Sylvia Weser - Biography -

Sylvia Weser
Doll Art

Biography

I was born in 1954 in Poland. When I was four years old my family moved to Germany. From my childhood on, during my education on High school and later on College drawing and painting was my favourite activity.
The classic painters and sculptors like Michelangelo are fascinating me since I can remember. The smile of the next neighbour’s child or a picture in a magazine could be as inspiring to me as my own fantasy.

I live and work in a very scenic house, located on a wide piece of land with a beautiful panoramic view on untouched nature in a little village near the city of Munich. My house is my studio. It is furnished with many antiques, old paintings, sculptures and the whole ambience is very inspiring for my works, because I have a favour for beauty and aesthetic. I need to have a harmonic atmosphere and a balanced state of mind to be creative. Creating dolls is the most important part of my live. To make people happy with my work and to feel the positive response which I get from my collectors makes my work to a "dream job".

To be individually accepted through my artistic work and having a personal relationship to my collectors is one of my driving forces and I wish for the future, that it will be the same as it is today.

1988 I started to create porcelain dolls. All my dolls are made out of the finest Limoges (France) porcelain which is used since centuries for the most exquisite china. Only porcelain has the transparent surface structure, which allows creating the special detailed, translucent look of human skin and porcelain is not changing its character forever. Now my editions are limited to a maximum of three dolls only, but I prefer to create One-Of-A-Kinds.
Every doll is signed on the neck with "Sylvia Weser Original" and the year and has a certificate of authenticity.

In my opinion a piece of Art has to be made by the artist even in the smallest detail and not by a helper; this is one major reason for the exclusivity of my work, that's why I do all my work by myself.

While others are downsizing, my dolls mostly remain large between 30 cm ( 12”) and 130 cm (50”). Even though handling huge porcelain parts is more complicated and requires greater effort. I think the illusion of a real child is stronger with a larger doll. I also found out, that my customers think big dolls are more expressive as decorating objects.

The bodies are made from leather, because this material is natural, skin-like and robust. The dolls come with a full skeletal armature so that they are poseable and stable.
My dolls are entirely made from white porcelain. After being high fired I paint every porcelain part of the doll up to eight times depending to the darkness of the skin. Each painting layer needs to be fired separately. I only use the best mouth blown crystal glass eyes from Germany. This German tradition of glass blowing has been famous and unique for centuries.

The wigs I am using are individually manufactured for every piece. They are my own design and made from real European human hair. A special passion is the design and costuming of my creations. I collect antique fabrics, laces, trimmings and decorating materials from all over the world and use them for my exquisite wardrobe.

My most rewarding artistic experience was the first invitation to the show "Masterpieces of the World" of Team Creative in New York in the year 1995, my first time in the United States of America and being sold out after the first 20 minutes. What a Welcome!