The Oakdale Mall in Johnson City, NY wanted a unique Christmas display that would enthrall customers and capture the holiday spirit. They commissioned artist Linda Kays-Biviano to make 6 different Santa Claus dolls that each stand 6 feet high. She is known for creating molds and reproduction pieces such as Santas, Elves, and Gnomes to everyday elder characters, celebrities, and Fantasy pieces.
She incorporated Dragon Skin® for creating the skin on the face and hands, giving the Santas a very life-like feel and appearance. Notes Kays-Biviano,"I used your techniques for molding from your website, using the resin brush-on method, and then backing it with Plasti-Paste® II." The fully cured Plasti-Paste® II is rigid and has been used by artists for making mother molds/support shells for rubber molds as well as a sculpting medium.
The different Santa characters that were created include the Traditional Santa, Russian Santa, Kris Kringle, Victorian, Civil War, and St. Nicolas. Each doll starts out by hand sculpturing using a polymer clay or plastiline clay. The artist makes a silicone mold of the original sculptured piece. Then a resin cast is poured and cured under pressure.
Every portion of the doll making process is artist produced. The bodies are constructed by using a wire armature for the skeleton, and wrapping and stuffing with batting and fiberfill. A body stocking made from stretchable fabric is then sewn to cover the entire body.
The artist spends a great deal of time to bring out the character's personality in the facial features. Glass eyes and natural wool fleeces and furs are used in combination to get the character's desired look. Linda Kays Studios only produces low edition sizes to keep up the value of each piece. You can find out more about the artist and her work via her website: http://www.lindakays.com.
