A Q&A With Ping Lau

If you’ve been a fan or a follower of Ashton-Drake, then you are very familiar with the renowned Master Doll Sculptor, Ping Lau. For many years, Ashton-Drake has maintained a collaborative relationship with Ping – and with the incredible talent and skills that she has, we are lucky to have her as a contributing partner.

Originally from Singapore, Ping Lau studied English Literature and her mastery in doll creation actually came later in life with no formal art training. Her work has been displayed in art galleries, art shows as well as national TV. The collection of dolls that Ping Lau has crafted exclusively for Ashton-Drake boast of her meticulous attention to detail and her ability to make her baby dolls incredibly lifelike. We always look forward to seeing her creations come to life! And you have a chance to welcome home one of her baby dolls, shop our site to find a new love!

We’ve done a few interviews with Ping Lau, so after you’ve gotten a chance to read through our recent Q&A with her, check out the video from last year’s interview below!

Behind the scenes of Navaeh conception

• What is it about creating dolls that makes it your passion?
• Ans: I remember the joy I had as a child when presented with a doll so I hope to bring this joy to collectors. Seeing the delight of collectors is the absolutely most rewarding aspect of creating dolls and gives me the drive to keep trying the improve my skills.

• Where do you get your inspiration from when you sculpt dolls for yourself?
• Ans: Real children! You can’t improve on nature and I have to keep looking and observing facial forms and expressions of as many children as possible.

• Where do you start when you begin sculpting a doll? What is your first step?
• Ans: Look, look, look and look again at the photo. I study it well before I put my hands to the clay.

• What are some of the most important features to capture in a face when sculpting dolls to capture their personality?
• Ans: The eyes are the windows to the soul which is also true in sculpting.  It’s very important that the eyes be correctly sized and correctly placed before I can even begin to sculpt a face. Dolls can lack expression simply from the wrong iris size! I always sculpt eyebrows too which may not be apparent but eyebrows are sculpted as well as painted because they are very important in conveying expression.

• What doll pose or expression is the most challenging to sculpt?
• Ans: I love challenges! The most difficult pose to sculpt is when I’m given a photo to sculpt from and the face is in three quarter profile or the photo is taken from above or below the subject’s eye level. I then have to calculate the form of the actual face from these angles. It’s fun and used to be a little frustrating till I learned how to interpret these different perspectives.