My friends! I'm afraid I've been keeping a secret from you for a year and now it's time to come clean. I want to show you something I've been developing. This!
Behold: A large, ball-jointed, porcelain doll! And she is going to be beautiful! And, very expensive. This is my first face prototype, with the rest of the body still to be molded. I'm especially excited about the potential for detail this scale will allow me. Just imagine the kind of mind-bogglingly detailed tattoos I can engrave on her body! Or the eyes I could paint! I'm almost dizzy with new creative possibilities.
But there are plenty of challenges too. I still don't know if the large porcelain parts can handle this scale without totally deforming during firing. Even tiny parts tend to sag and warp during firing, and have to be routinely discarded because they no longer fit their respective ball-joints, so I'm very apprehensive about all this work having been for nothing when I fire a torso, or a leg and learn that this doll can not be made due to severe sag.
Face painting too, was more of a challenge than I anticipated. It was a totally different ball game than painting a tiny face. I struggled a lot with eyes and lips, but I expect I will get better and better the more I practice. Quantity eventually transcends into quality.
Unfortunately, I won't find out if the project works a few months from now, until I fire and inspect all the parts for sag. But, I'm going all in regardless; Buying a large kiln, making the parts and having an electrician install install a new plug especially for it. All of that could turn out to be a colossal waste of resources and effort, but that's the price of admission to being an artist.
No risk, no innovation. Wish me luck.
