Homegrown Creations Delight at Dollirium

The latest show at London's Art Doll Gallery, Dollirium, is titled "The Home Grown Doll Show" and features work by artists from London, Toronto, Stratford and St. Thomas.  As with all shows at the gallery, there was an eye-catching mix of the creepy and the beautiful.

 The Dollirium Studio hung with the latest show

Tattoo artist Deb Mellor's work has a delightful whimsical spirit.  The piece above is titled "Come closer, I will listen"

Another of Mellor's pieces, titled "Wheeeeeee!"

A completely different vibe is had from Michelle Di Pinto's work, particularly the one above, titled "Edwina".

Di Pinto sculpted each feather individually from clay

"Undertaker", by Jacqui Gallant (whose photo appears in my previous post) has cool little skull-shaped buttons on his jacket

Many of the dolls created by tattoo artist Lana Hicks, including the one in the photo above, are incredibly beautiful, with gorgeous costumes and accessories. 

Hicks also creates dolls with a dark side, like the one above, titled "Sughare"

With each new show at Dollirium, I have become a bigger fan of the work of London artist Sarah Legault, who created "The Lovers" in the photo above.  The fabrics she chooses for her dolls' clothing is always richly elegant, contrasting with the oddly macabre faces

Another of Legault's creations, "Echo, The Bunnyman"

One of my favourite Sarah Legault dolls is "Vlada, The Impaler", pictured above, which was exhibited in a previous show, and is on display in Gallant's studio. 

Sara Deck, the creator of "Viv", above, is a visual artist and new to doll-making.  Deck's character description for this particular doll is as follows:  "Viv is not adept at verbal rebuttal.  Her revenge is exacted in ways not so subtle".

 Karen Waschinski showed some of her soft sculpture animals in this show.  Rats are her specialty, and hers are much more fierce-looking than my little girl!

The Home Grown Doll Show continues at Dollirium until July 5th