Tag: cat-art

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Some frost and a whole lot of work later

When I opened my curtains this morning, and saw the soft, white light coming in, I was reminded of winter up north, when it has just snowed. It made me feel so happy. It wasn’t snow though, just frost, but it was so pretty that I went outside in my pajamas to take a picture.

This doesn’t really convey how the grassy lawns all faded to white in the distance, but you can imagine it 🙂
And…we FINALLY finished updating our online doll gallery! All of the currently available dolls now have web pages, and some of the adopted dolls do too. At least every doll on the page has a link now, and what a big page! I will, at some point, have to separate the dolls into categories rather than have a page that scrolls into infinity, but, for now, we are so relieved to have it up to date.


Of course, I still have to fix all the print pages up. It seems to be a never-ending job. Just looking at the sheer size of the doll gallery, I am reminded that I need to focus on what I have already started and not take on more than I can handle. My current plan is to focus on making original, one-of-a-kind folk art dolls and paintings, and consolidate what we have available for sale on the Ruffing’s site, instead of all the EBaying and Etsying, not to mention the MySpacing and whatever mulitude of other sites I have been trying to cover. I will try to finish the play dolls/toys I have started, but I think I will be doing those for more fun in the future. I’ll see what I have time for without making myself crazy with too many projects.
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The Great Web Marathon continues

We’re getting together some images of our original folk art cat dolls to make into prints, which we will start putting in our eBay store soon. We’ve still got six finished dolls to get into our online doll gallery as well. It will be a great relief to get back to creating something other than web pages soon! Above are my “Fiona” and “Ziggy” kittens, and below are “Ginger and George“, “Crabby Alice and Ruthie“, and “Hedda and Hopper” by Max Bailey. These jointed, cloth-and-clay dolls are the kinds of dolls we are planning to collaborate on soon.

We all went to vote this morning, before any big lines occurred. I was voter number 320. I am so nervous waiting for the election results. I’ve been reading while we were taking turns at the computer. This time I went with E. M. Forster, even though I know how those stories turn out, having seen so many of the movie adaptions. Familiarity is comforting right now.
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Natasha and Ivan, Original One-of-a-kind Russian Blue Cat Folk Art Doll Figurine by Max Bailey

Natasha and Ivan, Original One-of-a-kind Russian Blue Cat Folk Art Doll Figurine by Max BaileyNatasha is a lovely Russian Blue cat.

Her favorite doll is Ivan. He’s a puppy dog doll with a sad little wrinkled face.

Natasha and Ivan, Original One-of-a-kind Russian Blue Cat Folk Art Doll Figurine by Max BaileyNatasha’s friends find it scandalous that she carries around a doggie doll, but Natasha prides herself on being open-minded.

“Not all doggies are the same”, she tells them. “Some of them are very friendly and are nice to kitties.”

Her friends don’t believe her. They won’t allow Natasha to bring Ivan to their tea parties.

Natasha and Ivan, Original One-of-a-kind Russian Blue and Blue Persian Cat Folk Art Doll Figurines by Max BaileyNatasha worries that Ivan feels left out. She cuddles with him at naptime and tells him that she loves him, and not to be sad.

They can have their own tea party.

Natasha and Ivan, Original One-of-a-kind Russian Blue Cat Folk Art Doll Figurine by Max BaileyNatasha’s brilliant yellow eyes have a touch of bright green. She wears a dusty rose dress scattered with pale pink flowers that match the pink yoke and pink sash that ties in a bow at the back. Ivory ruffles adorn the neckline and sleeves, and her ivory petticoats can be seen below her dress.

Natasha and Ivan, Original One-of-a-kind Russian Blue Cat Folk Art Doll Figurine by Max BaileyNatasha 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 toy dog Ivan are hand sculpted from paperclay, and entirely hand painted using acrylic paints. Her whiskers are made from stiffened cotton thread.

Natasha and Ivan, Original One-of-a-kind Russian Blue Cat Folk Art Doll Figurine by Max BaileyNatasha 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. She stands 9 and 1/2 inches tall. She comes with a hang tag, a certificate of authenticity, and a copy of her story.

Natasha and Ivan, Original One-of-a-kind Russian Blue Cat Folk Art Doll Figurine by Max BaileyNatasha and Ivan are available for $750.00. Please inquire to [email protected]

Natasha and Ivan, Original One-of-a-kind Russian Blue Cat Folk Art Doll Figurine by Max BaileyNatasha’s kitty friend is Hyacinth the Blue Persian.

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Sock Kitty!

I love Sock Kitty! I also miss Sock Kitty because he is a birthday gift for a friend.

Sock Kitty is made from a sock stuffed with Polyfil. His eyes, nose, and hearts are polar fleece, embellished by hand with embroidery floss in a blanket stitch. I used embroidery floss to hand stitch his whiskers and his smile too. His ears are lined with cotton batik fabric.

Sock Kitty is nice and squishy. His paws even have little toes I sewed with upholstery thread.

He is a perpetually happy cat. I am going to have to make him a sibling to keep for myself, a twin perhaps.

In other news, I am tossing around the idea of collaborating with Max on some folk art cat dolls, the dressed and jointed kind with the sculpted faces. I’ve been spreading myself too thin for a long time, and I think if we put our efforts in the same direction, we both might be more productive. Collectively, we have at least three doll sizes, and some possible variations as to type of critter. We are terribly behind with a backlog of dolls waiting to go on our website right now. So, that is the first thing to resolve.

Over the past year, I spent a lot of time trying to have a separate business from our family business, in large part to accommodate someone else’s desire for me to have a separate income, but that has been like trying to spin twice as many plates in the air as I was already spinning. The end result was only that I had to neglect one business to spend time trying to get the other off the ground. All in all, I only got more behind and more scattered, and then we all ended up behind. Now I need to get us all back on track. My desire to please other people gets me in trouble sometimes, and really, as I’m sure we all know…if you need to knock yourself out to please someone else, it never turns out to be worth it. Please yourself, and surround yourself with people who appreciate you for who you are and who want you to be happy.

On a lighter note, is anyone else already hitting the Halloween candy? I am! Naughty 😉