The Other City

Gossamer Girls now Available on Etsy!

The Gossamer Girls are now available on Etsy!

Here is the listing!  Now it is a lot easier to take them home.  I am in the process of overhauling my Etsy page to make it more hospitable to this line. 

Mercy Lights Her Way

Mercy wraps her bright shawl about her gray dress.  Glimmering and soft, it warms her on winter days and lets her blend into summer.  She creeps on tentative feet through the dust-shrouded rooms and hallways here, and finds a stone here, a bit of ribbon there and so dresses her days in brightness. Sometimes, these little beauties are all you need.

So this is Mercy wearing her default outfit.  It is what she will wear when she is just hanging out.  At other times, she can model other outfits or accessories that I will make.  I plan to make one, maybe two other models and then focus on clothing and accessories.  I am also currently working on a listing for this series of dolls for Etsy.

I am really enjoying working on clothing and little toys and things for these dolls.  Making Mercy's shawl was deeply enjoyable.  I like experimenting with clothing in sizes small enough that I don't get tired of it.  Is there anything in particular you would like to see?

Just a quick post

Just checking in.  I'm thinking more in images today than words.  I plan to lay out and photograph a still life, later.  And I want to get some more crochet done.  Currently, I'm working on a deer girl named Rune.  Her feet are the perfect size.

Also, I urge everyone to check out Rainymood.com.  All it does is play rain sounds.  My blog should always be viewed while listening to the sound of rain.

I have a second blog now, called Living in a Dollhouse.  It documents the construction of my future tiny house. I recently bought an absolutely hideous trailer to serve as the foundation and I'm very much looking forward to begining to tear it down and build a lovely little gem of a house.  It will be very cottage-like.  Probably rather hobbity.  I can't wait until it is done.

Hypothetical Dilemma

I follow a blog called Manboobz that is devoted to mocking the mens' rights community.  On of the oppositional commenters on that blog, a real reprehensible little troll, has said is is into dolls.  Or, to come at this from a different direction, Chalice was favourited on DeviantArt by someone who clearly is an amputee fetishist.  So my hypothetical dilemma is, what would I do if someone like this came to me and wanted to buy a doll? 

In general, I don't have much of a problem with amputee fetishism.  It's largely as harmless as foot fetishism.  So it would be a bit uncomfortable but not too horrible to see Chalice go to that guy.  I have heard people making fun of their friends at shows by suggesting that they want to have sex with my dolls.  I found this a bit awkward, considering I was sitting right there, but I've heard worse.

The real question is, would I sell someone who believes that women should only exist to satisfy his desires a doll?  Would I sell him the means to gratify his desires?  Well, the art mercenary in me says sure.  I want the money, and what do I care what they do with it?  I do already know that one of my dolls has been destroyed by a pet.  How is this really worse?  Furthermore, I have flat out thought I would make a line of love dolls, if crochet were adapted to it, and retire from Evil Law Firm.  Certainly the people who would want to buy a love doll would including horrible anti-feminists like this guy.  I don't find love dolls in general objectionable.

However, most love dolls in the world are made by men, and believe me it shows.  The men who buy them have no reason to disrespect their makers because of their sex.  And that is the key difference and now my decision is easy.  I will not sell to anyone who does not respect me as a person.  I guess this is another thing that will keep me out of the love doll business, no matter how mercenary I may feel. 

I wonder if strictly art doll people have this dilemma?

Finding Mercy

Here is the first of the model dolls for the series I am working now.  I plan on photographing her in still-life type setups and she can model all of the little clothings and accessories I will make for this series.  Her name is Mercy, because that is what she is seeking, wandering lost through the world. 

She is 18 inches tall, and as you can see, she can wear American Girl sized clothing and shoes.  She is fairly posable, but I will have to use thread to help with photographs.

Does anyone have any ideas for what I should name this series?  Just calling them American Girl sized dolls is not working for me.  And I will be making up the brochure for them soon, so it will be helpful to have a name.  I have no idea at the moment.

I think her face is the best I've ever done.  Since she is to be a model, she is not for sale on Etsy, but I am not immune to offers I can't refuse.  Next up, I'll be doing a deer girl for the next model.  Because I like deer girls.  And I'll get to use some of my delicious Malabrigo yarn for her skin.

The End is Coming!

I am optimistic about 2012.  2011 was not such a good year.  My work got bogged down and I got discouraged and my partner spent a good portion of the year unemployed.  But now, I am excited because I feel like things are finally moving in my life away from the horrible day job.  I have plenty of ideas for coming projects.  The prototypes for the American Girl sized dolls are done and now I just have to make up a brochure for them.

This year, I want to sell more work, if I can.  I want to focus on my photography and find more ways to promote my work.

Once I have a couple of nice models for this series of dolls, I want to focus on making accessories and clothing and fun stuff for them.  All of this will be for sale, for people who buy a doll.  Or who have an American Girl doll, I suppose.

I want to come up with a name for this series.

I want to design an official logo.

I want to make a good back drop, which I can change to resemble various rooms, to make more still-life like photos.  And use it to illustrated stories.

In other stuff, I want to start working on a tiny house.  My partner and I have found a base trailer we believe we could work with.  It is a 1950 33 foot Spartan.  One of the retro looking ones with the silver skins.  We are going to start looking into buying it tomorrow, actually. I will probably blog about that here too.  More content and all that. 

I've got a facebook page!

Well, actually, I had one all along. But now I have one specifically for The Other City.  Much more professional.  Everyone, and I'm sure there are thousands of you, should go like my page here.

So, I don't talk about it much now, but The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings literally changed my life as a child when I read the books. Back then, the films were not even rumoured. For example, the reason I spell rumour that way is due to Tolkien. I dislike the films of LOTR because the entire feel is changed for me. And my dearest characters were painfully altered.

But my sister just sent me the trailer for The Hobbit, which I had been avoiding. The shot of the dwarves singing The Misty Mountains made me cry. I used to sing that. And recite their names.

Please, Hollywood, don't fuck this up.

Automaton VI

She carries her peace with her. She carries it trapped tight in her heart. Slow breathes and soft features. Dreaming, she walks through dim forests and places candles before forgotten statues. But always she returns to the calm darkness of her sleep.

This is an 18 inch doll crocheted doll prototype. She can wear American Girl clothing, but the shoes will not fit her. Her hair is a combination of darker and lighter brown and is rooted for easy styling. Her face is embroidered. She is very durable and can withstand quite a few adventures. She will come nude, ready to be dressed and styled however you would like.

Another sleeping doll.  I do enjoy sleeping dolls.  I figure I am going to have to work closely with these prototypes.  Even though they are for sale, my record shows that they will take a long time to actually sell.  So, in the meantime they will serve as models for clothing and accessories I make for them.  Once I stop desperately focusing on getting their feet right.  I do think I will be able to make them wear American Girl shoes.

In the near future, I think I will do a giveaway of some of my older pieces.  They are not up to my current standards.  They do not have rooted hair or embroidered faces.  But I figure someone may still enjoy them.  So stay tuned for that!

This doll is also for sale!

Lost in the Snow

Stumbling, head down on a cold winter day.  Darkness is pressing upon you, but you peer out of your hood for a breath, a moment.  And there she is, silent as they all are, but staring at you with hope in her eyes.   Black skin, coated in snow and warm, sad eyes.  How did she come here, on this cold evening?

This is the 5th automaton and one of the prototypes I've been working on.  She can wear American Girl clothes, but not the shoes.  She is 18 inches tall and features rooted blue hair for easy styling and an embroidered face. As you see, she is durable enough to withstand the snow without any ill effects, unlike her maker.

I got so frustrated trying to get her face right, with the embroidery on the black, that I nearly gave up.  But the blue hair is lovely. I've noticed that once a doll has hair, it is immediately more lovable.  The pattern for the dolls to wear American Girl clothing is not perfect yet, so I don't feel comfortable setting up a listing for them.  But it is coming along and getting closer with every try.

Next prototype I do will be silver with red hair, in honour of the book The Silver Metal Lover, by Tanith Lee. Honestly, it is one of the best books I'd read in a long time.  It took me ages to find a copy but when I did I plowed through it in less than 24 hours.  I highly recommend it.

Does anyone want to see anything in particular from this series of automatons?

 

Update:  The 5th Automaton is for sale on Etsy!

Winter Snow

Another created thing totters unsteadily on soft feet through a world muffled in dust.  Born for snow and winter, the automaton forgets summer even as breathes in heat.  She travels deep into basements and tunnels searching for cool air.  Soon, the white hair her maker gave her fades into the twilight of the everlasting dust.  But peering through gratings, a flicker of memory makes her wash her hair and stare up into the night sky suddenly so full of falling stars.

This is Neve, the doll I previously alluded to.  She is 18 inches tall and is rather lovely, in my opinion.  She was featured in the second Cirque Voltaire show, althoug Bird definitely stole the show in that venue.  Neve is more suited to quite, domestic settings.  She is after all, only a doll and was designed to be loved in someone's home.  Fortunately for the both of us then, she sold last month.  These pictures were provided by her owner.

I continue to try to work out the pattern for my automaton series.  Although I am considering taking a break for an art piece I have in mind.  I have been reading about encephalitis lethargica again recently and it is making me want to do even more sleeping dolls.  I don't know what it is about sleepers that is so appealing but their spell is far from broken.  If anyone has any opinions about the automaton series, I would love to hear them.

Dilemma

I am working on a series of dolls in the correct size to wear American Girl doll clothing.  However, I tested a couple of my prototypes last night and I see now it will be very difficult to make their feet fit into the shoes.  I can get the length and width right, but then there is too much height.  I may be able to get them into the right size, but it may be easier to just say they can wear American Girl clothes but they need shoes made by me.  I can make a line of crocheted shoes with felt soles pretty easily, but I know other people make some really cool shoes for dolls in this size. 

So, does anyone have any opinions on this?  I'll have a couple of prototypes ready to show soon anyway. They will be pretty cool.  They will feature removable wigs and everything. 

 

Update- Strick that.  Removable wigs seem to use a prohibative amount of yarn, at least at this point.  I'll keep experimenting though

 

Automaton IV

She knows she is a made thing, not a creature born. She knows she does not breath or love or laugh. But also, she knows she is beautiful. And that is compensation enough for a heart that ticks or the long stillness of workshop days.

This is a crocheted doll intended for adults, but suitable for older children as well. She is in my automaton series of living dolls so she has pedestal feet rather than more human ones. She is 22 inches tall. Her hair is rooted and will not come out; it is half black and half navy blue, with lighter sparkly highlights. Her face and the gem in her chest are embroidered. The gem glows in the dark. She also features a wire armature that allows her elbows and knees to hold simple poses. She will be a good friend to you.

This is one of the newish pieces I completed during my time of silence.  There is a third automaton that came before her who sold before I could photograph her.  However, the person I sold her to has said she will send me pictures.  And the name of that piece.  I have begun to think of her as Hiver, though, which is French for winter.  I hope to be able to show her to you soon.

Otherwise, I have been working on a series of dolls which people can order on commission and pick the colours for, like those pretty Waldorf style dolls.  They will be the same size as American Girl dolls and so will be able to wear their clothes.  Also, I am thinking about more artistic pieces to try to pursue something in a gallery.  If I can get the nerve.  I am trying to shake off this silence in order to do so. 

I feel like I'm in artist drag, rather than being the real thing.  At least drag is fabulous.