There is a shared anxiety for high school seniors as they wait to hear whether they’re been admitted to the college or colleges of their choice. There is a once-in-a-lifetime moment when they receive their first acceptance. And for a few, there is the added thrill when that acceptance comes from their first choice. Idyllwild…

Susan Lake creates fantasy worlds. She writes the stories and elaborately costumes the characters as collectible, ball-jointed dolls. With a background in visual and performing arts, as both a choreographer and costumer, Lake knows how to conjure and weave gothic tales of magic, the struggle between dark and light. And lifting the words from the…