Nina Tugarina has traveled a long road to her career as the creator of exquisite dolls, which are actually a form of realist sculpture. Born in Ukraine, Tugarina began her artistic life designing leather goods as well as teaching painting and drawing at the Kharkov Architectural College. After emigrating to the United States, she discovered doll making as the perfect expression for her ideas. “Doll making includes all the aspects of art that I love: sculpting, painting and designing. For me, the most exciting part is the ability to create a character and bring it to life,” Tugarina says. She first sculpts the head from porcelain clay, then makes all of the clothing, styles the hair, and paints the face to bring out the unique personality of each doll. Most of her dolls depict children, with whom she feels a strong emotional attachment. “I make dolls because I love them like a mother loves her children,” she says. The quality of Tugarina’s work has been recognized internationally. She has received several Designer of the Year (DOTY) awards and has been nominated multiple times for Colliii Awards, which focus on promoting doll art around the world. She lives in Revere, Massachusetts. “Noam”, one-of-a-kind doll of sculpted and hand-painted clay. The hand-sewn, embroidered costume, shoes and wooden drum were also designed and made by Tugarina. 14.5” tall.