Biography of Gotz Doll Artist SUSI EIMER

*Susi Eimer* was born in Munich in 1957 and currently lives in her home that she designed (in addition to her studio) in Spain.1 *Susi* is a self-taught sculptor who expresses herself through her series of *children of the forest*, who are intended to reflect the wonder of nature.1 She originally began her career sewing "Waldorf Dolls" in cloth; from there, she began to work in wood then porcelain, which she feels allows "greater opportunities for creative expression."2 Today, her original masterpieces are primarily created in porcelain;1 her collection of high-quality Götz dolls are created in both vinyl *and* porcelain; each doll's outfit is purposely designed with natural fabrics and materials such as linen, leather, and cotton with outfits designed to appear used and worn.4 *Susi* has been designing her unique dolls for Götz since 1994.1

## *Her Inspiration*

Per Götz, *Susi* draws inspiration for her dolls from both her country and city life; she is inspired by: "Quiet, solitude, classical music, the sun, her horses, and the sea; all of these things provide her with images and ideas."1 Her "mischievous" dolls have exaggerated expressions which convey their individual character.2

In the 1997 Götz Catalog,5 *Susi Eimer* describes the inspiration behind her collection:

> *My dolls for this collection were mostly created in Spain. This country and the place I visited there offered silence, distance from everyday life, beautiful weather, and mostly untouched nature. While hiking and horse riding, I found old ruins or remainders of them, which were solitarily nestled in the woods and mountains. I could feel the magic of centuries. Often I would sit there and dream while my horse grazed around me. Ideas and Storie came to my imagination, helping to create the "Children of the Troll-forest". During one especially beautiful summer evening, the sun light turned into red, and the landscape became red-hot and warm. I had just decided to go home, when suddenly I saw a very tiny creature, a Troll child, behind a rock collecting berries in the woods. Astonished, she looked at me with big eyes as if asking, 'Are you able to see me?'...This was the way I became acquainted with Trixi. She told me about her sisters and brothers and friends, about life in the 'Troll-forest', and their adventures. Unbelievable were her stories!*
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## *Artist Quotes*

* *My "Trollwaldkinder" are cheeky, impish, merry, sometimes they are a bit sulky - but they are never sad.3*

## Different Doll Body Types

There are several different doll body types used in Susi Eimer's Götz Collection, some of which are shown below:

This photo shows a soft-bodied, fully posable WEICHKÖRPERPUPPE VOLL BEWEGLICH doll body.This photo shows an all-vinyl doll with arms that contain internal wire armature. Photo: LittleGoodThings2010.BIBSI, the dolly, shares this soft, non-articulated doll body type. (Note: this is a Sylvia Natterer doll and is used for visual purposes only).
## Index of Götz Collections

The following doll collections are designed by *Susi Eimer* for Götz:

1996 FRIZZI1996 JOHANNES1996 TILLA1996 PIRKO

1997 BENEDIKT1997 ANTONIA1997 TRIXI1997 FIPS1997 PHILIPP1997 SOPHIE

1998 JAKOB1998 CHRISTL1998 ANNA-LISA1998 TROPS1998 DREI TROLLWALD-FREUNDE with TRUDI; LIESL, and WILLI (the horse).

1999 EDER1999 LENA1999 LOTTA1999 TIM1999 TRÖLLCHEN Set of 4

2000 DORLE (right) with MAXI (left)2000 LUCKY EDER2000 WILMA2000 LUKAS (left) with RICKA (right)2000 TROLLCHEN

2001 DORLE2001 KATRIN2001 BENNO2001 EMIL2001 BERTI2001 BETZI2001 KLEIN-TINCHEN2001 PETERLE (the donkey) and BIBSI (the dolly)

2002 JOHANNA2002 FRANZISKA2002 BENEDIKTINE2002 KRISTIAN2002 KARLINCHEN2002 KARLI2002 BABY PAULINCHEN

2003 JOHANNA2003 CORNELIUS2003 KRISTIANE (left) & BIBSI (right)2003 TIM2003 KARLINCHEN2003 BABY PAULINCHEN

## Find a Doll by Neckstamp Marking

Looking for a doll based upon its specific neckstamp marking? Simply click on a neckstamp category below to search all dolls that share that neckstamp marking; this will help you to narrow down a possible identification for your doll!

457-18 S. Eimer GötzNo neckstamp photo: Götz S. Eimer 393(?)No neckstamp photo: Götz S. Eimer 413(?)No neckstamp photo: Götz S. Eimer 458/14(?)Götz S. Eimer 493 16Götz S. Eimer 527/16Götz S. Eimer 528-20No neckstamp photo: Götz S. Eimer 594/71(?)Götz S. Eimer 597

## References

1. *Künstlerpuppen Collection 2001*. *Künstlerpuppen Collection 2001*, Louis Hofmann, 2001.
2. *Collection 2003. Collection 2003,* Emil Patzschke GmbH & Co. KG, 2003.
3. This information comes from the *Art Collection* Catalog of *1998*.
4. *Collections 2002. Collection 2002*, Druckhaus Werner Hofmann, 2002.
5. This information can be found on page 9 in the *Art Collection 1997* Götz Catalog.