no fathers were scalped in the creation of this map

[thanate]

Something for the doll people, or rather, those who have "grown-up" dolls, potentially in larger numbers than I, because I want to see what other people do with this. First, the backstory:

Once upon a time, Catherynne M Valente wrote a short story called Palimpsest, which is strange and interesting (and definitely PG+, as part of the concept revolves around mix & match sex, although I don't find it off-puttingly graphic, and my tolerance is fairly low) Some time later, the story grew up to become a novel (of the same name, to be released on the 25th) and the authoress and a great many of her artistic partners in crime are banding together to make a wild and amazing book tour with performance art and train rides and all sorts of crazy carnival atmosphere (the original launch party post is here, although it's now being held in a different location, since their first space flaked on them) And there were calls for artists. With a deadline. Which... is a thing I am learning to consider a great gift; at any rate, because I tend to think about dolls, and have an inordinate fascination with little body parts and painting on them (*cough* Ava's hands *cough*) I came up with this:



(yes, Miss Beryl has new hair. and a face. there are more pictures of that as well, but they're for a later post)


(some few of you might recognize the map, also... it is NoVa local and within 10 miles of me; one of those traffic patterns we all know and wonder why they thought it was a good idea...)

...but I have also an insidious desire to steal a few of someone else's dolls to quarter together (without ink, I promise) and play with cameras. And so, I wondered what other people might come up with, given the concept and the prodding to contemplate it. So, go read the story! (prod, prod)

Comments

[grauwulf.livejournal.com]

did the sealant take this time?

[thanate.livejournal.com]

yes-- that was on saturday. I re-sprayed the base coat, re-painted, and then re-sealed, so it was just the cording that I had to do after leaving your place.

[laeticiav.livejournal.com]

I loooooooove her hair! Also, I am delighted by the use of the hand, which was sitting there so sadly in a drawer for so long. The light, colors and textures in that first photograph are very striking. I bet you made that lovely green dress, also.
I wish we lived closer to one another so we could have a doll photography weekend (how fun would that be?). If we could find a good location and round up a bunch of the east coast doll people, I would be all over it.
You know I'd even let you draw on my dolls (I do! Remember the Faun's tattoo?) because well, they are just that kind of doll.
"And so, I wondered what other people might come up with, given the concept and the prodding to contemplate it." -- are you talking about the concept of a doll round up or how we might scribble on our dolls? Both excellent concepts.

I want a tattoo (for me or a doll) of Genesis 3.5 in the Vulgate Latin: aperientur oculi vestri et eritis sicut dii because I've always thought that eating the fruit was a good thing, not a bad one.

[kittymaru.livejournal.com]

Yay Latin text. I think your idea sounds fantastic. Doll photo weekend in pretty pplaces, and then we can all go out for dinner at a local dive with the dolls and let everyone stare or something. I'm in, for sure.


Martel had ink that read "Fecit potentiam in brachio suo" but I goofed with the MSC and it had to go. Replaced with "fiat voluntas tua" and again, I goofed. So I gave up. Bad doll, no biscuit.

[kittymaru.livejournal.com]

Ava's hands like that map. They also want to see more Beryl.


(If that wasn't weird, I dunno what is.)

[grauwulf.livejournal.com]

right, I just remember you saying something about how the sealer would go bad (bubbling wasn't it?), or otherwise mess up as it dried, so I was curious if it really took this time. Looks nice.

[ashbet]

I like this plan as well!

And she is just lovely . . . wow.

-- A <3

[thanate.livejournal.com]

It dries in minutes, if that; the issue was trying to spray when it was too cold out, which caused it to cloud and mess up the texture.

[thanate.livejournal.com]

Oh, you missed the dress! Yes, there's a long series of "look, I made my doll a pretty dress" pictures on DOA. And of course two different people said "ooh, you should do commissions" and I had to point out that there's no way I can do a fitted 14th c for a doll I haven't got in front of me. Sigh.

We should totally do a mini doll con, possibly invite-only, somewhere central-ish with nice backdrops and things. Know any good botanical gardens or historic towns in... northern PA or central/south NY state, maybe? Or we could start a series, in a variety of places.

Actually, the ink I meant was for the quartering; if you read the story, the bit before you get a mysteriously appearing map tattooed on your skin involves being bound together with red cords to 3 other people while you all sit with your feet in tubs of ink, a thing which... very few dolls would survive gracefully. Although there's always water, and photoshop, I suppose.

And finally (I swear, I should just have written you an e-mail! this is long!) I think I wrote two or three different papers over my academic "career" about the whole apple deal being a bait and switch, given that a) if you don't know the difference between good and evil, how can you be expected to understand doing as you're told, and b) you can't grow up unless you leave the garden anyway, and what kind of god doesn't want his creations to grow up, anyway? Which is of course a textbook case of applying modern though to ancient material, but I still feel it's a reasonable point.

[doll-paparazzi.livejournal.com]

Love all the textures in these shots and I especially LOVE that wig.

[thanate.livejournal.com]

Yeah, for someone whose first dolly love involved tattoos, I've got an awful lot of blank resin. (and I nearly sent you a link to the story weeks ago with some little prompting about Maya and sexually transmitted cities, only then I was busy being sick and never got around to it, which is sad.)

More Beryl is picked out and on my computer; I just haven't resized it yet. Soon. (and Puck has a pony!)

Weird? What's that? ;)

[thanate.livejournal.com]

We could start a semi-informal series of mid-atlantic doll gathers, carefully staged at the northern and southern ends of mid-atlantic to include those farther out. ;D

thanks. As I said, there are more pictures.

[ashbet]

BTW, the story is *lovely* -- I really enjoyed reading it, and passed it on to one of my Dearly Beloveds ^_^

-- A <3

[thanate.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I'm still not entirely sure if it was really worth the, um... 10 or 15 hours of my time that went into it, but I'm really happy with how it turned out.

[ashbet]

And did you send the pictures to yuki_onna??!?

-- A :D

[thanate.livejournal.com]

Um... not yet? I was going to put up the whole set I'd picked out somewhere first.

(I've already done my being brave enough to pretend I'm interacting with strangers for today, when I wrote her a note saying I had art for her book launch...)