How long have you been creating?

All my life, really. I was one of those annoying kids who were always improving the decor and furnishings with purple crayon or sissors. I've been selling my dolls on-line for about three years now.

What is your media of choice?

Felt. Fabric of all kinds, I like the colours and textures of vintage ones. I'm really into glass beads - they come in an amazing array of colour and size. And old buttons, especially big funky plastic ones, maybe a little faded. I used to get a lot of faded finery from a friend in the rag and bone trade -- I liked to think about who wore them, and the suggestion of 'better days' that comes with them.

What are your motivations for creating?

Communication. The dolls are sort of my ambassadors to the outside world. Sometimes I have a hard time explaining my ideas, but the dolls - everybody seems to know Exactly what they're saying.

What other artists or movements inform your work?

Marisol (Escobar), Joan Miro, Elaine de Kooning's pillar cottages, Dorothy Strauser's beautiful hooked rugs, the 3-D objects and paintings of Ted Geisel.

What do you find visually stimulating right now?

Fifties fonts, illustrations from vintage children's books, also those 'make yer hobby hubby' housewife-ly tomes of earlier years with all their super-happy dancing food. I love the earnest sincerity of it all, the retro colours, and 'space-age' lines.

What's the last book you read?

"Close-up Card Magic" by Harry Lorayne -- its a kind of card-trick bible, I'm fond of magic. I read quite a few 'do it yourself' type instructional books - wine-making, darts, old-fashioned gardening handbooks - the subject doesn't always matter. There are a few fiction authors that I'll read and re-read but I don't usually have much interest in novels, I'm not sure why. I do like short stories and poetry, tho.

Tell us some of your artistic goals for 2006:

I recently got a chance to collaborate with some other dollmakers in the Doll4Art group, and it was really great to work together with other artisans. I think that I'd like to do more collaborative projects. I'd also like to increase the amount of recycled material I use in my work - I'm concerned about the sheer amount of Stuff that just exists, it seems as if we're Racing to turn raw material into Garbage that we can't put anywhere anyways. Massive amounts of consumer goods to fill for the most part artificial desires, which you know, I didn't need it in the first place, I say "now why the heck did I buy this?" and so out it goes, unto the heap. I'm looking to salvage more in 2006, give it a new life.

What would you like your fellow EBSQ artists and our collectors to know about you and or your work?

I don't own a sewing machine. Well, not a working one anyways -- everyone always asks me that .. I don't know, I hope they'll stop by my website http://www.verukadollsland.com and check it out. Or visit us, I'll be at the JustBe... Connected Gathering in October, 2007; I'm teaching some doll-making workshops there.