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Katie the Tabby Kitten, Original One-of-a-kind Art Doll Figurine by Max Bailey

Katie the Tabby Kitten, Original One-of-a-kind Folk Art Doll Figurine by Max BaileyKatie is a tabby and white kitten. She loves to go up to the top of the hill on a windy day and watch her brother and his friends fly their kites.

Her brother’s blue kite is her favorite. It sails recklessly in the wind, swaying back and forth in the sky. It is so beautifully blue that it sometimes disappears against the blue of the sky, and Katie holds her breath until it reappears against a white cloud.

Katie the Tabby Kitten, Original One-of-a-kind Folk Art Doll Figurine by Max BaileyOne morning, Katie’s brother handed her his blue kite. “You can have this one,” he said. She was greatly surprised, but she thanked him for his generosity, took the kite, and ran home.

Katie the Tabby Kitten, Original One-of-a-kind Folk Art Doll Figurine by Max BaileyNo one saw Katie all afternoon. While Katie isn’t very athletic, she is very artistic. She took out her paints and brushes and painted all her favorite flowers on the blue kite, until it was as flowery as a kite could be. She made pretty little bows out of her favorite hair ribbons and tied them on the tail of the kite.

“There!” said Katie, when she was satisfied with her creation. “Now he won’t ask for it back!”

Katie the Tabby Kitten, Original One-of-a-kind Folk Art Doll Figurine by Max BaileyKatie is an original one-of-a-kind work of art, and is meant for display only. No molds are ever used in my work. She and her kite are hand-sculpted from paperclay, and are entirely hand painted with acrylic paints. Katie’s soft pink dress has puffy sleeves, and smocking on both the front and the back. It ties at the back with a big bow. Her striped tabby tail emerges from the white petticoats that show beneath her dress. Katie’s whiskers are made from stiffened cotton thread.

Katie the Tabby Kitten, Original One-of-a-kind Folk Art Doll Figurine by Max BaileyKatie is signed and dated, and sealed with matte varnish for protection and preservation. She rests firmly on a turned wooden base that is stained and sealed in golden oak.

Katie is an itty bitty kitty. She stands only 4 and 1/2 inches tall. She comes with a hang tag, a certificate of authenticity, and a copy of her story.

Katie the Tabby Kitten, Original One-of-a-kind Folk Art Doll Figurine by Max BaileyUpdate: Katie has been adopted. Thank you!

Katie the Tabby Kitten, Original One-of-a-kind Folk Art Doll Figurine by Max Bailey

 

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Violet the Siamese Kitten, Original One-of-a-kind Art Doll Figurine by Max Bailey

Violet the Siamese Kitten, Original One-of-a-kind Folk Art Doll Figurine by Max BaileyViolet is very shy.

When guests arrived this morning, she hid behind her mama and peeked at them from around her mama’s skirt.

“Don’t be such a shrinking violet,” her mama said to her.

Violet the Siamese Kitten, Original One-of-a-kind Folk Art Doll Figurine by Max BaileyBefore she went to sleep that night, Violet worried. “What if I am shrinking?” she asked herself. “What if I become really tiny? What if I disappear altogether?”

Just as the sun was coming up, she nudged her little sister.

“Can you see me?” she asked.

“Yup. You’re as big as life,” answered her sister, yawning and barely opening one eye.

Violet the Siamese Kitten, Original One-of-a-kind Folk Art Doll Figurine by Max BaileyViolet was not reassured. She went to the measuring mark her mother had made on the wall and put a little book on her head, squishing her ears down. Surprisingly, she was taller than the mark!

Violet went to the edge of the woods and picked some violets. She carried the violets around all day. They didn’t shrink either.

“It’s just a figure of speech,” her mama later explained. “You aren’t really shrinking. You’re just shy, and we absolutely love you just as you are.” Mama put the violets in water and put them on the kitchen table, and smiled to herself.

Violet the Siamese Kitten, Original One-of-a-kind Folk Art Doll Figurine by Max BaileyViolet is an original one-of-a-kind work of art, and is meant for display only. No molds are ever used in my work. She and her violets are hand-sculpted from paperclay, and are entirely hand painted with acrylic paints. Violet’s dress is painted lavender, with dark violet trim and a dark violet bow at the back. She wears white petticoats, from which her little dark tail emerges.

Violet the Siamese Kitten, Original One-of-a-kind Folk Art Doll Figurine by Max BaileyViolet is signed and dated, and sealed with matte varnish for protection and preservation. She rests firmly on a turned wooden base that is stained and sealed in golden oak.

Violet is an itty bitty kitty. She stands only 4 and 5/8 inches tall. She comes with a hang tag, a certificate of authenticity, and a copy of her story.

Violet the Siamese Kitten, Original One-of-a-kind Folk Art Doll Figurine by Max BaileyUpdate: Violet has been adopted. Thank you!

Violet the Siamese Kitten, Original One-of-a-kind Folk Art Doll Figurine by Max BaileyViolet’s friends, Jessie and Jeannie (above left), have already been adopted.

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Not-shrinking Violet

Violet the Siamese Kitten, Original One-of-a-kind Folk Art Doll Figurine by Max BaileyI’m still working on our doll photos and blog pages for our Ruffing’s web site. I’m also adding pages for the dolls that you can see now, like this new little Siamese kitten. Her name is Violet, and she’s afraid she’s shrinking. You can read Violet’s cute story here.

Violet the Siamese Kitten, Original One-of-a-kind Folk Art Doll Figurine by Max BaileyViolet is an original, one-of-a-kind folk art doll figurine by Max Bailey.

It has been rainy and dreary here, which is making me want to go into hibernation. I get so sleepy when it is dark and raining. I’m trying to muster up some energy!

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At work on our Ruffing’s site

Hyacinth the Blue Persian Cat, Original One-of-a-kind Folk Art Doll Figurine by Max BaileyThis is Hyacinth the Blue Persian cat, an original, one-of-a-kind folk art doll figurine by Max Bailey. She’s in Kitty College, studying human psychology. I hear she’s got it down pat. Hyacinth is one of the many dolls getting their photos redone on our Ruffing’s site. You can read all about Hyacinth and her theories on human behavior here. I’ve been spending most of my time giving our doll photos makeovers, and organizing our blog posts on Blogspot, before I give our web site an overhaul. Below are some of the art doll figurines that are getting their photos redone.

Redoing the site is a lot of work, but I’m excited about what the end result will be. I feel like it’s going to be good, even if it takes me some time. I want it to be a site that really puts our art front and center.

Original One-of-a-kind Folk Art Doll Figurines by Max Bailey, screenshotEverything is still currently where it was on the Ruffing’s site. I just have a copy of the blog on Blogspot, where I’m cleaning it up and reorganizing it before I import it. Then it will be time to redirect the old pages to the new. This feels like a marathon, but I think it’s got a lot of promise.

I’m also still taking my computer classes at the Apple store. One of my Apple trainers submitted the Ruffing’s site to Apple, for possible inclusion in their “Best of One to One” showcase of web sites by people being trained in their One to One program, which was really nice of him. I have to say, they’ve all been so nice and helpful there, and I couldn’t be doing all the things I’m doing now on that old computer. I’m moving right along now, by leaps and bounds. I have an enormous amount of work to do, but I feel like I’m getting where I need to go now.

I don’t know how long it will take me to get the Ruffing’s site all fixed up, probably months, but in the end, I think it’s going to have been worth it. I am a little worried now though, that the people at Apple will come over right in the middle of things being in disarray, but I’m doing my best to get it organized as much as possible before the switch. There will be some bumps in the road, for sure, but I feel like I’m becoming a better navigator every day 🙂

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