Liliya Volkova (DolkiDolls)

Dolls of Waiflike and Winsome Appeal

by Pam North 

Dolls come in all styles and sizes, and the very best ones are those that have their  own unique charm and precious innocence, the ones that look like no others in the doll world. They seem less like dolls to be purchased, but rather like precious little people to be adopted and cherished. Such are the creations of Liliya Volkova, a resident of Moscow, Russia, and a superb dollcrafter.
Volkova grew up as part of a small family including her parents and younger sister. “As a child, I was very ordinary, like everyone else,” she related. “My family was not wealthy, so I had few toys. I can’t say I liked to play with dolls, but treated them casually. My mother told me that at about age two I had a favorite doll named Katya, which I never parted with, so perhaps this is something subconscious.”
After her earlier years in school, she decided to go to university. She attended the Novomoskovsk branch of the University of the Russian Academy of Education (URAO), choosing psychology as her future profession. “It was interesting for me to understand people, and to help them overcome difficulties.”
She tried doing different things, and found that she really loved to draw. “Unfortunately, in my youth I completely abandoned drawing, something I still greatly regret. Now I realize I was wrong, and I should have studied at an art university.” Now married, she and her husband have two children.
Using her education, she worked as a child psychologist until she was about thirty years old and pregnant with her second child. At that point, while on maternity leave, she realized that she didn’t wish to return to her former profession, but rather to spend more time with her family, and so she began to think about what she really wanted to do.
“I always have admired people who can create something with their own hands,” she related, “ and I asked myself why I couldn’t do that also, so I tried.” At first she sewed simple dolls, but then she yearned to do something different and more challenging, so she switched to making dolls with polymer clay molded heads, arms, and legs on textile bodies. She searched the Internet for techniques and tips on making such dolls, trying to adapt that information to mesh with her own emerging style, but she found some of the information difficult to understand, so her finished results were lacking in the appearance she was trying to achieve. “I wanted my dolls to be as if they were alive, with the correct anatomy, so I realized it was time to start learning anatomical modeling from an artist to enable me to make even more complex dolls. I found a master from whom I could learn how to make a ball-jointed doll. I always pay great attention to all the little things in the body of the doll so I can mold every detail; this is very important to me. Therefore, I never stop studying the anatomy of the body, with all its structures and features.”
She continued to pursue training in her chosen craft, learning from other gifted doll artists, and she soon developed the needed new skills and techniques for her to evolve with her own distinctive style.
On the average, it takes Volkova about one month to make one doll. She uses no pre-made forms, sculpting each doll individually herself from the very beginning, so it is impossible that there are ever two identical dolls. “Every doll is made absolutely from scratch, every body and head sculpted anew. I do not work to order; my dolls come from my heart. I don’t have a goal to make as many as possible; I want to preserve their uniqueness so that the collector who buys one will know for sure that only he has the only one.”
She obtains the eyes for her dolls on a special-order basis from a skilled craftsman who makes them exactly as she specifies. They are made of a special polymer clay, painted and varnished to look absolutely realistic. She crafts her dolls’ wigs from mohair or alpaca. She is a perfectionist, never skimping on the quality of materials, choosing only the best. Clothes and shoes are removable to make the dolls more realistic and adaptable.
Still desiring to further evolve, Volkova recently studied how to work in porcelain, an aspect of doll-making that she finds particularly exciting and challenging. “Porcelain is noble. The porcelain doll gains even more collectible value. In addition, it is very sturdy, and it can last for many, many years. I now am working on my first porcelain doll, and it’s a very long and complicated process, since its technology is something completely new for me. There are many subtleties and nuances to learn, and I am fully engaging in that process. I made a master model, plaster molds, and now I am casting. Working with dolls is never easy. There constantly are difficulties to overcome, and often what is intended does not work out the first time, so it takes lots of patience and endurance in order to solve and overcome problems. There hasn’t been a doll yet with which I was entirely satisfied, but this is what makes one learn and grow, so one cannot be deterred. I have come a long way in several years, from my simplest dolls at the beginning to the more intricate ones that I make now, and I think there is still much more for me to learn and understand.”
New ideas come readily to her. “I’ve never had any problem with inspiration. I love looking at old childhood photos; children are so cute! There are always several images in my head of dolls I want to make. Sometimes I just begin sculpting without even thinking what the result will be.”
There is a special time in her creativity. “What I love most is the moment when the doll is almost ready, when the image is finally complete.” She also likes to photograph her dolls.
She manages to craft her dolls without the luxury of a real workroom she can call her own. “Unfortunately I do not have a large workshop, but rather just a table and a large cabinet that contains all the materials and tools that I need. Very often I like to work in front of an open window.” She sells her dolls through Facebook, Etsy, and Instagram.
Artists often try to envision the future direction of collectors’ tastes in order to have an idea what their buyers will find exciting and will purchase. “I think that artistic works always will be appreciated, and that dolls never will go out of fashion. Dolls are needed not only for children and their play, but also to satisfy adults’ admiration for dolls. I admire dolls myself, and never tire of them. I like looking at them and even talking to them. It saddens me that now there are so many low-quality handmade products. I strive always to constantly improve my abilities, so that dolls can be inherited treasures, like jewels.”
Volkova so far has not had the opportunity to participate in exhibitions, since her family chores take up much of her time, but she has future plans to do so. “Shows are held annually in Russia,” she expained. “Preparing for an exhibition requires a lot of time and effort, and I don’t want to take that away from my family. I plan to participate a little later, when my children grow up a little more. In the meantime, I talk about my dolls on Facebook, Etsy, and Instagram. I always try to meet customers, and build our communication on complete honesty and trust. This is my name and reputation, which I value very much. I plan to keep improving in my business, and I want my dolls to keep getting better.”
As she continued, the deep relevance of her doll-making to her life became apparent: “Dolls have become a very significant part of my life. Now, when I sculpt a doll, I feel I am creating something alive, and realizing that I can do this with my own hands brings me happiness. You even could say that every doll is my child. It comes from within me, conveys what I feel and experience, and is a part of me. So I like to make dolls that look like children, since, after all, a little girl or boy lives inside each one of us.”

Contact Information:
Name: Liliya Volkova
Business Name: DolkiDolls
Email: lilija84@bk.ru
Website: https://www.etsy.com/shop/DolkiDolls?ref=seller-platform-mcnav
Address: Moscow, Russia
Telephone: +79653392517