~Daisy Dayes – New Creatures~

 American doll artist Daisy Dayes is back with a new batch of cute little critters! The 1/12 size dolls will be available through Jpop Dolls this year.

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Q: Can you go into some detail about each of your upcoming dolls ?

A: Woebegone and Watzit are the two little Goblins that will be coming to JPop this year! They are following a release of Ignatz, and are sort of “cousins” to him, because the first Woebegone and the first Watzit were made when I was trying to get the prototype of Ignatz made, and I had some annoying air-bubbles in the nose! I love to make characters and I’m terrible at throwing ‘bad casts’ away, so I carved them until I ‘found’ another face! Then once I had found their faces, I tried different hats or horns on them until I fell in love with the new characters… Making little scrap dolls is probably my favorite thing about making dolls. They are happy little surprises when they are done!

The Original Woebegone is my little travel buddy, he usually goes everywhere with me. He’s small enough and sturdy enough to ride in my pockets or tag along in my purse (and having a little goblin around makes the day brighter!). He’s also been featured in many of my Photo-stories, including one with a live toad! (frog?)

The Baby Centaurs are a project I have been working on for….so, so many years! I made the first draft of the baby centaurs soon after I had made the first of my Elise centaurs! But I had a hard time getting the ‘look’ I wanted for them. I wanted the big knobby knees that foals have, and I wanted them to have their haunches jointed a bit differently than Elise did. It was a long time before they started to really come together in the way I saw them in my mind, and I got frustrated with them a lot! When I would get too frustrated to work on them, I would stash the sculpt in the cabinet and leave them for a month or two, sort of like a time out (for both of us!).
Now that they have their sculpt done, I’m having so much fun with them! I am very happy with the way they are now. I have a small herd of them who have taken over my desk! The pictures of them jumping and running still make me so happy! I want to take more pictures of them playing equestrian sports and horse type games, but the weather has been a bit wet on the days I have time.

The Ferret is an animal doll that I have made a few of on my own, but I have gotten so many requests that I think I’ll try and have them released eventually.

Q: How have your dolls have changed in the last few years?

A: I think, and I hope that my dolls have improved a bit over the years, but I make so many different things that I rarely have the chance to re-do something I have already done. I love to make new things instead of sitting and improving my skills at one thing (for example, a ‘human’ sculpt). I find that I always want to make something I haven’t done before, like…a Gryphon! Or a fox! or so many other things!

I do find myself looking at the joints in the baby centaur and liking them much better than the joints in the Elise centaur…but I try not to torture myself by disliking the projects and old art that helped me learn and improve my skills  up until this point.

So far we think that the baby centaur will be released next, I’m waiting for a second sample before I can give the ‘go ahead’ for pre-orders, but I hope it will be soon! I want to release the light tan and white option first, they are 13cm tall.

Q: The new centaur looks a little like Moth.

A: The baby centaurs do have the same upper body as Moth, but the face is new. I am still trying to figure out a name for the face sculpt….. I can’t seem to settle on a name at all! some dolls are so hard to name.

Q: So, the goblins are likely after the Centaur?

A: Woebegone will be released in a pale tan, and Watzit will be released in a resin close to the color of my original (waiting for a sample to approve).

Q: My daughter saw your lambs in the centaur photos and loved them! No chance you are releasing lambs?

Aww, thanks for the lamb love! it’s possible I may have them made through JPop, but I haven’t got a really good cast of them yet for a prototype, the weather is too humid and rainy for really good casting right now.

Q: What do you think of the casting company experience?

A: JPop is wonderful! Having my dolls made is saving my sanity, and my fingers! I have an admittedly short attention span, and if I had to cast, drill, paint, and ship all my releases myself, I wouldn’t enjoy making dolls anymore, nor would I have time to make new things!

Photos above: Watzit, 2 baby centaur pictures

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