This week's artist feature is
Martha of
Ayala Art.
Please tell us about yourself. What is your name? Where do you live? What makes you tick?
It's always a bit hard to talk about myself, what can I say? I have a good sense of humor, a very restless inquisitive mind. I love to learn, I like to make things, paint, play with clay, among other things.
All my work goes under my name Ayala Art. (first name is Martha), but I go by Ayala which has a meaning in Hebrew, Arabic and Basque, none of those languages spoken by moi, unfortunately, I have to say. It is pronounced ah-JA-lah
I live in one of the hottest towns in California. That is, weather wise, it is very hot. Located In the Central Valley, just north of the Grape Vine.
I love colors, Nature, little kids, bubbles, sunshine on the water. Chocolate.
When did you start making dolls? Why did you start making dolls?
I started sometime in 2006 and it was basically an experiment on a 3D rendition of my little paintings of girls. I had been making these little girls on art cards, and I thought, well, they would look cute as dolls, and I went to hunt for information on how to go about it. The road has been long, and I was not sure what materials, clay, style etc I liked best... so I have been trying them ALL.
Basically what I enjoy the most is tiny babies made of polymer, and small (though bigger size) paperclay with moving limbs.
Who or what influences you? Inspires you?
Colors and paintings inspire me. Unfortunately, not all my inspirations end up as finished dolls. There's a lot that stays in a "WIP" box indeterminately, as I learn to do better and different.
Anybody that can be a constant creator is also an inspiration for me. There are a lot of great artists out there who have the momentum and focus to keep a line going.
I get too fascinated with learning, which can be a good thing, and a bad thing as well!
Tell us a little about your dolls and your process for making them. Materials, preliminary sketches, inspiration, etc.
As mentioned, I have tried a little bit of everything. I enjoyed for a while doing very rustic primitive dolls, but then I discovered a more subtle country way... Then I made plushies, just to move on to fantasy and goblins.... all the way to delicate babies.
Out of the materials I have tried, my favorite materials are polymer clay, paperclay and painted cloth. I love glass/acrylic eyes. For hair, definitely mohair, although once in a while other fibers are fun to use.
As for sketches, well, I love drawing and painting, and my whole doll experience was based on my drawings, but so far I don't follow my own drawings very closely, so every doll ends up looking the way she wants, not the way I intended. The very first one I made... it looked more like an old Asian man, not a little girl!
Do you have a favorite doll? It can be handmade by you, handmade by someone else, or even (gasp) mass production.
Perhaps is wrong for me to say, but every time I finish a doll, that is my favorite one. Until I make a new one and so on.
From my childhood, my 2 most loved dolls were a baby
Drowsy (who I still have, bald and missing a painted eye, poor thing!) and a doll named
Crissy who had "growing hair" with a button in the back.
... which of course I had to give a hair cut and that pretty much was the end of her long hair look. The orange dress was worn by my chihuahua dog, who LOVED playing dress up with me.
Besides making dolls, what do you do? Job, other creative pursuits, hobbies, etc.
I am very art inclined. When I was just a little thing, I decided I was going to be an Opera singer. When I started school, my first love was acting, then ceramics. Then due to my studies, I became a graphic designer, had my own business and was teaching ceramics on the weekends, combining with performance in the theater in the evenings. Later in life after getting married and moving from the East, south of the border to the Pacific, I became a mom, had an accident that left me with back problems for years and for a good while the only thing I could do was drawing. Which eventually lead me to painting, which was a way to get into doll making.
I do this full time. For a hobby I do laundry and cooking on occasion ha!
What are some of your favorite: movies, books, websites, magazines, foods, TV shows, music? (Any or all!)
I love romantic comedy. Period movies and books. I don't watch much Tele, but when I do, I like DIY shows. Websites: I love art blogs and youtube! and magazines... I enjoy so much Cloth paper scissors, and all the art related magazines from Somerset Studio
If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?
I have lived in so many cities, I would not know what to pick. I would select something with clean air, nice weather, with Nature all around, but not too far from a city, where I could plant something and it would grow. As it is, not being a great gardener, it takes me lots of efforts just to have grass being green!
I grew up in large cities, so I know even when you have lots of culture and shops, it is not a place I would like to live. Maybe some smallish town, relatively close to a larger city.
Where do you see yourself in one year? Five years? Ten years?
I don't like to make plans far into the future. Life has shown me that you plan, and something random unexpected happens. All you can do is adapt and learn new ways to keep going. So hopefully, I will still be doing my art, learning new techniques and enjoying my family.
Where can we find you on the internet? (blog, website, Etsy shop, eBay, et al.)
Doll Blog
Art blog
Etsy shop
From there, more links can be found to see my work, like youtube, flickr, etc
Martha
