevskaya, from the film ‘Vesna’ (‘Spring’)

You should form a sober, critical attitude to your work. To rely on the opinion of the majority of the audience is useless, and a good critic – a rare phenomenon. Art dolls, according to a large part of spectators, is a kind of needlework. And often, these audience praise not what really is a decent job, but the fact that the level of performance, at best, only a craft work.

And most importantly, doll masters themselves are most stringent critics of their work. In the minds of the true creator lives Stanislavsky, sometimes shouting – “I do not believe!”