My love of dolls has endured throughout my life. As an only child, dolls were my playmates when I didn't have siblings to play with. As an adult, they are objects of art to be admired and enjoyed. Collecting dolls has been an enjoyable hobby, but making figurative art is an expression of my creativity, and creating these figures is a real passion.

A little about my past… Doll collecting became an active hobby for me in the mid-nineties. Heloïse, Monika, Maggie Iacono, Robert Tonner, and Hildegard Günzel were among my favorites. When my taste in dolls outstripped my budget, as it does for many of us, I thought about making dolls for my own enjoyment. Polymer clay was the perfect medium for me, and I loved working with Cernit. Creating dolls for family and friends kept me busy, then, as my skills improved, reaching a wider audience through a local doll shop brought some recognition. A job promotion four years later and raising two children sadly did not allow time for doll making, but my love of dolls and sculpting continued.

After retirement, I began taking local sculpting courses and online classes with figurative artists Diane Keeler and Deb Wood. My love of doll making rekindled, I began making them in earnest. At the same time, I became active in doll organizations such as the Professional Doll Makers Art Guild and International Doll Art Registry. Then in 2019, I applied to and proudly became a member of the Original Doll Artist Council of America.

The focus of my art is on children and fairy tale or fantasy characters. I have also continued my fine art sculpting, making adult figures in water-based clay. Always a joy, creating the human figure satisfies something deep in my soul. Seeing a figure come to life in my hands, enjoying the sculpting, painting, sewing, cobbling, wig-making, and all of the other skills needed to finish a doll is so gratifying. Making artwork that displays the best of my skills and evokes emotion in the viewer is what I aspire to achieve with each new creation.

Doll making is a solitary journey that demands many hours of focused work. A special benefit of this work has been discovering a wonderful community of doll makers and collectors who, as friends, support and inspire me. They have opened my world and provided so much encouragement as this journey continues. 

I have been honored to win first place in many doll competitions, the proudest of which is winning First Place in the Advanced Fantasy category of the 2019 Professional Doll Makers Art Guild Gold Awards for my doll “Juliet, Heart on a String." In addition, my work has appeared in publications such as Dolls, A for Artistic, International Doll Artists, and the Dutch magazine Poppen & Teddy Beer.

Please enjoy my pieces. You can follow my work through Facebook (@johansenstudio), where you’ll find work-in-progress photos and more. I do not actively market my work on eBay or Etsy at this time, but most pieces are available. Just drop me a note at johansendolls@gmail.com, through the Contact page on this site, or PM me on Facebook. Thank you for visiting!