Fine Art Doll Gallery

Tom Banwell

Special Guest Artist

Rumplestiltskin is shown holding the child that he bargained for when he spun flax into gold. The contrast between the two characters makes clear that he is a filthy little man, yet when we gaze into his eyes we can't help but feel compassion. The princess is dressed in a snow-white silk gown, while her caretaker is wearing tattered rags.

Rumplestiltskin Copyright ©2000 Tom Banwell
Special guest artist

Over one shoulder he carries a leather flask of beer, and over the other hangs a loaf of bread. The base upon which he stands is a rusted pedestal which has his portrait sculpted in relief on the back.

Techniques and inspiration by Tom Banwell

The ability of resin to resemble other materials and objects is one of the driving forces in my art, from where I derive many of my ideas. Resin consists of two liquid chemicals which when mixed together turn into a solid material. The molds used are made from a flexible silicone rubber, which allows for flexing.

When casting something in resin I have a choice of resins (some are clear, some white, some opaque, some translucent). I can mix other ingredients into the resin: sand, ground-up granite, powdered marble, etc.

After the casting is cured I can treat it various ways: Sandblast it, partially dissolve it in acetone, heat it and bend it. I can paint it, stain it, antique it, sand it, or buff it to a shine. So by choosing carefully I can get many different looks.

My history of dollmaking by Tom Banwell

In 1987 I formed a partnership with Marci Wolfe called Banwell-Wolfe, and we made dolls with painted urethane resin head, hands, and feet and cloth bodies. I did the sculpting, resin casting, and assembling, and Marci designed and created the clothing. The dolls were 24" (61 cm) to 36" (91 cm) tall, and were of a wizard, elf, gnome, and seeress, all part of the Elderwood Forest Collection. We also had a Christmas collection which featured Father Christmas, Santa Claus, and a couple of Santa's elves.

In 1989 the partnership ended, partly because I wanted to do my own costuming and have more control over the dolls, and I began a line of fantasy characters called the Elfberry Knoll Collection. These dolls were made similarly to the Banwell-Wolfe dolls with the addition of cast foam bodies which allowed for detailed shapes impossible to achieve in the cloth bodies. They were poseable and utilized lead-weighted feet to enable the 18" (46 cm) dolls to stand by themselves. The foam felt lifelike to the touch, and the collection consisted of a wizard holding a crystal ball, jesters, three woodland elves named Fiddlestix, Primrose, and Bluebird, along with a larger Santa, and several of Santa's elves.

In 1992 I recognized the desire of many doll artists to be able to reproduce their dolls in a translucent resin that would resemble Cernit® or Fimo®, so through research and experimentation I formulated Lumicast™. I then offered my services to other dollmakers in the molding and casting of their doll parts. This business did quite well (and still does today) and I devoted most of my time to it, and not much time to creating my own dolls. My clients have included many well-known doll artists, including Anna Avigail Brahms, Ann Timmerman, Carole Bowling, Elissa Glassgold, Eveline Frings, Pamela Erff, LuLu Tatum, and Linda Mason.