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Born in Australia, Victoria has traveled extensively and has studied in Europe and the USA. Early training in fashion design and an inherited talent for modelling and painting that has been honed over time has been married to a keen interest in history to bring to life notable characters from turbulent times past. Using contemporary sources such as paintings and tapestries, Victoria works on the entire creation of each figure from the initial sculpture to the tiniest detail of embroidery on a garment. Because an accurate representation is critical to create a life-like figure, Victoria will spend hours and days researching the character, the events that shaped them and the fashions of the day. She then spends as much or more time on the detail, for example often completely embroidering a scale replica of an intricate fabric design captured centuries ago by master portrait painters. Victoria's dedication to being the best she can be is reflected in the high quality of her very limited edition and 'one-off' porcelain dolls which culminated in an invitation to exhibit at the National Museum of Scotland in 2002 and again in 2003, and the New York Doll & Toy Museum in 2004. As all her dolls are made by herself without others to assist her, she typically makes no more than a dozen dolls a year for sale, making a Lady of Finavon creation an exclusive treasure indeed. |
