Rock and Doll: The Tattooed Dolls We've Always Wanted
Crafter and tattoo enthusiast Christina Tselykovskaya designs the loveliest ‘tattooed’ dolls you'll ever see!
on
Lifestyle
Nobody's too old for playtime when it comes to these incredibly-detailed tattooed dolls by Christina Tselykovskaya. Even the most uptight person will want to come out and play with her unique ‘RockandDoll’ creations, each hand-made with love.
“Tattooing”
Christina Tselykovskaya (or Kristina RockandDoll) is an arts and crafts enthusiast and ‘devoted tattoo culture fan’ based in Moscow, Russia. Like most self-taught artists, Christina's artistic gifts manifested when she was young. Curiosity for details and basic anatomy came out naturally. “I can say that it all started in my childhood. As I can remember, I have always liked drawing. And I paid special attention to the image of the faces. Eyes and faces are the most inspiring for me!” she tells me.
Surprisingly, the Russian artist did not receive any professional training nor any educational background. Everything she knows, she learned by herself through experimentation and trial and error. She shares, “I didn’t have [an] art education. I have never even attended art school. I’m an autodidact. I made up my knowledge gaps studying art books and training videos on the Internet. I just practiced again and again and didn’t give up if something was amiss.”
Christina Tselykovskaya
Christina's line of custom tattooed dolls entitled RockandDoll: Tattoos by Christina Tselykovskaya, started out purely by chance as she was messing around with different surfaces. Little did she know that it would turn out to be a big part of her life. “Speaking about the beginning of the RockandDoll project, it happened by chance. I didn’t expect that it will become such an important part of my life and source of income. I was just looking for an idea; I was full of creative energy, but I didn’t know what to do exactly.”
She continues, “I started writing down things I love; tattoos and the images of the faces came first. It was boring for me to draw ordinary paper portraits, I was searching for something unusual and extraordinary. Suddenly, I [came up with] the idea of a rag doll. [Fabrics] are a fantastic, pillowy, and handy material. I made my first doll just for fun, but then I realized that I liked this activity. I sewed more and more and couldn’t stop.”
Zombie Boy doll
There are not a lot of popular hand-made doll crafters and artists around right now but Christina lists an American artist by the name of Mimi Kirchner as a “stellar inspiration.” Kirchner is a Boston-based fiber artist who creates a wide range of dolls which includes tattooed sailors and painted ladies. Blackwork tattoo artists Susanne König and Tattooer Nadi also made it to Christina's list of artists she looks up to in the tattoo industry.
Doll with a blackwork back tattoo
Christina also shared a bit about what goes on in the process of making RockandDolls: “My work process goes something like: A customer sends me a photo and all the necessary information about the appearance of the doll. I try to consider all the wishes of my customer [before] I sew a doll and then paint it by hand.”
“I like that my customers allow me to be creative. They trust me. For example, I often hear something like that ‘You are an artist. I completely trust you. Make it cool.’ When the doll is finished I send a photo for the customer to approve. If everything is OK, I send a parcel. My dolls have found homes in different countries all over the world,” she says.
Billy Huxley doll
Most of Christina's dolls are made-to-order, but she also gets a kick out of creating her own characters and fashioning her creations after popular figures like Suicide Squad's Harley Quinn and Joker, Lady Gaga as the Countess in American Horror Story, Zombie Boy, and South African rap-rave duo, Die Antwoord.
Lady Gaga as The Countess doll
Suicide Squad dolls
Die Antwoord dolls
Football fan dolls
Work in progress
Check out the rest of Christina's tattooed creations on her website and Instagram @_rockanddoll_.
“Tattooing”
Christina Tselykovskaya (or Kristina RockandDoll) is an arts and crafts enthusiast and ‘devoted tattoo culture fan’ based in Moscow, Russia. Like most self-taught artists, Christina's artistic gifts manifested when she was young. Curiosity for details and basic anatomy came out naturally. “I can say that it all started in my childhood. As I can remember, I have always liked drawing. And I paid special attention to the image of the faces. Eyes and faces are the most inspiring for me!” she tells me.
Surprisingly, the Russian artist did not receive any professional training nor any educational background. Everything she knows, she learned by herself through experimentation and trial and error. She shares, “I didn’t have [an] art education. I have never even attended art school. I’m an autodidact. I made up my knowledge gaps studying art books and training videos on the Internet. I just practiced again and again and didn’t give up if something was amiss.”
Christina Tselykovskaya
Christina's line of custom tattooed dolls entitled RockandDoll: Tattoos by Christina Tselykovskaya, started out purely by chance as she was messing around with different surfaces. Little did she know that it would turn out to be a big part of her life. “Speaking about the beginning of the RockandDoll project, it happened by chance. I didn’t expect that it will become such an important part of my life and source of income. I was just looking for an idea; I was full of creative energy, but I didn’t know what to do exactly.”
She continues, “I started writing down things I love; tattoos and the images of the faces came first. It was boring for me to draw ordinary paper portraits, I was searching for something unusual and extraordinary. Suddenly, I [came up with] the idea of a rag doll. [Fabrics] are a fantastic, pillowy, and handy material. I made my first doll just for fun, but then I realized that I liked this activity. I sewed more and more and couldn’t stop.”
Zombie Boy doll
There are not a lot of popular hand-made doll crafters and artists around right now but Christina lists an American artist by the name of Mimi Kirchner as a “stellar inspiration.” Kirchner is a Boston-based fiber artist who creates a wide range of dolls which includes tattooed sailors and painted ladies. Blackwork tattoo artists Susanne König and Tattooer Nadi also made it to Christina's list of artists she looks up to in the tattoo industry.
Doll with a blackwork back tattoo
Christina also shared a bit about what goes on in the process of making RockandDolls: “My work process goes something like: A customer sends me a photo and all the necessary information about the appearance of the doll. I try to consider all the wishes of my customer [before] I sew a doll and then paint it by hand.”
“I like that my customers allow me to be creative. They trust me. For example, I often hear something like that ‘You are an artist. I completely trust you. Make it cool.’ When the doll is finished I send a photo for the customer to approve. If everything is OK, I send a parcel. My dolls have found homes in different countries all over the world,” she says.
Billy Huxley doll
Most of Christina's dolls are made-to-order, but she also gets a kick out of creating her own characters and fashioning her creations after popular figures like Suicide Squad's Harley Quinn and Joker, Lady Gaga as the Countess in American Horror Story, Zombie Boy, and South African rap-rave duo, Die Antwoord.
Lady Gaga as The Countess doll
Suicide Squad dolls
Die Antwoord dolls
Football fan dolls
Here are a few of Christina's satisfied clientele:
Extraordinary people with tattoos and creative appearance who are not shy to stand out from the crowd inspire me.
Work in progress
Check out the rest of Christina's tattooed creations on her website and Instagram @_rockanddoll_.
Subscribe to this blog
Subscribe to email newsletter for latest Tattoo Artist, Tattoo Idea, Celebrities Tattoo
