Susan Krey Dolls Combine Fine Handcrafted Detailing With A Rare Emotional Quality

Susan Krey is an exceptional artist whose porcelain and wax-over-porcelain editions have won her the admiration of fine doll collectors everywhere. Starting with her original clay sculptures, Susan fashions the molds which bring these dolls to life in porcelain. Many complex firings are required to create the depth and subtleties of coloring and the process is extremely time-consuming. Therefore, each doll is available only in very small, limited editions.

Born in England, Susan attended a leading four year art school in London where she won a Royal Society of Arts grant to further her experience in the design field. After emigrating to Australia, she worked as a fabric designer, and then a high school art teacher before moving to the US. Susan's varied background in the fields of art have enabled her to become a successful doll artist. She has designed dolls in porcelain and vinyl for the general market. Working mostly in wax-over-porcelain for her artist limited editions and Krey Classics, Susan's dolls are easily recognizable to the serious collector for their beautiful faces and fine workmanship. Her work is highly collectable, both here and abroad. It is also exhibited in museums and has received many awards over the years.

"A beautiful doll is a wonderful way to share good art. I am interested in making dolls as works-of-art by creating real and imagined portraits of children. When sculpting, I try to capture a particular expression, however, sometimes the actual clay piece I am working on takes on a mind of its own and directs me in the way I must work.

When painting the head, I put glass eyes in place and then work with the paint until the child inside the doll "Speaks" to me - thus creating a spirit to the work.

I love doll making with its multifaceted demands where sculpture, painting, costume design, and colour come together in one art form to express the wonder of childhood."

- from the artist Susan Krey