Playing with dolls

 A few years back, I tried my hand at making a few Spirit Dolls... something I think I came across on Pinterest - my favorite rabbit hole! 😉  I think I made about 4 or 5, but they weren't big sellers either at Arts Connection or at our annual Open Studios tour, so I hung them in my studio and moved on.  But recently, my interest came back... my thought being this might be something that would be of interest at Sedona Artist Market Gallery.  I sent pictures to the gallery manager, and she said "sure, bring them!" so I dug out my supplies and started making them again.  

This reminds me of when I was  a kid - during the summer, we would spend time with my paternal grandmother, who was a quilter.  Grandma Doane let me raid her fabric stash for scraps I could use to "make" doll clothes, which was pretty much wrapping them around the doll and tying them with another strip of fabric... fast forward, and I think my time "Playing with dolls" stayed with me, and I'm right back there playing with scraps of fabric, yarn, ribbon... you name it!  Here's the first one I finished recently:

I named her "Dancing in the Moonlight" - I used a crescent moon earring for a pendant, and have added some star sequins to her "hair".

Here's a closer view

This is "Lady Bountiful" - I actually made her a few years ago, but did some more work on her this week to add to her appeal.  I had scraps of fabric collage I made a few years back, and decided she needed a small purse.

This is another one I made a few years ago - the one I sent a photo of to the gallery manager.  I call her "Colorful Soul", and she makes me think of Mardi Gras... festive!

I have my stash of wood branches, fabric and yarn, as well as some other "faces" that I bought from Lyn Belisle of EarthShards.com.  Lyn says "The evocative Shard Faces originated in old sculpture gardens and cemeteries and were carefully and respectfully captured in clay with a press mold".

I do hope to make some of my own faces using push molds for future projects, but will use up the ones I got from her first.  Meanwhile, the never ending fabric stash will keep me going for a long time to come!