"Willow wander hither and thither, through wide meadows and verdant valleys, over babbling brooks and sibilant streams. So slim, she bends with the breeze, whispers the wind-song, wonders where her love has gone..." How can you not fall in love with the bizarre, melancholic art dolls of Sarah Faber, each blessed with their own dark but witty story?
Under the label named Black-Eyed Suzie the Canadian artist and writer sells her amazing, unique hand-made dolls, sculpted in polymer clay and paper clay, with a style influenced by Gothic novels and illustrations along with Victorian costumes. The dolls’ elongated appearance with eerie features (sad, wide eyes, small pouty mouths, mat hair) recalls of Tim Burton’s aesthetics.
With her recent Alice in Wonderland set of dolls Sarah gets on the Alicemania trend in art & fashion; however, aside from being a smart marketing move it really shows her fondness for classical English literary characters (including Shakespeare’s Juliet and Lady Macbeth).
While constantly and endlessly working for her first novel Sarah Faber decided to take a break and give her artistic side a chance to express and so Black-Eyed Suzie came to life in 2006 in the beautiful Montreal where she lives with “beloved husband and three spoiled cats”.
The joy and freedom she finds in creating these dolls shed through her (blog) writings and also her artistic aesthetic: less traditional, more “deconstructed”, less gloomy more fashionable but not without that certain edge.