A Collaborative Art Work with "Cholo",a Talented Artist!

               In this tiny little world, there are so many times that those miracles happen to your life without knowing of any reasons why? Is it an accident, something so called unexpected event, or a destiny by the fate? No one knows these clearly. Almost 2 years ago, I have been following an artist who is working with many dolls by designing a very rich and stunning costumes and jewelry sets for the dolls. Many people know him as Cholo, a really famous and talented doll artist who currently lives and working in Philippines. I used to have a wish that I would be able to work with him as a collaborative work one day about our doll creations. I didn’t expect this would come true until a very nice friend who lives in Hong Kong named Cliff, has recommended Cholo to me! I couldn’t believe that this would be so true as I do really admire his works! You may follow his link by click

(This is rough pencil sketch that I designed the costumes and sent it to Cholo to ask the possibility of how the jewelry sets should be. I can’t wait to see the complete sets now.)

               From the picture design, I left the space that Cholo will add the headpiece, earrings, and necklace on the costume. We just agreed that t the accessories should be something shiny and looks rich enough to make the doll looks grace. Now I only have to let him get an inspiration to do on this project that what style would be best on this costume design.  

              That’s really such an exciting feeling to work with a friend who lives aboard and has a very high imaginative vision on creating something absolutely beautiful. This could be something very worth to wait and see that I should call this work as “ Cholo Classique” ( A very friendly collaborative working on a project with the Immortal Classique) That’s very honorable for me that once (and in the future) we make something "Spectacular" to the doll lovers here:) 
Good Night to you all here :)

 

Playing with Bai-Suzhen.

       Last night, I went watching a movie, The Lady White Snake by Jet Lee 2011. My friend said that it was such a wonderful thing to see that my doll looks like The Lady White from the movie! I thought, yes I did agree that. Not 100% looks like the actress, but I could feel something very closed and similar in some senses that this doll really reminds the girl in the movie. Also, I didn’t expect that it would be the same day that this movie is in the theater and I started letting her find a new home. I could say that this latest version is very impressive for my feeling a lot, as the plot and the music are very beautiful and touching the emotion. Personally, I do love many OST. I keep listening the song “Promise” for many times after the movie until now. (how shy). Now I feel more comfortable than a couple weeks ago since I really worked very hard for this. Today, I just picked up some wigs to try to see how would my Lady White look like in a different wig styles. I can feel that she’s cute with the black hair, any styles. This is something special for me to play with this doll. The last picture is another Lady White that sits closed to each other, so I took a photograph of them two. Please enjoy. Thank you for watching :)

My 2nd Immortal:My Lady White

           Hello everyone here:) I've been working really really hard during this time, until yesterday, which it was my Birthday(really had no time to go out for any celebration). The Lady White is now finished. I don't know how to express my feelings here. But the only one thing that I can feel is that I'm so lucky to have many many lovely nice friends here and in the Facebook! Yesterday, while I was working with the doll photographing( I had to took a flight to another place to the Diorama picture for my Lady White Snake then fly back to my home within that day), the Happy Birthday massages kept coming from my Facebook freinds, artists, doll collectors, admirer and friends. This really made me feel happy and enthusiastic to work on my doll project. This is how my doll looks like. I hope you will like my Lady White style :)

 

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(The 1-4 pictures above are taken in the studio. The 5th picture set is taken by the Iphone 3GS, in a nornal light, and no photoshop)

              Now I could become a zombie and take 12 hrs to sleep,. still I have works to go on!!!Thank you for watching. Love you all here. All the Facebook massages will get a reply surely. Thank you a Thousand Times again :) For more infos pictures about my Lady White Snake, just click

"Bai-Suzhen(白素贞)",My True Lady

               Hello, my friends here. Now the second costume, The Lady White Snake is now completely done. (Actually, I have an intention to add more details on the blue and pink chiffon with the laces and tinsels. But I really have no time to finish the whole thing(a hundred things to do!!!) So I would add them up for my personal collection in the future) It such a co-incident that the lady white costume collection is on the movie re made by Jet Lee.,2011, The Sorcerer and The White Snake. You may follow the official trailer by here

               And this movie will be on the theatre on the 6^th of October. Surprisingly, I have just seen this movie trailer this morning with an excited feeling that what the costume would be in the movie. I can see that the Lady White gets dresses in total white and red costume: while mine is blue and pink. Here is the picture of my costume. What do you think about it?

     ( A completed costume with the head piece on the doll is something very magnificent!)

               This costume really impressed me very very very much. The real one is something that truly amazing. I accept that I cannot put it down whin it's completed. Its colors reminds me of the picture of blue sky and pink blossom flowers(as to previous picture about Chiang Mai Sakura that I posted in the previous post) This costume is very sweet and it incredibly provokes a romantic sense when The Lady White snake transformed into the human form to make Xu-Xian fall in love with her for the first glance. She really looks like an angel from the heaven with the magical colors of the costume with the high detail decoration and charming face.  I also make the necklace with the Chinese stone and purple pearls to make her look beautiful. And this is the picture of her shoes in the traditional Chinese style. It really fits with the dress!

                (I should make a strap to make the shoes tight with the doll feet)

               Now I’m on the painting process that would probably finish by Monday evening. Once when everything is done, you will meet The Immortal Classique; The Lady White Snake. Her name is ” Bai Suzhen(白素贞)” 

.......and now the male doll is being started!!!......c u soon, Thank you :)

Being Assembled...

               Since the Chinese Opera head piece is completely done, the only one thing left is to find the right materials for the head decoration.  To decorate it, the materials are divided into groups: tiny beads with the gemstone, and the flowers.  According to the Chinese Opera head costume pattern, it mainly comprised of the big pearls, colorful velvet balls like pink ,red or blue, and some tiny beads. Some furs are used as a part of the decoration, too.  My lady white head piece is mailnly made off the brace, so I think the tiny flowers take a good part to make it look more soft and cute for the doll. I carefully pick the flowers that fit the costume colors which are blue, pink and white. (You may get curious why the Lady White doesn’t have a total white costume from tip to toe.  On the play, it may not be 100% that the costume must be accurate. It’s flexible, depending on the decision and the intention of each group band. ) I chose the scene from what I remembered and my imagination when the Lady White transformed into beautiful woman and firstly met Xu Xian (her lover).  It could be something  so called “dreamy traditional” when two people first me and then falling in love, everything surrounded by themselves look so romantic and truly beautiful. That’s why the costume’s colors look so bright and sweet…like the blossoms in the Spring.

 (The Chinese Opera Head Piece is being assembled)

               Here is the front look of the Chinese Head crown. I like almost all of the decoration of it, yet the middle rose at her forehead. If I can find the right materials that could probably be something that really compatible with the head, I may change it.  This head is not completely finished as there are something left to do for the final decision of what to do for the great outcome. Sometimes, to check the work with the eyes is not the final. I think I need to check it with the camera that how does it look when it’s on the camera. This small technique does help a lot when I will move on for another plan. My friend asked me why did I need to put many flowers on the head and they just almost recovered the whole thing! Yes, I can use something very cheap and easy to find like paper marché,or cardboard with silver and gold paper. But at this point, I cannot lie my royal feeling…may be I’m a very perfect in my own way. 

 

               My friends, my brother, my mum, and many people said that I am Mr. Perfect.  Umm this is may be truly true. I am a person who always set an aim in a very high level and trying so hard to reach to the point. It could be something so called struggling, high ambition, or else. But for me, I define it myself as “The Strong Devotion from the Heart” Everything I do, it should be the reasonable, critical, and acceptable from other people’s opinions. I didn’t try to push myself to the perfectionism, but I rather to be very happy when I receive a positive comments about my work and at the same time listen to what people give me a critic that will help and improve my work quality. That’s why I started my project at the year of 2007 and kept modified just a doll proto type for 3-4 years, en counting errors and trails in countless times.  It’s now 2011. My male doll is going to be start in 20 days. (Hopefully, from what I learnt in the pass would help me to shorten the time of making a male doll….. sigh)

Next,..I'll come back with the update for the doll itself...Goodnight my lovely friends here.

Lady White Costume...

            While the doll making is on the porcelain slip process, the dress in Chinese Opera style has begun. I really feel comfortable to see the golden metallic thread and the sequins  are combined nicely on the blue Chinese shantung.  The graphic that I can find is comprised of the phoenix and dragon. Actually, it probably should be something that is related to the snake according to the theme. However, it seems acceptable to use this fabric with these picture graphics as these give me a sense of Chinese Traditional costume. For the skirt, the golden, silver, and red Chinese tinsels with several tiny beads are added to the long blue skirt to make it look more oriental,and a snake skin pattern. Also, the Lady white has got a long white stole that symbolizes when she’s a demon. The stole is embroidery made with many many tiny tinsels in light pink, purple, and white chrysanthemums. At the end of the stole is  embroidered with the pearls  to make it more beautiful as a nice decoration into Chinese style. This very well patterned stitches make me feel that the costume is very astonishing and lovely to my Lady White Snake. 

 (Stille the chiffon is needed, umm blue or pink?)

 

            For the main decoration flower on the headpiece, which is made of the brace with many tiny gemstones, is the pink chrysanthemum. I really tried so hard to find the best material to make this flower. Luckily, I have found a technique to make it. It is really difficult to do this small flower, as it’s very complicated with the size and step. But it’s worth to do so as the fabric flowers have the endured shape and they look very soft, lovely, and gentle when they are decorated on the metallic stuff. I added more tiny flowers like roses,and other colorful flowers that fit to the head piece.

 

(a fabric flower, chrysanthemum)

 

(some tiny clay flowers)

                 All works are never done. This sentence is really true. I always have another and another things waiting for. It's time to go to bed tonight. More to review so soon... Ahh a drawing of male making project that I'm gonna start at the end of September, my half Asian-Europian male doll. Let's see it soon. Night Night to everyone here :)

 ( I think a quailty of drawing reprents an outcome of the sclputing fiqure.This may not a 100% true. It's just from what I have experienced.)

A Chinese's Fairy Tale

      The story of a supernatural beautiful snake that transforms into a beautiful maiden who marries an unsuspecting mortal. This inspired from a Tale Chinese Opera; “The Lady White Snake". 

          I remember when I was young when my mum took me to the market closed to my home to see a play, Chinese Opera. I asked my mum during the way we walked along on the street “what the story was about?” She explained that the performance on the stage would talk about a girl who previously a snake and then transformed in to human form. Her name is Lady White (White snake) and she’s got a friend, Green snake. She falls in to love with a young man, Xu Xian and they do agree to get married. Unfortunately, they do not live happily ever after because of the meddling of a monk who considers Lady White a demon and tries to convince Xu Xian of that fact. The monk separates them and then imprisons her under a pagoda by West Lake…there she waits someone to free her soul out form the great pain suffering…At the time, I didn't understand that much.
 

          Until I grew up, I saw this story in many versions sometimes from the movies. I really like it when Lady White and her fellow, Green snake trying so hard to struggle over the centuries to become strong enough to fight and be free. This reminds me the traditional female role in the past that women couldn’t do and say what they really wanted to. (ex., the arranged marriage) As a result, this could bring a real tragic and miserable to their livings.  I think Lady White is not someone who will passively stand by and watch things happen without doing something. This could probably a great new role for the women nowadays.

 

          Last night, after finished packing the dolls (which it took 3-4 hours), I started making a rough contour drawing. It is something from my imagination about the story. It’s a Chinese Opera girl with the headpiece for the stage performance. I love to see the headpiece decorated with flowers like shocking pink roses, Chrysanthemums, pink peach flowers and with pearls, jades, and some kind of the colorful gemstones. The pictures in my mind may turn out to be something sweet, colorful for the enjoyment of happiness of the Lady White in my peaceful vision.

             (This is Chiang Mai Sakura in my hometown. I think the color Pink and Light blue are a good cobination sense of  warmth, gentle, and sweet moment.) Credit Pitures: MC Blog Gang.