Yousai Inoue

• Dolls
• 1952 -

1. My source of creation is insatiable curiosity and spirit of inquiry. My imagination is added to this, a theme is born, followed by the form and colors.
2. A doll is made in the form of a human, but I want to keep it dreamy in a way. I want to make pure, beautiful and cute dolls that people would want to keep beside them for a long time.
3. I mainly use wooden core covered with tōso (mixture of paulownia sawdust and paste) to make the dolls, but I sometimes make papier- mâché dolls and carved wooden dolls.
4. I cover the dolls with paper or cloth. Recently, I use mineral pigments and urushi lacquer to paint the dolls.
5. I started using urushi lacquer because of its excellent durability. I hope my dolls will remain as they are now even after I'm gone..