The Other City

Weekend Report

So the weekend of Incredible Business is over.  It was hard going and stressful there for a while, but I came through it all right.  Now, I just have to play catchup with my blog and uploading things to Etsy.

Cirque Voltaire was a fun event, although the focus was definitely on the performers this time.  My dolls looked great, though, and I met some cool people.  Brandan and Ellie are always very supportive of my work.  Pictures of the work I displayed there will be up shortly.

I wish I could have attended more of the NIADA conference, but with my tragic inability to be in two places at once, there was some limit.  It was really wonderful to be surrounded by dollmakers, though.  Apparently, I remind everyone of their daughter or granddaughter.  I got the cards of several local dollmakers and got some good response to my work.  On the second day I was able to attend I brought Absinthe with me and everyone was impressed with her.  She is one of the best dolls I have made recently.  With the exception of my even more recent ones.  Also, I got a paper doll for each of my two lovely patrons.

In other news, I have applied for Art by Craft again this year.  It was really fun last year.  And I'm considering applying for the Fancy Tiger's Holiday Handmade fair.  I hear people do really well at that one.  I've started learning to weave and I'm making progress at that.  It's a fun change.

Also the Secret Project, which some of you know about because I'm bad at not talking about my work, is coming along.  The fun thing is it involves motorcycle rides.  The best kind of Secret Project.

We Are Atheism

Just a quick hit since I'm still in the midst of preparing for Cirque Voltaire and the NIADA conference.  There is a new video campaign out to raise awareness of atheism. It is called We are Atheism. A study recently came out that shows that people who are more aware of atheists around them fear them less. 

Now, I do not have the set up to do a video, but we all know what I look like, yes?

Here is a picture, just in case.  Imagine me talking in a Youtube video.

 

I am an atheist.  I no longer do a lot of activism, but I do try to be as out as possible.  I'm an unusual atheist because I am a woman and I make dolls.  But then, all my dolls are atheists too.  I never really believed, although I was raised Catholic.  Religion was this incomprehensible thing that adults did for no apparent reason.  I remember spending a lot of time being bored out of my mind and arguing that I should be allowed to read collections of mythology in church because they were religious.  But I went along to get along until I became a teenager and started to want to assert my identity.

In college, I started the atheist club at my school.  As far as I know, it is still functioning today.  I don't have any atheist friends these days, but I listen to podcasts like The Atheist Experience and the Non Prophets so I don't feel too isolated. 

People often assume that I am a bad person because of my atheism.  I have been asked if I have a heart and treated like a child because of it.  Or theists assume I am a terribly damaged person who must have been abused as a child and traumatized out of my faith.  But I try to approach the world with as much compassion as possible and my childhood was fine. Because I managed to escape the religion in my upbringing with no psychic damage, I try to be as out as possible and to make sure the theists know the damage they are causing.  I know people who turn into quivering balls of mush because of the damage religion inflicted on them.  I view it as my duty to make it clear to theists that this sort of damage is unacceptable.  I only pursue this in a small way, these days, but I always do it.  I always try to make the street preachers aware that there are people who know that they are hurting others.  I always try to make the casual christians I work with aware that there are many people who do not share their beliefs.

I am Cayora, one of the many atheists who share the world with you.

 

And now, back to the dollies!

 

Absinthe

Absinthe sinks into green vapour dreaming of impossible things. In green fields she walks and feels the grass brushing her legs. But when she opens her eyes, filthy wooden floors spread around her. A dream of peace is better than no peace at all.

This is Absinthe.  She is 2 feet tall and is wearing an old dress I made for a BJD years and years ago.  It fits her pretty well, though. She is made of acrylic yarn, with interestingly textured black and green hair.  I am very  pleased with how her face came out.  My embroidery is improving dramatically, which is a huge relief.  It is turning into a huge part of my work.  But then, you can get so much more detail with it than with intarsia for example, so I'm surprised more people don't use it. 

I've been working lately, but I haven't been motivated to photograph what I finish, unfortunately.  I need to overcome that.  It is my least favourite part of my process, actually.

Although, that is one of the cool things about having work at Thread.  I don't need to photograph the stuff I have there.  I sold a piece there last week.  It was such a nice suprise tog et the check in the mail.

In other news Cirque Voltaire Duex is coming up shortly!  I have three very nice pieces for it.  Well, one is a new automaton that is still in progress, but it is coming along nicely.  The second is an aerialist doll that is finished.  And the last is Chalice, who has already been featured on here.

I also just applied for the 3rd Art By Craft show and market.  I really enjoyed it last year, and I hope I can participate this year.  Wish me luck!