Patterson Crow

Nope, I haven't disappeared....

2008-01-31T09:26:00.000-05:00

I've had my house on the market since Thanksgiving, and it's been one fiasco after another. I feel that our selling agent(s) got us to sign a contract, and then basically said "so long, suckers" because they haven't spent a dollar on advertising nor have they made an effort to show the house, and we've had quite a few people come to look at it. I guess lock boxes are the way of the future--you can show a house without ever having to get off your arse.

As far as dollies, I'm slowly moving back to sculpting more "artsy" things. Halloween was promising, I had a very good fall season--but two of my best customers seemed to have gone rotten, leaving no feedback and refusing to respond to my emails. I have no idea what I did. I've always gotten praise from repeat customers, so I don't think they're disappointed in my work. I always package my dolls securely and always throw in a gift (which, in my three years selling dolls online, only one buyer has acknowledged).

So, back to sculpting, I've decided finally to do things I want to do and not things I think people will buy. I'm focusing on getting published (my art and my writing), and really have no desire to sell on ebay, especially with the ridiculous changes--for instance, we can no longer leave negative feedback for deadbeat buyers; the idiots will be out in full force now! Hopefully my disgust with ebay won't get me kicked out of Pfattland, cause I'd hate to be floating through the art abyss by myself again...it's nice to know you have a home, even if you're hardly ever there. We'll see what happens.

Emily--the last weird sister

2007-10-23T15:18:00.001-04:00

...and last Halloween doll of the season (I'll probably be itching to do more come February)

another studio view

2007-10-05T22:49:00.000-04:00

I've been neglecting my fabric dolls to sculpt these little nasties--a few of whom could use some help from an orthodontist. I'm putting together a new collection, shhhhh, don't tell anyone yet. The skull is going to be part of a 2-doll set--the other doll being my favorite artist ever, you know, the one with the unibrow :) I've wanted to create one for a long time--finally mustered up the cojones to do it!

note to Nutmeg: the goblins said they're coming to your brain next--got paperclay? : )

oh! that's Christy's (CC's) peep hamming it up in the background.

took this guy home from work

2007-10-05T22:44:00.001-04:00

I couldn't leave him in the parking lot--someone would run him over, pull him apart or eat him on a dare (lots of teenagers hang out in the plaza). So I took him inside and punched a box full of holes while my co-workers freaked out as he climbed up my apron. Needless to say he did not like the box; though he started eating it. I put him in my crazy trumpet flower vine and he gladly reached out for the leaves, turning to me as if to say "Dude, this is great," before he went on his merry way.

2007-09-22T19:34:00.000-04:00

Take the Quiz here!

Yay! Lizzie's my fav character. Mica always has the coolest stuff on her blog.

Bailey the Bat Cat is available!

2007-09-19T12:28:00.000-04:00

I'm going to try selling a few dolls here and there directly from my blog--it will act as my storefront until my website is finished (it's getting there--I made buttons and thumbnails and everything hehe). A fellow folk artist gave me the idea (great Megs think alike).

So here's Bailey the Bat Cat--she really is a cat, but her ears are so far apart she kinda looks like a bat, i.e. she's really cute :) She also comes with her own vintage looking black cat lantern. With her party hat, she's 28" tall and has a 14" wingspan. She's way too darn cute....and I never say cute! Bailey's adoption fee is $155 plus shipping. If you're interested in giving a home to this party animal just drop me a line--and click on the slideshow to see the full-sized photos :)

Off to enjoy some crisp September air...aaaahhhh :)
Meg

Why I love Photobucket

2007-09-10T10:50:00.001-04:00

Clicking on an image will bring you to the full-sized version

Man; I've been tagged big time....

2007-09-08T17:01:00.000-04:00

First, Zinnie hit me with the name game, then the Whimsy Queen gave me the "nice matters" award which, in all honesty, I had to think about for a minute: was she telling me I should try to be nicer?? Sounded more reasonable to me, but nope, it means she thinks I'm a nice person. That's a nice compliment, though, cause all the Pfatties know Christy is one cool chick. Now who should I send this to....?

I'm not about to share my middle name cause it's blech as far as I'm concerned, so I will use Patterson instead.

P is for patience, as in I have none. Just kidding; I kinda do. I've worked retail for the past 7 years and I have to say I must be patient because I've come across some of the nastiest people and not one has walked out of the store bleeding.

A is for artist, which is what I've always wanted to be. Many thanks to Dad and Poppy and the rest of my German artist ancestors.

T is for tardy, as in I stink at deadlines. Just ask Sandy/Sam I Am. If you're still not convinced ask Dana, my thesis advisor--I'm lucky she hasn't strangled me.

T is for tangential because I walk the many-branched path in life and art. One idea or project always leads me to another, which stems off in yet another direction--I'm not one to come "full-circle".

E is for enlightenment, as in I love learning about everything, unless it's math-related.

R is for restless. Like quite a few other artists who played this game, I don't sleep very well, especially as of late. My dreams are so vivid (and often stupid) that when I wake up I feel as if I've been living two lives and have had no time to rest. Otherwise, I'm bust concocting new doll designs in my head

S is for self-righteous. So much in fact, that it can be a fault. I have a very low tolerance for ignorant, arrogant people. This might not be a good thing because in the end, I believe I'm a better person than the person who thinks they're better than everyone else.

O is for oiseau (it's not cheating, I should get bonus points for using French) as in my budgie, Charlie, who keeps me company while I work on my computer. He starts getting crabby if I ignore him for too long, like now, he's trying to yank his perch out of the wall (while he's sitting on it, of course).

N is for not giving up this time. I am going to continue making dolls and do everything I can to get my name out there without being discouraged by ebay and nasty, cuckoo people.

2007-09-05T21:31:00.000-04:00

I am a
Violet

What Flower
Are You?

This was on Nutmeg's blog. Thought I'd give it a try, too.

What ever happened to that head on a knitting needle?

2007-09-05T21:06:00.001-04:00

She's big red on the left. Doesn't she look purty now?

Miss Eve, the shy white pumpkin is currently on ebay.

2007-08-24T23:24:00.001-04:00

Can't have a blog without a blog banner, right?

Psyched about Halloween in spite of it all...

2007-08-24T11:25:00.000-04:00

Yes, I'm once again feeling sorry for myself from a business standpoint. The market is so fickle sometimes.

I'm working on some Halloween and fall-inspired dolls that, IMHO are my best work in a long time. Seriously thinking about doing Halloween year-round. Also seriously hoping Will is going to update my website, so I can sell my dolls there and on Pfatt Marketplace. Ebay almost always leaves me jaded, and I feel I end up paying an average of $5 each time I list a doll just so people can add it to their watch list. I wish ebay would let a seller view who the watchers are ;) ::snicker::

I'm working on a witch set that so far I'm really happy with, and I'll be sad to see it go... if it goes...bad Meg, be strong! And I created a miniature version of my usual pattern (miniature in my world is about 18", which is normal size to lots of people--power to the girls who can make round-headed dolls smaller than that). What folks don't seem to know or care about is that bigger doll=more material=more $$ to make, so I might do some little-er ones and hopefully not feel so bad if they sell for a song.

Off to spin new dolly ideas.....

Purrity

2007-08-20T19:35:00.000-04:00

A lot of friends and family say that my animal dollies are my strong suit whether they're cats, leaping rabbits, goats, horses or bears....oh, and I made a really nice seal once. Need to see where that pattern is.

This is Purrity the pilgrim kitty. I'm very happy with her. Some of my previous efforts really bombed, but she's given me reason to believe in my abilities again.

double, double, toil and trouble...

2007-08-19T20:10:00.000-04:00

So here's the grisly truth about dolls--they go through headless and body-less periods. And yes, I always impale my heads on a knitting needle :)

The first witch (going to be a set) of the year

Fall is coming...

2007-08-14T23:00:00.000-04:00

and so are new dolls. I nearly gave up this summer. Like other dollmakers I've spoken to, I've had my share of difficult customers in the past; but a regular customer ignoring my invoices for a custom order was the real deal-breaker. I feel bad for the doll and wonder if she knows she's been rejected. Well, she hasn't been rejected; her would-be buyer just chose to spend her $$ on other stuff (note to deadbeats: we do check your feedback and auctions you are currently bidding on). I've moved on, though. But I do believe in karma.

A sudden wind of inspiration pushed me back on track and I'm once again dreaming of dollies. While I'm on my soapbox, I'd like to say thank-you-beyond-imagination to the collectors of not just my dolls, but every folk artist's work who has respected his/her work and realized that a person, not a robot made it. To all the jerks who have tried and/or succeeded to devalue our work, my grandma is going to slap you in back of the head in the sweet hereafter :)

There; I'm stepping down. The Crow is back. And she's no longer taking custom orders ;)

And we're off and running

2007-08-13T22:05:00.000-04:00

If I said I'd never blogged before, I would be lying. I tried. And then I gave up. But, I talked myself into keeping up with the Joneses, so Patterson Crow has yet another website, another url to hold in her claws.

If you're familiar with my dolls and came here to poke around and possibly find out more about the abnormal genius behind every PCrow doll, welcome! :) If you've just stumbled upon me and think you might like to see more, please give these sites a try:
www.pfattmarketplace.com/pattersoncrow
http://members.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewUserPage&userid=pattersoncrow

Happy Dollmaking and Happy Doll Collecting,
Cheers and all the best,