ArtFire

This unique one of a kind plush Masquerade Cat art doll was sewn by hand using purple, blue, and white faux fur with a long nap. She stands 17 inches tall, and measures 10 inches tall when seated. She's stuffed with a combination of polyester fiberfill and plastic beads for weight. He body and head are stuffed firmly, while her arms and legs are loosely filled with beads. This allows her to be put into various poses. Her eyes are yellow plastic safety cat eyes. She's ready for the Masquerade Ball, wearing her fancy mask, earrings, and necklace. I used Pardo polymer clay for the mask and jewelry, which are hand sculpted. The mask was sculpted from blue clay with pink and purple clay appliques, and then stamped for added detail. A blue glass bead is secured to the top of the mask. I used Blackberry Glass Effect Gel to highlight the appliques and top of the mask. I used glow in the dark paint around the eyes. I added Pearlizing Medium to the glaze to really highlight the stamped areas of the mask. The earrings and necklace were sculpted from purple clay and glow in the dark clay. I stamped designs into the purple clay, then filled the impressions with the Glass Effect Gel after baking. The earrings have deep blue fire polished glass beads on them, and the pendant on the necklace has a red glass bead on the end. I combined and altered patterns from Roberta Schecter and Billie Heisler to create this one of a kind art doll. This piece is not intended for young children.

There were several inspirations for this piece, which is my first art doll. My kitten, Calcifer, was one inspiration. He's a Maine Coone Cat, and VERY soft and fluffy. I wanted to make something that was (almost) as soft as him. I also wanted to capture the look of his giant fuzzy tail, which is where the big blue tail comes in. Another inspiration was opening Soft Dolls & Animals magazine and seeing a pattern by Roberta Schecter for a Jester doll. I changed the Jester into a cat and used the pattern for Billie Heisler's Flower Fairy Bear head (altered a bit) to make the cat's head. And the final inspiration was the upcoming Masquerade Ball Challenge for the Polymer Clay Smooshers guild. That's where the mask and jewelry come in. Those are completely my own design.

faux fur fabric, plastic safety cat eyes, polymer clay, glow in the dark paint, glass effect gel, pearlizing medium, gloss glaze, glass beads, polyester fiberfill, plastic pellets, jewelry findings