Some artists stick to one material, technique, or even colour. Remember Yves Klein with his signature blue?

But I don’t have Yves Klein’s restraint. I’m a bit of a free spirit in that way. If I work with one thing for too long, I start itching for something new.

In the spirit of Geppetto

Breathing Life into Wood

New plastics, new textures, new ways to express myself, and new skills refresh my creative mind and bring forth new ideas.

It took me a while to approach wood, and I did so cautiously. After all, I create one-of-a-kind ball-jointed dolls, which means endless tweaking and fitting parts.

Wood doesn’t forgive mistakes. Once you cut it, there’s no growing it back. Unlike clay, you can’t just add a bit more.

Yet, despite all the fears, wood beckons. It’s a material with character. Its grain patterns are mesmerizing.

Just like the unique features of a human face or fingerprints, the wood grain spreads across cuts with no repetitions. This makes the material incredibly lifelike. It also retains warmth, making it pleasant to touch.

Wood is strong, eco-friendly, and durable enough to craft true classics.

And, surprisingly, modern technology helped me dive into this classic material without fear.

The engineering process was beautiful and a bit magical. We transformed the doll several times from the physical world into the virtual one, and vice versa.

We 3D printed a prototype, fixed any flaws, and then animated the cutting process on a CNC machine in the virtual space. This was necessary to prevent breaking the drill on a very expensive machine.

Then, this animation was used as a program for cutting real wood with the real machine.

We created a prototype and needed a log for a test series. We found it 40 km from Barcelona; you can check out the episode where I talk about the sawmill.

Each type of wood adds its own character. This makes doll-making particularly exciting because you never know exactly how it will turn out in the end.

We chose beechwood, not ash as we initially thought. It’s one of the densest types of wood, has a pinkish hue, and conveys the warmth of human flesh beautifully.

Now, I’m waiting to receive a few of the first dolls any day now so I can dive into the finishing touches.

We decided to add an extra millimetre of thickness to the blanks. This way, I can carve the character and fine details by hand each time, making each one unique.

And while it might seem like machine work, it’s still the work of an artist.

I’ve been working on this project for over a year now, so it’s fair to say that real babies are born faster than wooden ones. I’ll keep you updated.