I was born in Baltimore City and as a little girl, I’ve always loved dolls. I used to play with Barbies as a little girl and when I was twelve I made my first doll. It was made of my mothers curtains and sheets. My mother wasn’t happy with what I did to her sheets, but I was extremely happy because I had sewed a life size doll, no matter how creepy it was to others. I thought it was great. My mother taught me to crochet and as an early teenager I used to crochet dolls. I always wanted to experiment with clay back then but in the 70’s, we didn’t have hobby stores in our neighborhood so I used to just sew and crochet. When I got older I purchased artistic wire and used to make wire dolls and little angels. I couldnt put much detail in the face of a wire doll so I finally decided to try polymer clay. It was sticky and hard and when I tried to cure it, it was hit or miss. I did some google searches and found Paperclay and saw that it didn’t need an oven to cure so I purchased some and made some heads. I practiced every night for weeks and continued to look for different tools to use and I watched a lot of different youtubers share their doll making tips. I learned how to make an armature for the head and body and I learned that glass eyes are really popular for dolls so I found a small company and purchased some eyes. As I kept practicing, my knowledge grew and now I make a variety of wig styles using braiding hair, human hair, yarn and clay. I’ve found a number of doll groups on facebook and I've actually joined a few groups. The Professional Art Doll Guild(the Guild) is a great organization because they assign mentors and provide training and support for professional doll makers and hobbyists. I have participated in many contests in the guild and I have come in 1st, 2nd and 3rd place for the yearly gold awards. My doll journey is still happening now and I'm learning more and more each day. It is hard for me to categorize the types of dolls that I make. I like many types of styles including semi-realistic, characters, fashion, babies and most recently fantasy. If you would like to learn more about my dolls, please visit ceceliaarthouse.com