Pasha Setrova is a Russian born artist, currently living in New York, who's work has been seen on MTV, Bazaar, Cosmopolitan, Tatler, Fashion Collection, Time Out, Grazia, InStyle, Hello!, Fashion Report, Fashion Collection, OK!, Moscow Where, L’Etoile, Profashion, L’Officiel, People, Russian Chicago, WTF?, Snob, Tape, and many others.
Her sculptures are amazingly full of wonderment. I am a tremendous fan of her art! Trust me, just take a look at her site and see it all - just wow.
Westwood - Choose Well
Saintly Sinners
Lollipop Art
Dirty Whisper
So, when I see that she is creating a doll - well - STOP EVERYTHING AND LOOK!
I'm not the traditional collector, dolls are mostly the muses for my photography, so obviously I am a big lover of all things jointed, the more jointed the better as it means more natural posing abilities.
As I was falling down the rabbit hole online one night, I saw it. The first thing I noticed was the shoulders. I literally think my jaw dropped.
Now, I'll admit my knowledge of bjds is fairly small compared to the totality of the world out there. There are a gazillion artists creating a wide array of styles but I, personally, have yet to see one with jointed shoulders.
I had to talk to her and find out more!
S: I had to reach out to you and find out more about this doll you are creating. Tell me more. Is this your first doll?
P: I had it in my head to make a ball jointed doll for a long time already but from the beginning I wanted her to be unique - different from all others and very articulated.
About a year ago I finally decided to start my long awaited project and prepared for a lengthy process. I've been a figurative sculpture for some time now, but I hadn't had any experience with ball joint dolls before. To be honest, I hadn't even held one before! But since I wanted to make her different I tried to think about my lack of experience as an advantage. Things standardly seen in the industry like immobile set shoulders and square elbows/knees were not engrained in my mind.
And so I built her from the joints up – in particular the shoulder joints. As a former model I know most poses, if they are not static, involve the shoulders and I knew that if I could just create shoulder joints that could properly mirror those motions, my doll would already be unique. Because as of yet, I have not seen any other ball jointed doll with naturally articulating shoulders - that not only move up, but also forward. While it may seem very simple but to come up with these simple looking shoulders, I went through 5 drastically different prototypes. And when I finally did find the shape I was looking for, it was just the beginning of a dozen more prints with a dozen more adjustments.
I am also proud of the knees and elbows. Most bjd dolls have these square knees and elbows when fully bent . I strove to keep mine natural looking not only when they were straightened but also when bent. I worked everyday for the past year and eventually I think I went through about 57 different bodies. Maybe more.
S: I believe it. I am just in love with her already! So, what are the next steps for you and your doll?
P: I am finally so close to finishing her. A couple of last minute adjustments left before I will send her off to a mold maker to be casted and then she will debut on a moderately exclusive scale. So here I am and here's my new PashaPasha doll. She's not a toy and yet she is a toy. You can play with her, change her wigs, her eyes, her clothes. You can pose her and just admire her. She can make the most perfect poses. She is perfect to me.
