Nearly 6 months ago, I started a new journey into ceramic work. In the early part of this journey, I had the pleasure of watching the movie Encanto with my children, many times. As I was watching the movie, I thought the Dolores character was an interesting fit for a cloth body doll. If I was going to make a doll, I wanted it to be a bit different. I wanted her to have the foundation of an antique cloth body doll, but have a modern edge. Dolores seemed like a character type that would be great inspiration for a doll. I quickly got to work and I’m glad she ended up being my first hand-sculpted ceramic doll.
Dolores stands only 8” tall. Her skirt and blouse were hand-embroidered to accomplish something similar to the dress worn in the movie. Yellow silk ribbon accents help bring the outfit to life. Ruffles and beads are perfect for the blouse. It was difficult to find a yellow lace small enough to adorn the sleeve and ruffle edges, so I opted for a blanket stitch with yellow embroidery thread.
I used a clear glaze to finish the doll, but I might need something more satin for dolls in the future. While the doll looks beautiful in person, the high gloss in the photos distracts from her loveliness. Also, I’m not an expert photographer, so attempting to get good pictures of her is an ongoing learning process.
There are more dolls in the works, but they take me quite a while to make. Stay tuned for some other awesome adventures in doll making. Every doll will be a learning process for me and I welcome growing in this fun new adventure. Check out more images of the doll on Instagram.
Please note this doll is inspired by the Disney character from Encanto, but I am not affiliated with the Disney company and this was not a paid partnership. My doll is a personal interpretation that was inspired by the character mentioned above. She is not for sale and is a part of my personal collection.
Support an artist! Visit my Etsy shop. You can also follow my Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest pages.