Funky Friday Favorites - Amanda Louise Spayd

Hello all, and happy Friday.

From now on, my Friday posts will be about a favorite artist I like, or a blogger I admire. I will do either a little feature, or an interview. This will be good, something for you all to look forward to! :) So let's get started!

Today I'd like to feature an artist I discovered last year. I mentioned her briefly in a previous post. Her name is Amanda Louise Spayd.

Amanda and one of her creations

Amanda Louise started, well honestly I've looked online and I don't know when she started making her dolls. 


I find her work truly fantastic, and slightly creepy. I think the creepiness of her work is what draws me to it every time. The eyes. The eyes of her dolls are what do it the most. I've obsessed for a month trying to figure out how she does that. Her process suggests she paints them, but I know that's not what she does. I know because as an artist, it's impossible to make an iris look real by painting it on the surface of a sphere.

Resin face after being cast. See how the eyes are solid??

Face after being painted. The eyes are soooooo real looking. How did she do that????  (it's not the same face of course)

See what I mean?? I've asked her on her Flickr account, but of course any decent artist will not give up their secret! :)

I have read on her blog that she does all of her work on a human powered sewing machine.

Amanda's 1926 hand powered sewing machine.

One of her fans asked her a question on blog..

Q: Is the old 1926 sewing machine the only one you own/use, or do you also have a more modern one? And do you have a preference of old sewing machines vs modern sewing machines, or even hand sewing (do you hand sew)? Or does it just depend on the particular doll?

A: The antique one is all I use, unless I’m doing a small bit of hand sewing. I used to sew dolls entirely by hand, but I wasn’t stuffing them as hard, so the seams didn’t need to interlock like machine-made stitches do. Mostly I use the machine to do the “big parts”, like make the ears and the bodies, and the rest I sew by hand, like attaching ears and arms, or bows, ruffles, etc. I really like sewing by hand, it’s very meditative. I’ve used modern machines, and I know I could do everything faster on them, but…I don’t know. They just don’t feel “right” to me..and they’re so fast and loud! My old Vesta machine is quiet, makes a great stitch, and has killer control. Besides, it’s a good workout for my right arm, ha ha

Here are a few of my favorite dolls she's done.

My favorite creepy bunny doll. I love the opaque, white eyes.

Another one of my faves. I guess it's the purple. I love the sweater!

I've also found out that she will stain her brand new fabrics to make them look dirty, although they are quite clean. It's part of her 'look.' It's been almost a year since I read that somewhere on her website, and I can't seem to find it, but there you go. :)

The last thing I want to share with you is her new film, The Maker. It's been touring around the US, and I just read that it's coming to Toronto very soon. Here's the link to the film festival, and below is the trailer for the film. It's featuring one of her creations. Totally awesome.

I hope you all enjoyed this post! Have a happy Friday!