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Steele Originals 2005-2006
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| Company Info |
| About US |
| Archives |
| Awards |
| Calendar |
| Contact Us |
| Favorite Links |
| From Linda |
| Newsletter |
| Products |
| OOAK |
| Porcelains |
| Makeovers |
| Cloth Dolls |
| Paintings |
| Other
Designs |
| About Designs |
| Ashton Drake |
| Cottage |
| Danbuby Mint |
| Effanbee |
| HSN |
| J.C. Penny's |
| Candy
Spelling
Fashion Doll Repaints |
| the
Painted Lady™
AKC Yorkshire Terriers |
| Garlin's
Yorkies
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ABOUT US
Since 1979, original doll artist-designer, Linda Steele,
has worked her charm in creating award winning porcelain dolls. Recognized by
their hand painted Paperweight-Glazed© eyes, each doll is handmade in it's entirety by the artist.
Linda has designed dolls for Ashton-Drake, Danbury Mint, Ganz Cottage
Collectibles,
Effanbee Doll Co., HSN,
J.C. Penny's, Candy Spelling, and QVC.
Taking a break from the rigorous routine of the doll industry, she began
completing Fashion
Doll Makeovers for a change of pace. Known for her whimsical children in
porcelain, Linda returns to her creative passion in 2006 as she unleashes her
creative versatility, proudly presenting her One-of-a-Kind Art Dolls created
from ProSculpt.
OUR WEB AWARDS
Established in 1979
Located in Northeastern Ohio
Linda Steele is owner, doll designer, sculptor, seamstress, web designer, secretary and janitor.
Our web presence is divided into 3 unique sites. You can reach any one from the other.
http://steeleoriginals.com
Steele Originals
Main website dedicated to Linda Steele original design dolls:
OOAK ArtDolls, Artist Made Porcelains ~ Limited Editions & OOAK's,
Cloth Dolls, Manufactured Designs
and Wall Paintings, Etc.
Company Info, Products, Archives
http://thepaintedlady.info
the Painted Lady™
Website dedicated to fashion doll makeovers
http://lindasteele.com
Linda Steele
Family Photo Album
Hometown Info
Yorkies of Garlin
And the EYES have it!
All of Linda's personally hand crafted original dolls have a porcelain swivel head, breastplate, arms and legs. Most of her dolls have a breastplate that comes to the waist, arms that go above the elbow, and legs that extend to the thigh. Armature is used with the cloth body for positioning. If the doll is a standing doll, in most cases, the doll is balanced to stand alone, although Linda suggests using the support of a doll stand. If the doll is a sitting doll, the legs are sculptured in a sitting position. The most outstanding and recognized feature of her originals are the realistic hand painted eyes.
Each doll is a work of love. Beginning with a lump of clay, her talented hands go to work. Sometime there is a hint of an idea before she begins, but most of the time, the sculpture seems to form right before her eyes. It may change directions many times before it is completed. Simply add a small piece of clay here or there, and it is dramatically changed and a new idea is rapidly forming. Sometimes it takes several weeks, even months, before a new head is completed. Other times the image is so strong that she just can't put the head down and continues to work into the wee hours of the morning. Only to rise after a couple of hours of sleep and continue working.
After careful detailing of each part, she get her mind set and drags herself to the mold room (also known as the basement) and begins making the plaster molds. If you haven't guessed already, this is not one of her favorite parts of creating original dolls. Finally the molds are made and then the excitement begins. A quick pouring of the liquid porcelain into the fresh plaster mold and the long wait until the mold can be opened is what seems like an eternity. Linda is not known for her patience when it comes to getting that first, new head done. She rushes everything, including drying the head in the oven so she can get it cleaned and fired and that first painting. She breaks all the rules that the doll making instructional books tell you NOT TO DO.
Finally the painting is complete, the assembly begins, and then the really difficult part, deciding on the costume. She has had more than one doll sitting in her sewing room for over a year, naked. Why? Because she just can't decide how to dress it. The cupboards are filled with fabrics, the cutting table can't be used because it too is overloaded with more fabrics and trims. But, when things come together, it's like a symphony. The sewing machine is humming, it's like music to her ears.
But then the REALLY hard part comes. What is the doll's name? Rarely is a doll named prior to completion.
In 1989 her work was nationally honored with her first Dolls of the Yearâ Nomination. The following year she won the Dolls of the Yearâ Public’s Choice Award. Click Here to review all her nominees and Public Choice Winners for Dolls of the Yearâ and Dolls of Excellence.
She has designed for several manufacturers, including Ashton Drake Galleries, Danbury Mint, Effanbee Doll Company, World Doll Gallery, Collectible Concepts Corp, and Seymour Mann. Linda has personally appeared on HSN & QVC.
After 20 plus years in the doll business, Linda began feeling the stress of the everyday limited edition porcelain production work and some of the dirty politics in the doll industry. In 2002 she took a side track just to have some fun and began doing repaint makeovers on vinyl fashion dolls. When the fall of 2004 turned to winter, once again she reinvented herself and began to experience the joy of creating like when she first began her lifes journey. One thing she had never done was direct sculpt OOAK's. Thanks to renewing an old friendship with Jack Johnston at Expo East in 2004, Jack gave her some ProSculpt to play with. It didn't take Linda long to get hooked on sculpting again and enjoying the freedom of creating OOAK's.
At the Dolls of Excellence Award Banquet at Expo East in 2004, Jack Jones of Jones Publishing spoke about how manufacturers and artists must reinvent ourselves to keep the industry growing and collector's enthusiastic. Taking his talk to heart and with her new approach and rejuvenated enthusiasm for dolls and life, our website has also taken on a brand new look to reflect that spark.
Stay turned because who knows what will come next?
It was the summer of 1979 when Linda found her niche. A young mother of three, set out on a journey that would take her places she had only dreamed of.
It
was evident at an early age that Linda had been blessed with an artistic
flair. She comes from a long
line of family members that worked with their hands.
She is the oldest of three daughters born to Ralph & Peggy
Cook. Raised on a farm just
south of the village of Leetonia in northeastern Ohio, where she currently
resides, she learned to drive the tractor at 11 to help in the fields.
She was only eight when her mother, Peggy Cook, a professional
seamstress, taught her to sew.
Linda was a 4-H member for 10 years and accumulated numerous blue
ribbons for her sewing.
The youthful tomboy spent her days climbing tress, jumping from the barn rafters, and playing with the animals. It was those early years that nurtured her the love of animals and the land. Her children still refer to her as Dr. Doolittle. Every spring her hands itch to get outside and dig in the dirt. One of her favorite pastimes, and at times, her sanity, is gardening. Perhaps it is her love of the earth that lead her to sculpting in clay.
Linda was 10 when her mom decided she was too old to get a doll for Christmas. Her interest quickly turned to paper dolls. She and her childhood friend, Bonnie, would draw paper dolls on notepaper while riding the bus to school. She was the first girl to take a class in Mechanical Drawing at Leetonia High School. Following graduation in 1964, she set off for the Art Institute of Pittsburgh to study commercial art, now referred to as Graphic Media.
Linda is an accomplished seamstress and photographer, a self-taught doll maker, sculptor, mold maker. Her original dolls realistic hand painted Paperweight-Glazed™ eyes has become a trademark of her work.
In 2002 she switched directions just to have some fun doing fashion doll repaint makeovers. Once again she has experienced a transformation and is concentrating on OOAK direct sculpt originals.
“I
am a firm believer that everyone is born with a special talent.
It’s up to you to discovery what your special gift from God is
and what you will do with it. Life
is like a roadmap. It depends
on which road you take as to where you will end up.
There are many hills and valleys along the way.
Some roads are smooth sailing and straight while others may be out
of the way and bumpy with lots of curves.
I have never been one to take the easy way.”
“ I remember my dad asking me, “If your friends were to jump off a bridge, would you follow them?” Being a young teenager, my answer was definitely a yes. I have come to realize that just the opposite is true. I am not one to follow the crowd, rather I make my own way and do my own thing. I closely follow what other artists are doing and then try to come up with something completely different. Many artists come into the business thinking they are going to make money. If you don’t have the passion for it, find another line of work."
"When I set off to exhibit at my first doll show back in August of 1979, my husband thought I had fell out of my tree. He actually thought that dolls were for kids and really felt that 'This too shall pass'. That was in 1979 and I'm still at it. Without a doubt, I've been blessed from above. Not everyone can say they really enjoy what they do for a living."
Upon graduation, Linda married her high school sweetheart, Gary Steele on December 12, 1965. They are the parents of three grown children, and proud grandparents of four, Emilee & Korey Barr, Abigail, Elisabeth, Gary & Gabriana Steele.
With their children grown, the empty nest syndrome began to set in. Now their lives are full of excitement every day since they adopted Reggie, then Tucker, then Sassy, then Sissy & MoJo, then BoSox, then Gizmo, then Roxie, then Feebie. It sounds like a house full, and it is. They are Yorkshire Terriers. We got Reggie from our good friend and doll artist, Gail Creech. She told me that yorkies are like potato chips, you can't have just one. Oh how right she was!
Please visit http://lindasteele.com and see some special family memories, our family tree and hometown Pride, and of course, don't forget to look at our extended family, Yorkies of Garlin.
