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All Dolled Up: Beaded Art Doll Competition
Commentary
1. What is a "bead"?
Great question. The simple answer is that a bead is something with a hole in it. A bead IS NOT a rhinestone, a sequin, or a decal. We give the artist wide leeway in defining "what is a bead?".
Because beads have a hole through them, they have a 3-dimensional and structural quality all their own. This dimensionality and structure will also have a major interplay with light and shadow. Their quality and essence could also be affected by movement, positioning, and pose.
A beaded art doll will be comprised of many individual beads, each with its own structural properties -- essense, if you will -- as well as it's own structural property made up of the synergistic effects of all its parts, as these relate to the structural whole.
Thus a well-designed, aesthetically pleasing, beaded art doll is three-dimensional, structural beadwork at its theoretical best.
2. Does it have to have legs, or does it have to have arms?
No. The "test" is that when anyone sees the piece, they immediately recognize it as a "doll".
3. Can it be representative of more than one season?
[Year 1 theme was: The Five Seasons]
Yes. Or you can create your own season with its own name, that represents two seasons.
4. Does the stand have to be beaded?
No. Only the surface of the doll itself has to be at least 80% beads.
5. The rules say that the doll must be 80 percent beads. Is that 80 percent of the surface area, or does the 80 percent include the inside support structure, or core of the doll as well?
The 80% relates to the surface area, not the inside support structure.
For some people, they will use very stiff bead stitches which will be both the inside support as well as the surface area. This use of beads as a structural support is not a requirement, just an option. We are only concerned with the surface area coverage. The surface area has to be 80% beads.
6. I was just wondering about the rules of the beaded doll competion. I read
through your rules, but I was unsure if this was acceptable, and I
don't want to go through all the work if this would be disqualified.... I have
a ceramic doll body that I want to bead a dress for, but the dress
would be a hoopskirt, so very little of the actual doll body would be
embellished, however her clothes would be primarily composed of beads.
Would that be sufficient, or is that not what you're looking for in the way
of entries?
In this case, this would not be sufficient to meet our expectation. The body would have to be beaded. I suggest using something like the brick stitch to bead the exposed portions of the ceramic doll body. This is fast and simple.
7. Does the "story" have to be fiction or non-fiction?
The story may be told from a nonfictional point of view, a fictional point of view, or a mix. The purpose of the story is to give the artist a vehicle for making the process of creating the doll more real and meaningful for the judges. It may be a straightforward essay on the doll's content and structure. It might be a fable in which there are references to the process in which the doll came to life.
8. Hi, I am putting the finishing touches on my entry for
your contest and I had a question. The rules state:
>> For the 80% of the surface area that must be
beaded, these would NOT include the application of
rhinestones, sequins, nailheads or studs. <<
Now, if I am interpreting this correctly, it is ok to
use sequins, but they are not to be considered to make
up part of the 80% of the doll that must be beaded. Is
this correct, of should I avoid using sequins all
together?
Yes, you may use sequins (and/or rhinestones, nailheads or studs). 20% of
the surface area may be treated, embellished or approached in any way the artist
wants.
Based
on
our
experiences
with local
beaders, several got frustrated in trying to bead their dolls, and began gluing
sequins and rhinestones all over them. We wanted to prevent this in someway,
because we felt this was not indicative of a "beaded art doll".
9. Is it alright for me to have someone else interview me and write the 1000
words about my doll if I give her credit?
I'm an excellent artist, but not such a great writer!
Yes, the doll may be a collaboration, with someone else writing the story.
Links
to Other Beaded Art Doll Sites
Aunt
Mollies Beaded Art Doll Links
Bead Doll
Faq
Bead Doll Forum Gallery
Bamileke Beaded
Doll
Beaded
Dolls From Cape Town South Africa
Beaded Doll
Megan Noel's Beaded Dolls
Art Doll Quarterly August
2003
Huichol Beaded Doll
Doll Making Tips From ODACA Artists
Doll Making Tips
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