Colliii.com: Hello Sherri, why dont you start by telling us a little about yourself!

Sherri: Hello. Well I was born in and raised in Utah. I have always loved dolls. I loved to make dolls out of what ever I could get my hands on, wood, fabric and then clay. I love to spend my days studying pictures of newborns. It is amazing to me to see how different each tiny face is. It is my goal to bring to life those memorize of our tiny babies that we hold dear. My hope is to create a Treasure that can be cherished for many years to come.

Colliii.com: We have to say a congratulations on your Colliii Award. You have made such a variety of dolls, why did you decide to enter Gracie?

Sherri: I loved sculpting Gracie. Often, it takes me a long time to sculpt these baby dolls. But, for some reason, she just seemed to come together so easily. She just popped right out of the clay. She is one of my favorites so far, so I thought I would enter one my my favorites.

Colliii.com: How did you get into the doll making world, have you always been an artistic person by nature?

Sherri: I loved sculpting with clay even as a child. I used salt dough and made Christmas ornaments. Then, I started sculpting with the polymer clays about 20 years ago. I sold my figurines and Christmas ornaments at local boutiques'. I have loved the polymer clay. About seven years ago I took a sculpting class with a well known artist Jack Johnston and learned to sculpt life-like dolls. I loved it. I was hooked.

Colliii.com: A lot of your dolls have been produced by large doll makers in the past, who have you worked with up until now?

Sherri: I have worked with Secrist, Charisma and Masterpiece dolls.

Colliii.com: You are a member of a Guild in the USA, how has that helped you in your doll making?

Sherri: I am a member of the Professional Doll Makers Art Guild. It has helped me so much. Many of the artists have helped me through sharing ideas, and techniques. We share booths at the Doll shows, and advertizing in magazines. This can help you get to some of these Doll Shows and show your dolls to the manufacturers and collectors without so much risk. I've made a lot of friends and they give me a lot of encouragement and support. It has been wonderful.

Colliii.com: Gracie was a big hit at the Colliii Awards, how long do you normally need for a doll like her?

Sherri: Normally, It takes me about a month to six weeks to create a life-sized newborn baby doll. But, for Gracie, like I said, she just came together for me. I think I sculpted her in a week.

Colliii.com: What was the inspiration for little Gracie?

Sherri: I scuplted Gracie for an Art Contest sponsored my by Church. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has an Art contest every three years for Artists all over the world. The theme was "Remember the Great things of God". I named her ‘Gracie’ to remind me of God’s Grace. I was one of the winners and she was on display at the Art Museum in Salt Lake City for six months.

Colliii.com: What has happened to little Gracie since the competition ended?

Sherri: At the moment I have her displayed in my private collection. I will be bringing her to IDEX 2010.

Colliii.com: We met at the IDEX show in 2009. Do you find that shows like that help you present yourself?

Sherri: Yes, it gives me an opportunity to meet many people both collectors and manufacturers who love dolls as much as I do. It helps to be able to meet other artists and manufacturers. It has been very helpful for me.

Colliii.com: What kind of things have you got planned for the future?

Sherri: I am finishing a limited edition of some of my babies that have been made into vinyl kits. These will be OOAK's because each will be finished differently. I am also going to be doing some limited edition dolls in Resin and Silicone.

I am making babies in all sizes this year. Hopefully, this will give collectors more options at different prices. I have the life-sized newborns, along with some mini's. I also hope to make my first life-sized toddler this year.

Colliii.com: We look forward to seeing your babies for this coming year too! Thanks for your time Sherri and we wish you all the best for the future!

To visit Sherri Williams website and see more of her work click on this link