The Other City

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!