After jetting back from St Petersburg (The Venice of the north), top doll artist Elisa Gallea met up with Italian Colliii reporter Laura Fuschi to tell her of her experiences at Russias largest and grandest doll show...

Elisa: Hello! I was supposed to be one of several Italian artists that were going to the show, but Laura Scattolini, Annalisa Venturini and myself had problems at the Russian customs and excise. Unfortunatly for the others their work was sent back to Italy! So they couldnt display the fantastic pieces that they had brought with them. After long discussion with the customs I managed to get my dolls into the country and could display them at the show.

Colliii.com: That is such a shame for the others! Other than that, how was the exhibition?  There were artists from all over the world that journeyed there, what is it like to take part in such an exhibition, did you manage to meet up with your fellow artists much?

Elisa: Taking part in conventions and doll exhibitions is a wonderful experience. Not only because you get to meet so many interesting people and fellow artists, but there is a wonderful atmosphere at shows like that. All of the displays, the interchange of encouragement and ideas among the artists, its great!
I think its important to go to at least one show like this a year. Obviously its an investment and a good way to market myself, but also on a personal level... you meet old friends, and meet new ones. I met up with old friends Laura Scattolini and Annalisa Venturini, and enjoyed meeting new ones like Swiss artist Angela Sutter and Siu Ling Wang from Germany. I enjoyed meeting them even though the language barrier made it complicated at times.

Colliii.com: Which dolls drew your attention in particular?

Elisa: I really like the dolls from the Ukranian doll artist Tamara Pivnyuk. Her 2 pieces "Alice in wonderland" and "Dorothy" were superb. They were OOAK dolls and made from Fimo, they had magnificent details! I thought the fantasy dolls from some of the Russian artists were good too, there were even teddy bears. I bought myself a little Chihuahua!

Colliii.com: With so many nations represented, what differences did you see in the dolls from different places?

Elisa: I would say that the Russian dolls are not as realistic as the dolls from western Europe. They are often more fantasy dolls. They do have wonderful details and amazing costumes, they really impressed me!
There is a long tradition in Russia for fairy tales and legends, maybe more than anywhere else, and it was interesting to see so many dolls in those themes.

Colliii.com: St. Petersburg is well known for its architechture and beauty. What impression did the city make on you? 

Elisa: The exhibition took up a lot of time, but I did do one tour of the city. St Petersburg really is beautiful, so many elegant palaces and regal buildings. I did a boat trip on the canals, that was an amazing experience. I managed to experience the legendary "Midsummer night" where the sun hardly goes down and it stays light even past midnight!

Colliii.com: Are you planning on going back next year? What other shows are you going to visit?

Elisa: I don´t know if the Doll Time is the right place for my particular dolls. The show is huge but I think the visitors were not "ready" for realistic looking dolls... but who knows!

Colliii.com: Thanks for the report Elisa! We wish you all the best for the coming year!

If you would like to see more of Elisa Galleas dolls visit her websites: www.elisagallea.com or www.elisasdolls.com

Zur Doll-Time-Website: www.dolltime.ru