Spirit Doll Making Day @ my Studio

Yesterday I facilitated a day of creating Spirit Dolls at my studio.  I have been gathering with some old friends, colleagues from my days of teaching at the J.C every 4 months or so and leading art making days.  This time we created spirit dolls, using pre made stuffed muslin dolls, and transforming them into Spirit Dolls, with each individual letting a guide of some sort come through in the process. It was an engaging and fun day of expressive art making.  Again and again this brings me to the thought of somehow finding a way to focus on promoting Expressive Art Making Party Days for groups of women and their friends and families.  Here are some photos of the process and dolls that emerged.

After  molding and shaping faces out of sculpey, and putting them in the toaster over to bake, everyone began to focus on decorating their doll bodies.  
Some people painted the forms with watercolors or fabric paint, while others decorated the bodies with marker pens.  

When the faces were cool, they were painted as well as had hair or head pieces created for them.

Then  we were on to clothing them, as well as giving them chakras and any other healing attributes that added to their energy, and popped up out of the imagination.

They continued to evolve over the course of the day as each person played with the possibilities.  The imaginal world was in full bloom as each person's inner child had a field day with the doll making process.

This dolls carries a mask with it, to take on or put off as needed.

Tana's magical inner guide.

Gail created two dolls to give to her granddaughter Raven who is in the hospital with a serious health condition.  Although she had to leave early with her other grandbaby Katie, she is well on her way to completing the dolls, with the small one done, representing Katie and the large one' who will be Raven, having her face molded and ready to be added to the larger doll.  They will be given to Raven so she can play with and hold her baby sister while in the hospital, to keep her company and be a source of comfort as she continues her challenging health procedures.

I am so happy to have been able to facilitate this process for her and her dear grand mother and my friend Gail.

This day made me want to do this more often, what a magical, healing and playful day of artmaking.