Too behind - but looking ahead

I am so hopelessly behind on blogging - it's not even funny. And seeing that I go back to work in little more than week, I don't even see myself catching up... Which is ironic as I've been quite good at taking pictures, so now I'm under piles and piles of quality photos that need to be uploaded, posted, blogged... Ugh. Well, I guess it's better than no pictures at all - seeing that my primary joy of BJD play comes from picture-taking ;)

Anyway, since catching up is kind of a useless dream here, I want to share with y'all what I'm looking forward to - maybe - owning one day, some new discoveries that captured my heart, and new artists - or at least new to me.

First of all, Triffony. She is an amazing Russian BJD maker, her primary medium is porcelain, but recently she has sent off this beauty:

Sphinx cat (Flickr)

to be casted and now I can hope to maybe own her doll one day. Although it's not my favorite mold by her. My favorite is this sweet little creature:


Морошка на Ярмарке Мастеров

She has many sisters-"berries" and I love them all. Would love to welcome one of them home... But they are all cast in porcelain only, for now. Maybe one day?..

Then, I discovered Dust of Dolls. I knew about them for a very long time... Much longer than even Trifonova, whom I've been following for about half a year now. I hadn't allowed myself to really pay attention to their dolls - for financial and personal reasons - but now I have. In fact, on my way to LDoll, I'm setting up schemes to get one of their dolls - if I cannot get my main grail...

They have recently released some new dolls and I really love them. The first one especially... But they are all great. Click through to their blog, you can see more pictures of each and posts about them - here, I'm just giving a few teasers ;)







And aforementioned grail would be, of course, an Okaeri by Tarte au Citron. She is hard at work creating some for LDoll, in fact she recently posted a couple of them casted from a new mold:



Under the cut, I'll just post really quick a few pictures from my art-doll wishlist.. Just click on them if you're interested, they all mostly come from the artists' Flickr streams:

Candice

It's been a while since I posted anything... Sometimes, some people in this hobby make me wonder if I even want to be a part of it. Then I look around, and, well, I see my dolls and other things that bring me joy, and I realize that even though sharing is a huge part of it, for me, I can do without it. So I do without for a while... And this blog does without me :) Then I forget/forgive/bump into somebody awfully nice or chat with an old friend and get back to my social self. Whatever degree of 'social' it usually is :))

So this is a birthday gift from me to me :) Purchased on my birthday, arrived on the day I went out to celebrate. Here's artist's description, obtained here:


Candice BJD HANDMADE by ~Lesmerveillesdeflora on deviantART

"This is Candice, it's my first BJD handmade, she's in polymer clay! His members are all articulated like a traditional BJD, with an interior elastic, measurements: 26cm height
His clothes are handmade too, (by myself), his eyes are in resin, and with synthetics hair, she was created with love! she's available! If you are interested, please contact me !"

I was interested and I did! Now she is a part of my collection. Here are some box opening shots:



Doesn't it look like a Tetris game? ;) Also, note doll stand. Candice can stand with careful balancing, but for permanent display, a stand is much safer.

Shademon Trickster by Remjie

If you are into art dolls and critters, you surely know Remjie. This link will take you to her dA, but she also has a site with things for sale - Remjie.com only her dolls are usually sold within, like, minutes. There used to be times when I would see the doll show up at her site and be gone in five minutes, literally! Only more expensive once stick around for days sometimes. But this one (the one dA link opens to), it stayed there and stayed there. I think its been a month? Other dolls would come and go, and he would still be listed for sale. And one day I looked at him and realized: he was waiting for me to get him. So the first chance i had, I did.

And now he's settling in on my art doll shelf :) Here are some more shots of him - and his story by the artist can be read here ::::











Onto some more exciting news (err, not more exciting, more news :))) - Remjie recently had a slot open for a pre-order. Which she never does. No pre-orders, no commissions. One slot. And it IS MINE. She will make a mini-doro for me, with olive-green fur and dark-green undertones to her face and neon-green eyes. She is really working out great and her name will be Gaia <3 (ok, off the starry-eyed fan-girl mode, LOL) I got to pick the species and colors. For general reference, this is what a doro looks like (mini-doro is the smaller one, obviously ;))


Ellu_and_Akua by =Remjie-Malham on deviantART

Circus of Wonder

It's been a while since I wrote about the dolls that changed my life. Dolls that connected me with the best and closest friend I ever had. Dolls that are simply different from any other company or artist dolls. Dolls made by Nefer Kane.

I'm not going to say much. I'm just going to show them off - all of them I own, including even Iracebeth I no longer have. These are all the molds Nefer released before Nexeven. Now we ar all waiting on the ethereal wonder that Nexeven is, and then - then, there are many surprises in store. More than any budget can fit, actually :) Go to circuskane.com and look at the latest blog post - you will be blown away by the amount of innovation Nafar can cram into one single doll, and by the number of dolls Nefer can create at the same time - while keeping them unique and different,

So, wordless (almost) tribute to my Nefer Kane Circus...

Willow's first photoshoot

Well, Willow arrived and already managed to wreck havoc in her storyline First, she informed me in no uncertain terms that Ivy, her sister, will also be coming to stay. Then, she didn't want to be a spirit of the swamp - she said Ivy can be that, she's taking meadow. Finally, she didn't want the name I prepared for her and made me choose something else, based on her Irish heritage. So now she is Four-leaf Clover, or simply Clover among friends. I'm going to call her my Lucky Charm though.

Next I rummaged through my stock of clothes and wigs to get something presentable for her. This Jpop wig was simply meant to be: it's a perfect fit to the color of her eyebrows and and amazing match for her deep-green eyes. To me, she looks a little Irish in it.

Buzz the Bee, Clover's pet, is going to be a girl named Maja, after a cartoon character (a bee) I used to like as a kid. And Ivy, in keeping with Irish theme, is going to be Foggy Dew (just Dew among friends).

Her dress is an oversized MSD top and it doesn't fit perfectly, but it has bees all over it so it will have to stay!

Willow's Box Opening

My precious little Impling showed up on my doorstep today, and her timing was so perfect, I even got to open her immediately! For the records of her joyous adoption, follows her box opening.
She was packed with lots of TLC. Here is the box after all the packing material was taken out, with Willow and Buzz in their traveling blankets together with a little souvenir from Sarah:

Buzz came out first:

Isn't he precious?

In my sister's palm for size comparison:

Now, Willow's turn. Here's her lovely cozy blanky:

All wrapped up securely:

And - free at last:

And a close-up:

She set up camp in my light box straight away, awaiting a proper shot tomorrow:

With Buzz:

Giveaway by a great teddy artist

I just bought a cuddly bear (actually little devil...) from this artist, but her style is so varied, I really wouldn't mind to have another one! Drop by to enter the giveaway:

http://ele-penzeva.blogspot.de/2013/01/blog-post_5513.html?m=1

Sophia (by Bo Bergemann)

I did not have any doll money left.

Moreover, I did not even like Bo Bergemann dolls until now.

And then I saw her... This is the photo that made me discover all about Bo Bergemann, dig her site up, decide that I indeed liked and LOVED her sculpts, contact Bo, and even order another doll because no way I was paying £450 for this one, although she's worth every shilling:


But then I kept on coming back to Sophia's listing. And I saw her price go down to £400. More than fair, a steal for a full-set doll with an artist face-up! But I had no money to spare, period. But even so, I was so tempted I actually started writing a message to the seller (but later deleted it). Twice.

Then something breathtakingly amazing happened. Something so magical I can hardly explain. I think i will write a separate post about it... You see, I had money set aside to buy Nefer Kane's Nexeven. If you go read her story, you'll know why I had to have her, no ifs or buts. However... one night when I was down, sad, depressed and drowning, Nefer lifted me up spiritually. And not only that. She giftedme Nexeven.

Well, that night I could only cry tears of joy and gratitude. The next night, however, I was out there looking at Sophia again. And I saw her price come down to £350!!!

I wrote the message to the seller instantly, and sent it that time. And upon her reply (pretty much instant) paid her - with the money I had set aside for Nexeven previously. And the doll was delivered today.

Unfortunately, my baby boy (3 months old) also got his first set of shots today. So there are no good photos to display, but the box opening ones with a mandatory backdrop of my comforter :) are here for your viewing "pleasure" (behind the fold). And HERE you can read more about this doll's amazing body, appropriately called Dream Doll body. There will be a new doll using it, coming soon - Emily. But now, more of my gorgeous full-set Sophia:

BJD 30-day Challenge: Day 21

Q: One doll you love, but will never (probably) buy?

A: Not one doll, but rather the whole brand: I really love Kaye Wiggs' dolls, they are unusual and well-made and 'solid', as in, do not look or feel fragile... But even then, I don't get, I simply don't, why the heck are they so expensive. One doll runs upward of 700, and they can be over 2000 on secondary market. Shoot me in the head... Even the clothes people make for them, although beautiful and usually very high quality, can easily run 200 and more. So as much as I love them - I'll probably never buy one. I may ask for a gift... But that is too much even for a birthday present, really.

BJD 30-day Challenge: Day 18

So, exactly a month after having a baby, I am happily making my way back to this blog - kind of easing into it with this meme as my time is still very limited...
Q: what is your favorite BJD company?
A: Taking 'company' in a strict definition of a business with several employees, palace that mass-produces their dolls from start to finish (including casting and so on all the way to face-up), my favorite has to be, hands down, Fairyland. Their dolls are really easy on the eye (although more cute than beautiful, frankly), they pose wonderfully - practically the best in every size range, from RealPuki to an SD. By the way, they are making those amazing RealPuki!! And if that's not enough, their prices are very very reasonable, for the industry, that is.
Now if we stretch the definition of a company to lone artists who may not cast their own dolls, but sculpt and face-up them and who have their own brands and stores... The winner is, of course, French artist I am honored to call a friend - Nefer Kane (CircusKane is her company's name). She is amazing! As a person, as an artist... Her dolls are special and all unique. Right now, for example, Iracebeth the Red Queen is on pre-order:




There has not been a doll by Nefer that I didn't want! :)

"I love to tell The Story"...

I am one of those people who never had a celebrity crush. All those famous, talented, amazing and amazingly rich, all those brilliant and powerful - they travel orbits too high for me to ever relate to. I feel like we are from two different kinds of humanity, not even the same species, really, - and so, even though I profoundly admire many, I do not particularly want to express this admiration to any of them directly. Fan letters? They are almost never read by celebrities themselves; you will be extra-lucky if an assistant or some especially appointed secretary reads your epistle - most likely, even they won't read, but will automatically send back a picture with an autograph or something. So, to all those actors and writers and artists I admire, the best type of 'fan mail' - in my opinion - is a couple of dollars that will be added to their millions if I buy their products. I go by this rule even with the stars of my own hobby-world, BJD artists who may not have millions in their accounts - but still are, in my opinion, people far too busy and important (I mean it sincerely) to develop a personal relationship with everyone who's into their art. For somebody so talented that their creations are one step away from life, there is always a crowd lined up to express their well-deserved admiration, and I just don't like crowds :) But recently, an artist whose artwork I ordered has touched my very soul so deeply that I broke my own rules. Her name (possibly not her real name, but the one she uses on the Net) is Nefer Kane.

So, as to the story... I was looking at J-pop dolls and noticed they offer a doll by Nefer Kane - then, the name was new to me. To be honest with you, I didn't order that doll for it was way too expensive for me after just pre-ordering The Mushroom Peddler's Willow, - but I decided to check out the author's other works anyway because I always like to see new artists that make unusual dolls. I saw that she had a tiny (10cm) doll for pre-order, and I got her ordered because I literally fell in love. Imagine a plump(ish) smily elf the size of a RealPuki, named Suzy... Although, why imagine? This is her prototype I saw:

Suzy
It also helped in my decision-making process that Nefer offered 3-month layaway :) I also loved Humpty (that's the doll below), but she was already all sold out.

Humpty Dumpty

Anyway, my story isn't really about dolls. As I was wandering about, checking out the links, I found an article about Nefer and her artistic journey, and it
really struck me at my deepest core. Here is the link to an article I read:
http://www.bjdcollectasy.com/articles/nefer-kane.html
But let me quote one part that will instantly tell you, if you know me and my life, why I felt this special connection:
Nefer Kane is a single mother of two boys, Louis and Arnaud. When her younger son Arnaud was diagnosed with autism, she and her children were forced to move in with her parents. Devastated, Nefer became distant from her friends, and spent most of her time taking care of her sons. As a child, Nefer had originally wanted to become a writer. She attempted to write in her spare time, but none of her projects panned out. She suffered from guilt over burdening her parents with her problems, and felt that Arnaud’s autism was somehow her fault. She also felt that a part of herself had been lost. “There’s a scientific fact which demonstrates that every human being, whatever his age, gender, weight, height, religion, origin, looses 21 grams at the very moment of his death. Some say that it is the weight of the soul. I do believe so. There is a great movie about this called '21 Grams'. 21 grams is the weight of a chocolate bar, of 5 coins, of a hummingbird. The weight of my Hummingbird; the weight of my soul I lost. because this is what happened to me, my profound guilt made me lose my soul.”

After I placed the pre-order, I had to send her an e-mail to confirm my address; I also needed to ask her when the payment for face up and body blushing (I want it all to be done by her, start to finish, for the doll to be completely her creation) was due. As I wrote that business-required piece of mail, I couldn't resist to tell her how her life story touched me and how I felt I could understand her, because of my daughter. Well, she wrote back to me. Respectful of the privacy of that personal correspondence, I cannot quote her reply here, but just know this: she was incredibly kind to me. And first of all, she did write back - despite of me being just one of thousands of fans and hundreds of customers.

She offered to paint my doll for free, but more importantly, she acknowledged our connection, she shared the special feeling of resonance I had, and needless to say, this letter blew me away. Of course I wrote back to her saying how kind she was with her offer, but I think that to get this kind of a reply from her is even a greater gift to me than to save on a face up. She is this special, artistic person, and I - I only can appreciate the beauty others create. And to think that I could say something that touched her, it's just overwhelming to me. Now when I get that doll - Suzy - she will be a lot more special to me than the whole rest of my collection. Although I already think about things I could sell to also adopt this beauty:

Maheya

Yes, I am a fan, of the most pathetic kind. But the artist who inspires me is not so out of reach that we cannot talk or can just discuss business. She's real, like the earth clay she likes to work with; her talent shows in her interaction with people as well as her art, and I am very happy my first (and hopefully only) fangirl crush is on her :)

/ All pictures linked in this post belong to Nefer Kane and are taken from her blog /