Dolls by Eolo Testi - Lavender House Productions

Welcome to the wonderful world of Lavender House Production Dolls. From the mind of the artist comes a unique presentation of little people. Representing many facets of society both high and low, the characters parading before you seen to live and breathe. Stunningly garbed with clothes of suitable periods and places, each doll requires extensive perusal. All of the pieces start with a carefully planned muslin body. Faces and hands are sculpted in clay and then cast in thermo setting resins. They are then painted to give them life and sparkle. Some of the characters have hand set glass eyes. The costumes are carefully researched for authenticity of style and period, whether the dolls are historical or fantasy pieces.

Dolls of historical origin are copied from actual portraits when possible. If no portrait is available, then the doll is dressed in clothes that come from his or her period in history.

From the mind of the artist, the fictional dolls grow and blossom as people in their own right. While the costumes are historically correct for each individual character, the artist writes the biographies. Some even coincide with actual events that occurred at said time in history.

Mr. Testi has always had a flair for fantasy, being an avid reader and collector of science fiction and fairy tale books. This is very obvious in some of his larger, more recent creations. The early works were based on famous personalities from the 12th through the 19th centuries and well loved fairy tale characters. For the past few years he has been creating from his mind some very unique and bizarre beings. As you study his dolls and speak with him you too will also see their personalities start to emerge.

Mr. Testi names all of his creations and envisions their entire life span, which gives each characters their own individuality. In talking to the artist, it is very evident that he has created his own world of people he would like to know... "When I'm creating dolls, I sometimes feel that they are people in their own right, and even though I know they're dolls, they become something more to me, and hopefully, something more to the people that meet them."

Each unique doll takes anywhere from as little as eighty hours to as many as three hundred hours to complete. Everything is fabricated by Mr. Testi, from wigs down to shoes and accessories. All dolls come with a suitable stand and their biography.

Eolo Testi was born in Regensburg, Germany in 1952. He was the fourth child of a registered nurse and an army officer that was stationed there at the time. His family returned to the United States when he was three years of age. The family of nine lived on the East Coast, California and Mr. Testi completed his high school education in South Dakota. He was then accepted to the School of the Arts Institute of Chicago based on submission of several of his sculptures. At which time he also received a grant from the Institute to study.

As a struggling artist, Mr. Testi had to support himself in various ways, from candle making to stained glass designing, in addition to designing and creating leather apparel. His first love, however, has always been his dolls. He has over the years grown with his dolls. From two feet tall early in his career, to life-size at present, they constantly evolve.

Mr. Testi's dolls were first exhibited in shows in Metropolitan New York galleries and museums. The artist's work has most recently been shown in the various galleries in upstate New York, where he currently resides.

Text from Chenango County Council of the Arts exhibit flyer, April 26 - May 24, 2002.
http://www.norwich.net/artscoun/