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My second kitten doll in progress

It is very dark and rainy today, but I started in on my second kitten-sculpting project. I will add more sculpted fur another day. It’s hard to see details today.

I got better photos of Ziggy using a tan backdrop, and the spot metering and white balance bracketing settings on my camera. You can see his whites now.

Other than that, I am doing some boring-to-me things like editing web pages. I’m trying to get a more comprehensive online doll gallery together for our main Ruffing’s site. Max, in particular, has a lot of cute stories to go with all the art doll photos we have accumulated. There are so many cat doll photos on our Flickr doll pages at this point, that we thought it would be more entertaining if they were put back in their original contexts, with the stories that go along with them. I still have to edit Ziggy’s photos for his page…
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Still playing with lighting

Ziggy needed an accessory and so I painted a little car for him. He seems to like it. I think it sets off his onesie nicely anyway.

I experimented with a white background for photographing him today, and I am still struggling to get it right. I think I will go with tan when I set up the tripod and photograph him for real. I need to raise him up on a stand first too. If I can muster some patience, perhaps I will try to learn to use manual light metering. I’m always trying to fix things in Elements instead. I’m sure the camera can do all kinds of wonderful things if only I would learn to press the right buttons and turn the correct dials.
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Princess Anna, Original One-of-a-kind White Cat Folk Art Doll Figurine by Max Bailey

Princess Anna, Original One-of-a-kind White Cat Folk Art Doll Figurine by Max BaileyI am pleased to introduce the very royal Princess Anna.

Princess Anna, Original One-of-a-kind White Cat Folk Art Doll Figurine by Max BaileyWhile palace life is really quite nice in many ways, Princess Anna has found that it’s not all that it’s cracked up to be. She eats the finest kitty food and wears the finest kitty dresses, yet sometimes she longs to sample just a tiny bit of the world outside.

Princess Anna, Original One-of-a-kind White Cat Folk Art Doll Figurine by Max BaileyOn this particular morning, Princess Anna looks out from her window at the white shapes that dot the distant hillside.

Princess Anna, Original One-of-a-kind White Cat Folk Art Doll Figurine by Max Bailey“They can’t be snow,” she thinks aloud, “for winter has come and gone, and the sun has warmed the earth.”

Princess Anna, Original One-of-a-kind White Cat Folk Art Doll Figurine by Max BaileyWhile the palace guards are looking the other way, Princess Anna heads for the hills. She brushes aside the tall grasses that grow in the meadow, and forges ahead.

Princess Anna, Original One-of-a-kind White Cat Folk Art Doll Figurine by Max BaileyShe feels the soft breezes blowing in her hair, and the sun’s rays warming her lovely and determined little face.

Princess Anna, Original One-of-a-kind White Cat Folk Art Doll Figurine by Max BaileyShe is gone for a long time.

Princess Anna, Original One-of-a-kind White Cat Folk Art Doll Figurine by Max BaileyThe palace guards are the first to see her return, triumphantly holding a bouquet of white daisies. They smile at each other and pretend not to see her sneaking back through the side entrance of the palace.

Princess Anna, Original One-of-a-kind White Cat Folk Art Doll Figurine by Max Bailey“The Princess is happy,” the guards pronounce, and nothing further is said about the matter.

Princess Anna, Original One-of-a-kind White Cat Folk Art Doll Figurine by Max BaileyLovely Princess Anna is as white as the daisies she carries. Her eyes are a soft blue, and her nose is a delicate shade of pink. Anna’s flowered red dress has a gold band around the neckline and sleeves, and is adorned with a deep blue ruffle and matching sash that ties neatly in a bow at the back. Her pale gold petticoats can be seen below her hemline.

Princess Anna, Original One-of-a-kind White Cat Folk Art Doll Figurine by Max BaileyI sculpted Princess Anna and her daisy bouquet from paperclay, and used stiffened cotton thread for her royal kitty whiskers. She is an original one-of-a-kind work of art, meant for display only. No molds are ever used in my work.

Princess Anna, Original One-of-a-kind White Cat Folk Art Doll Figurine by Max BaileyThe Princess is completely hand painted with acrylic paints, then 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, and she stands 9 and 1/2 inches tall.

Princess Anna, Original One-of-a-kind White Cat Folk Art Doll Figurine by Max BaileyUpdate: Princess Anna has already been adopted. Thank you!

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Painting my kitten doll

I’m pokey, but I am making progress. Little Ziggy (I’ve decided he’s a boy now) has been coming right along. He’s got a pastel yellow onesie with a periwinkle blue collar and buttons down the front. I’m having quite a time keeping his whiskers white. I’ve had to repaint them a couple of times and I’m sure I will again. Painting thread is not as easy as I might have thought. I think what takes the most time, aside from painting his multitude of kitten hairs, is deciding how I want him to look. He is a stylized version of a kitten after all, and there are plenty of choices to make about how I want to do that. All in all, he’s a cute fellow.

Just an aside…Those are my African violets in the background. They are getting what looks like white mildew on them. I was so glad to be able to get them to survive, and I am not happy about this new turn of events. Does anyone have any experience with this? I read keeping a fan going helps, but it is cold for that! I’ve been trying to get rid of the infected parts, but I seem to be losing the battle 🙁

Another aside…We’re on “vacation” from our eBay store this week, in sympathy for the current eBay boycott. We’ll be posting our new dolls over on our main website. I’m working on expanding our art doll pages over there so people can visit, take a look at available and already adopted dolls, and read their stories. I don’t know if a boycott will have any effect, as I imagine eBay will continue to cost sellers more and more, but I do think the changes to the feedback system are insulting. In the coming months, sellers will no longer be able to leave negative feedback, but buyers will continue to be able to. Personally, we have never left any or received any negative feedback, but whether buyer, seller, or both, we should all be subject to the same policies. To do otherwise is to invite abuse. If eBay wants to reform its feedback system, I believe it would be more fair to do away with the positive, negative, and neutral signs, and just have plain, honest feedback. I believe if eBay users don’t feel threatened by potential punishment for saying what they think, that they will leave more accurate accounts of their transactions. I think that would be much more valid and much more fair to everyone.