Anastasiya Ivanova, a doll artist based in Gdańsk, has been making art dolls from polymer clay for more than fifteen years, and she crochets miniature animals that become keyrings and brooches. She designs every pattern herself. Her crocheted brooches and keyrings – among them a Baltic seal and a seagull – can be found at Locus Artis in Gdańsk.
It all started with a crochet hook. When she was twelve, she learned to crochet and made a little green coat for her Barbie. Crochet and dolls have stayed with her ever since.
Her dolls are characters, not ornaments – each has its own mood and its own story. She gives most of her attention to the details: facial expression, posture, textures. On a wire armature she combines polymer clay with fabric, leather, wood and acrylic paint. Her characters include “Lighthouse Keeper”, “Baltic Summer” and “My Alice”, whose caterpillar and mushroom hat were crocheted. She never repeats a doll; her work is already in private collections and has been exhibited abroad.
In her small crocheted pieces she values the same thing as in her dolls: that each one is unrepeatable. Because she invents every pattern from start to finish, her animals have a distinctive style of their own.
What she brought to Locus Artis.
To Locus Artis she brought a collection of crocheted brooches and keyrings shaped like funny little animals. Her own favourites are the seal and the seagull – two creatures straight from the Baltic.
