Wendy Zupan Bailey

Art form: “Euro Whimsical” art dolls.

Best known for: Attention to detail. “I think attention to detail is what makes art interesting,” says Bailey, “that you can look at a piece and keep finding more than you did the first or second or tenth time you viewed it.”

Major influences: Painter and author James Christensen. “He has a great book called “A Journey of the Imagination” that I just love,” says Bailey. “His attention to detail and his intensely creative whimsical art is phenomenal.”

Book illustrator Arthur Rackham, whose major works included early 20th century children’s books “Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm” and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.”

“For me, he brings the characters alive,” says Bailey. “His detail keeps me looking for more every time I see his work.”

When did you start making dolls?’

A couple of years ago Bailey was searching for something to create and considered dolls. When she learned her mother had stomach cancer she suggested they make one together.

“She was a great inspiration for me,” says Bailey. “She taught me how to sew, bead, paint, all kinds of things. She was an incredibly creative individual and good friend.

“The fact that her time was limited gave me pause to consider how short life sometimes is and that we must do all of the things that we are passionate about before our time here is up.”

“I believe strongly that if there is a moving force within and we listen to it and act on it, then we are doing what we came here to do,” she says. “I was 50 when all of this kind of hit me straight on. Life has a way of turning up the volume these days. After mom died, I kept at it and sometimes feel that she is still working her magic on me.”

Process: Bailey starts each doll by sculpting a face. Then she builds the body armature and the hands.

Hands “can take longer than the face sometimes, she says. “There are such tiny details involved in sculpting a small hand and making it look real.”

The most enjoyable part for Bailey is the costuming.

“I love making new patterns, finding just the right fabric and then embellishing the doll with whatever works,” she says. “I spend lots of time browsing antique stores, bead stores, sometimes garage sales to find interesting things.”

Finding just the right fabric is often the biggest challenge. “I’ve found a number of online stores who sell absolutely astounding fine fabrics,” she says.

These days Bailey is making dolls with moving parts.

“I’m extremely interested in the automatons and also puppets,” she says. “I want to learn how to make my dolls come to life through movement.”

What keeps you creating? “Ideas. I have so many things I want to make, so many magical characters that I want to try,” she says. “It is just an exciting thing that I’m doing. I work a ton of hours at it because I love it.”