Annette on the Net
Annette Appleton
Bristol, England
appletonae@dial.pipex.com

About Annette:

I live in England and although I kept my childhood dolls, I only began collecting seriously in 1983. I began customising my dolls in 1991which was because of dance. One of my hobbies was learning a dance style from India. When I injured my leg and had to stop dancing for nine months, and despite feeling that I was not very good at sewing, I decided to create a sari for one of my Kira dolls. I was very pleased with the result and then made a dance costume for another doll followed by re-painting a Ken's face. That is how it all began. I love Indian dance costumes because they are so vivid and flamboyant. Much of my inspiration is drawn from them.

Nowadays I only collect Kira dolls. In Europe most of these dolls with the asian faces are known as Marina dolls. I just adore her. She is so versatile and very grown up. She looks great in 50's outfits as her sweet smile gives her an adult look, but she is also perfect for ethnic costumes ranging from Latin, Mediterranean to Indian or Asian looks. I love customising her as well as collecting her. I collect MIB and unboxed to play with. I'd love to collect Marinas/Kiras customised by other artists, I already have seven by friends and this includes a really unusual one with a toothy smile!

I enjoy finding new pieces of fabric, especially Indian silks, and as soon as I look at them I know exactly what they will become. I feel more like a sculptress in cloth rather than a seamstress because I make use of whatever means I need to obtain my end result. All my dolls have a name and a personality.

I love seeing other artists' work. My most favourite thing is to see dolls I've never seen before. I really enjoy the incredible creativity and talent of others.

Carlota on Annette:

Think I'm out of raves yet? Hardly--I've barely begun! And what a place to begin again... Annette is a total and complete breath of fresh air. It's unusual enough to find an artist who loves Kira (aka Marina or Miko) as much as I do! Add to that the celebration of Eastern dance, mythology and culture that Annette imbues in each one of her dolls and you present me with an objet d'art that I cannot resist. Annette bestows each creation not only with joy and respect, but with life.

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