Georgia Doyle is an artist foremost and it was from her paintings that she evolved into customizing dolls.About four years ago, she got to know one of her vintage Barbie® dealers and sent her pictures of her paintings.Her friend suggested she try painting dolls.She did – a Marilyn Monroe – and from there her customizing took off.

Georgia classifies her dolls as sultry and glamorous or fantasy characters and her work is primarily showgirls and cats – that is, characters similar to those from the Broadway production of “CATS”.

“I don’t have a theatre background, but have always been fascinated by acting and the stage.” She confides, “When we lived in San Diego, back in 1988, our neighbors behind us were actors.It was exciting.I used to open my windows so I could listen to them rehearse."

In fact, one of her cat designs placed 2^nd in the Celebrity category of Barbie® Bazaar Magazine’s 1999 Bazaar’s Make-over Artists Awards (BMAA).She was surprised… ”I had no intention of entering but I had sold one of my cat dolls to Rebecca Chulew, and she asked if I would mind her sending in the cat doll she had purchased from me.”

Her favorite part of the customizing process is, of course, the painting – the face, the body and enhancing the features.She loves designing the outfits, fitting the material to the doll and creating original designs, but says that the actual sewing is the least favorite part of the process for her.

Her favorite fabrics are clingy, draping fabrics and dark colors with vibrant tones and hues.

She says that she finds inspiration for her dolls everywhere.

“Sometimes I will be driving down the road and suddenly there’s a picture in my mind, or I will be washing dishes and there it is.In my mind, a picture of what to create or paint.”

She adds, “It is like looking though a fashion magazine and saying ‘Oh, look at this design’ or ‘Ooh, look at that one.’That’s what’s in my mind.”

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Jenn Scully	Debbie Martin	Bill Jones	Karen Cooper
Georgia Doyle	Mike Franklin	Brad Jensen	Jason Wu

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