Group Photos of the Valentino Zubiri Dolls

Sorry, it just occurred to me that the headlines are indexed by Google. So I'm including my name as if I were a third person. lol. "Valentino Zubiri Dolls." I might change the headings to add at least my last name.

Here are group pics. of my work.

I prefer to make the dolls as part of a set, but you can get one or two for yourself. Or, you can get a group going and you can do a group buy. I will discount it that way.

The problem with making this is time. For example, use of the kiln. Each doll uses the kiln several times and at different temperatures. Once the porcelain dries, it goes to the kiln for the first time at what is called a "bisque firing." It's that stage where the mud solidifies and forms permanently, but the ceramic is still porous, much like a flower pot, where you see that water can be absorbed by the pot, but the pot would not lose its shape and revert back to mud. The ceramic is brittle, and this is the ideal stage to sand the pieces.

Then there is the higher temperature, "glaze fired stage," which I call the "glass-forming" stage. The ceramic melts and this is when it shrinks and becomes glass-like.

I call the kiln "The Little Volcano," because of the temperature they reach. Anyway, after "finalizing" at the glaze fired stage, painting the makeup or the "faceup" comes into the picture, and although the temperature is brought back down to that where the pigments stick to the porcelain, this stage requires a few firings, especially the face. This is also when I paint on the fingernails and toenails. The face needs several firings to get the look of the eyes and makeup right.

Each firing needs about 13 hours or up to a full day, for the kiln to rise and then climb back down. You cannot rush the cooling. You cannot speed up the cooling stage by opening the kiln. The pieces can shatter.

So it would be better for a group buy. Like I said, I don't want people to receive the same face, so I either have to have them already available or not. It's all dependent on what we will agree upon. Just email me and we'll work something out.