Reya was drawn to the kitchen last night by the smell of plantains being cooked by my fiancee. Plantains have become our latest cooking craze. The last one was kale with fennel. We just like cooking easy, yummy things.
It's taken some time but I think Fran is starting to warm up to Reya. Initially all the Blythe dolls in general creeped him out. My plan, though is to get him involved in an extensive shooting project so that he might unconscionably broaden his perspective a bit.
To me, Blythe is to the mainstream what Bjork is to America. American mainstream doesn't have a very good sense of irony or thinking outside the box for that matter. It's why they've never really been able to appreciate jazz the way Europe did.
When I first heard Bjork, I thought she sounded like a dying cow because I was listening to her with Whitney Houston ears which you simple cannot do. Bjork comes from another planet but she uses our language to allow us into her world and show that she's not really that strange at all. That's what artists do.
When I first met Blythe, it was in the London Design Museum. I happened upon Gina Garan's "This is Blythe" in the Museum gift shop and while my mind was like "What the heck is this?" I was jumping up and down inside, because I was experiencing something so outside the realm of anything my "Barbie" conditioning could capture. That doesn't happen often but I love it when it does.
I don't believe you can create anything important inside a vacuum. And I don't believe you can't create anything important if you insist on remaining always within your comfort zone. You have to go out and get shaken up a bit or shake yourself up if you can.
...wow, that was a bit too deep for a Blythe blog. I promise, next time I'll talk about ordering more clothes and maybe a couch? It could happen.
: )
For love of Blythe and other dolly wonders...
Friday, January 8, 2010
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Happy New Blog Banner!
Of course there's always room for improvement and I welcome any criticism or helpful ideas. I whipped these three up on flickr today (at work actually) and I'm going with the top one for now. I've been dying to have a banner instead of that generic old blogspot (love ya Bloggger!) title on the left. I've seen other blogs with better more beautiful, banners filled with personality and design and always wondered how they did it. I asked a brilliant web designing friend of mine for help and he gave me some instructions and a few pointers. I can't wait to do more.
Monday, January 4, 2010
Mail, Projects, Ideas, The latest
HAPPY NEW YEAR BLYTHERS AND BLYTHE LOVERS!
BLYTHE 365Number 1 of 365
So on flickr, there is a group called Blythe 365. The point of this picture pool is to choose one of your Blythes and commit to taking a picture of her a day, everyday for a year, no matter what and submit each one, each day to that pool. It helps of course to make a set in your own account, eg 365 Days of "BlytheDoll" so you can look at your own progress as you go. I've observed with great admiration and awe as many of my own flickr friends and contacts do this (Hello Jenny is one of my favorite 365ers) and have been considering it for the past few months or so, especially near the end of this summer. I even did a 365 audition where I took pics of the five trying to figure out pros and cons of their photogenic abilities and which one would I be able to make this commitment to for a year! I mean I take pictures of them a lot but only when I feel like it. This would mean having to be inventive even when I'm wiped out and pissy, bored or overwhelmingly busy but I love what I've seen come out of this project.
You get this really funny, creative and often inspiring narrative, not only of a doll but also of the photographer. I love it. So I kinda bit the bullet last week and named Reya the winner not only because I adore her but because she is notoriously problematic to photograph. Her dark color makes we work extra hard to find the right lighting for ideal exposures of her and it's a genuine challenge. When I get it right, I feel really accomplished. So there's that. I am presently on day 4. I guess I should start posting the pics here so you can watch the fun. We'll see. : )
In other news, there are some other projects at hand and some mail that should be arriving soon but I swear, I've been bargain shopping! On the way are:
-Green converse (used on Plastic Paradise)
-Rollerskate shoes (used on Plastic Paradise)
-A cheerleading outfit I found on Ebay Singapore (Don't ask. I stumbled on it)
-Three plastic headbands by cupcakecozy (Hello Jenny) on etsy
-Two mini Lucky Blythe Magazines by confettilexi
Okay, that does sound like a lot but trust me, they are all very affordable.
Emily has been wearing a blue bob wig since I removed her scalp this summer and I love it but it's time to do a permanent re-reoot on her old scalp so I ordered some Saran hair for her from My Little Customs last month. They have the largest online selection of dolls hair I've seen thus far and they're displayed so well, it's like looking at candy. The hair I ordered is this amazing color changing orange. It's heat sensitive and when touched changes from a dark orange to a bright yellow!! Weeeee!!! But before I can get all excited about the color changing abilities of hair I have to perfect my lock and loop re-root technique which I failed miserably to do with Reya. But that was because I used human hair. I hear that Saran synthetic hair is much easier.
And last but not least I am increasingly more curious about these Blythe Doll knock offs called Blybes. Some collectors have begun to embrace her as a doll that's more affordable and ideal for customization. Collectors with similar interests have been experimenting the two types of knock off, CCEs and Blybes to see which is more compatible with a better quality Takara or Lica Blythe body. I will wait until I see a really good looking one before I attempt a Blybe re-make myself but I've been itching to design another doll of color and the Blybe may be a great way to start.
BLYTHE 365Number 1 of 365
So on flickr, there is a group called Blythe 365. The point of this picture pool is to choose one of your Blythes and commit to taking a picture of her a day, everyday for a year, no matter what and submit each one, each day to that pool. It helps of course to make a set in your own account, eg 365 Days of "BlytheDoll" so you can look at your own progress as you go. I've observed with great admiration and awe as many of my own flickr friends and contacts do this (Hello Jenny is one of my favorite 365ers) and have been considering it for the past few months or so, especially near the end of this summer. I even did a 365 audition where I took pics of the five trying to figure out pros and cons of their photogenic abilities and which one would I be able to make this commitment to for a year! I mean I take pictures of them a lot but only when I feel like it. This would mean having to be inventive even when I'm wiped out and pissy, bored or overwhelmingly busy but I love what I've seen come out of this project.
You get this really funny, creative and often inspiring narrative, not only of a doll but also of the photographer. I love it. So I kinda bit the bullet last week and named Reya the winner not only because I adore her but because she is notoriously problematic to photograph. Her dark color makes we work extra hard to find the right lighting for ideal exposures of her and it's a genuine challenge. When I get it right, I feel really accomplished. So there's that. I am presently on day 4. I guess I should start posting the pics here so you can watch the fun. We'll see. : )
In other news, there are some other projects at hand and some mail that should be arriving soon but I swear, I've been bargain shopping! On the way are:
-Green converse (used on Plastic Paradise)
-Rollerskate shoes (used on Plastic Paradise)
-A cheerleading outfit I found on Ebay Singapore (Don't ask. I stumbled on it)
-Three plastic headbands by cupcakecozy (Hello Jenny) on etsy
-Two mini Lucky Blythe Magazines by confettilexi
Okay, that does sound like a lot but trust me, they are all very affordable.
Emily has been wearing a blue bob wig since I removed her scalp this summer and I love it but it's time to do a permanent re-reoot on her old scalp so I ordered some Saran hair for her from My Little Customs last month. They have the largest online selection of dolls hair I've seen thus far and they're displayed so well, it's like looking at candy. The hair I ordered is this amazing color changing orange. It's heat sensitive and when touched changes from a dark orange to a bright yellow!! Weeeee!!! But before I can get all excited about the color changing abilities of hair I have to perfect my lock and loop re-root technique which I failed miserably to do with Reya. But that was because I used human hair. I hear that Saran synthetic hair is much easier.
And last but not least I am increasingly more curious about these Blythe Doll knock offs called Blybes. Some collectors have begun to embrace her as a doll that's more affordable and ideal for customization. Collectors with similar interests have been experimenting the two types of knock off, CCEs and Blybes to see which is more compatible with a better quality Takara or Lica Blythe body. I will wait until I see a really good looking one before I attempt a Blybe re-make myself but I've been itching to design another doll of color and the Blybe may be a great way to start.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
115/365: rainy day reading
confittilexi makes these cute mini Blythe mags. I LOVE THEM! I LOVE THEM! I LOVE THEM!!! What fantastic photo props! Just thought I'd share.
: )
: )
Friday, January 1, 2010
Blybe doll ANOTHER FAKE!!!!
So there are these fake Blythe Dolls on the market. I'd heard a little about them a while ago. I think I saw a pic posted on someone's flickr acount but I didn't understand exactly what I was looking at.
There are two models, CCE and believe it or not "Blybe." Ha! Anyway I was just surfing around the flickr Blythe circuit and have heard some really good things about them from Blythe experts who oughta know and some really bad things too. As you can see from the pics, they are really close on Blythe doll face mold. On first look I wouldn't be able to tell the difference. But the difference is there. The quality of the hair looks terrible for the most part, the eyes holes are different and the eyes or eye chips in some instances are smaller or duller in color. I'm not crazy about the bodies but I do like the that arms raise up and swivel around. The other good thing is the price.
These gals run from as low as 24 bucks on ebay! That's almost worth it just to see what they look like in person and possibly customize them to your liking. But I've also heard that some have arrived in terrible condition, that arms and legs fall off or one is shorter than the other. How awful.
But I dunno. I'm curious. True, their outfits look terribly cheesy but some of them look really cute too! Well, stay tuned while I continue to do some more research. I'd like to know as much about this as possible before I decide to buy a Blythe fake.
There are two models, CCE and believe it or not "Blybe." Ha! Anyway I was just surfing around the flickr Blythe circuit and have heard some really good things about them from Blythe experts who oughta know and some really bad things too. As you can see from the pics, they are really close on Blythe doll face mold. On first look I wouldn't be able to tell the difference. But the difference is there. The quality of the hair looks terrible for the most part, the eyes holes are different and the eyes or eye chips in some instances are smaller or duller in color. I'm not crazy about the bodies but I do like the that arms raise up and swivel around. The other good thing is the price.
These gals run from as low as 24 bucks on ebay! That's almost worth it just to see what they look like in person and possibly customize them to your liking. But I've also heard that some have arrived in terrible condition, that arms and legs fall off or one is shorter than the other. How awful.
But I dunno. I'm curious. True, their outfits look terribly cheesy but some of them look really cute too! Well, stay tuned while I continue to do some more research. I'd like to know as much about this as possible before I decide to buy a Blythe fake.
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