Sleetwealth Studios — Beauty with an edge
Forgive me, but before I start this review, I just have to say that today’s featured artist, Anita R. Collins, has a fabulous website. Not only does she post skillfully made photos of her work (as as I have often state, I admire good photographers because I’m not one), but she also includes commentary on many of her art dolls, which is always my favorite part of any website. Besides that, she has a great “bio” section which is really more like an artist statement, and a dark, moody theme to the whole site that complements her work perfectly.
But on to her work. Collins isn’t just another eBay fairy sculptor. Her work is certainly above average in its realism, beauty and detail, but beyond that, shes creates a sense of mood in her work that is really something special. Her pieces have a distinctly adult edge, displaying their anatomical correctness and sometimes showing evidence of violence, tattoos or scarification, but there is still a haunting beauty that shows through in each piece.
One thing I love about her work is her unflinching use of media. Many artists are wedded to either sewn costumes or sculpted ones (and I have long maintained that the popularity of fairies as subjects is partly because sculptors who don’t like to sew can wind a little cheesecloth around them and call it costume), but Collins’ figures wear either medium equally well, depending on what the artist is trying to accomplish. Their costumes, hair and accessories often display a careful attention to details and their effect on the work as a whole.
Everything about Collins’ work is fresh and reexamined. Her mermaids don’t have scaly tails. She makes crowns out of polymer clay and microbeads. Her angels have wings instead of arms. She makes animal-human hybrids that go beyond the usual centaurs and fauns to include seals, octopi, cats and — I swear to you — coral. Really. See the picture at the top of this entry?
Visit Collins’ website for a great viewing experience (and I haven’t even mentioned her cool dragon-head beads or her adorable netsuke sculptures) or her DeviantArt account for a few more pictures and commentary.
Cindy Lietz, Polymer Clay Tutor said,
June 22, 2008 at 11:23 pm
Oh Wow you are right…. Collin’s work is not your typical ebay fairy sculptures!! I love the ‘edge’ to her work! Edward Scissorhands meets Tinkerbell! Simply Fantastic!
thessalyrose said,
June 23, 2008 at 12:53 am
Lol, that’s a great description. I’ve been thinking about Halloween lately, since it’s time to start sewing for the Spooktacular show in October, so there might be some more of these darker dollmakers for a while.
Thanks for commenting!
Update — Butterfly wings, ball joints « Needle and Clay said,
July 10, 2008 at 6:24 pm
[...] eleven types of doll wings, including flower-petal angel wings like the ones seen in my report on Sleetwealth Studios. So, for those of you who are following my search for fairy wing tutorials, go and sign up for the [...]
needleandclay.com » Update — Butterfly wings, ball joints said,
July 12, 2008 at 6:24 pm
[...] eleven types of doll wings, including flower-petal angel wings like the ones seen in my report on Sleetwealth Studios. So, for those of you who are following my search for fairy wing tutorials, go and sign up for the [...]
Update — Butterfly wings, ball joints said,
July 15, 2008 at 8:05 pm
[...] eleven types of doll wings, including flower-petal angel wings like the ones seen in my report on Sleetwealth Studios. So, for those of you who are following my search for fairy wing tutorials, go and sign up for the [...]
Michelle Steele « Needle and Clay said,
July 18, 2008 at 1:57 pm
[...] Sleetwealth Studios — Beauty with an edge [...]
Stephanie Hunley said,
August 4, 2008 at 6:13 pm
i just saw the note on needle and clay to sign up for your newsletter for the wing tutorials… is this where i do that? i’m confused…
thessalyrose said,
August 4, 2008 at 7:32 pm
Here’s the link for the newsletter: http://www.costumesandtrim.com/newsletter.php. Go to that page and create a free account so you can get the newsletter.
Although i’d love to take credit for such a beautiful product, I should point out that the newsletter is put together by Adele Sciortino and some other Canadian doll artists, not me.
Sorry for any confusion!
Johanna J. said,
September 11, 2009 at 4:21 am
While I love this gal’s work, when I click on the highlighted ‘links’ within your article, they are taking me immediately to a teen porn site with extremely graphic pictures. Don’t think you bargained on this.
Please look into this.
Peace Always,
the DragonLady
thessalyrose said,
September 11, 2009 at 6:25 am
Thanks for the note; it’s fixed now.