Becoming a craftess

I've been enjoying getting crafty with recycled materials since moving to the country. This was my first go at making a soft toy. I'd been feeling an urge to learn some more traditional skills (including sewing!) to incorporate into my art practice for some time....So I took myself to a Soul Doll making class, facilitated by the wonderful Trace Balla....and now I am hooked!

These dolls are ones I have been making for a while from sticks on the property, wire, yarn and loved garments. When I want to invite a quality or aspect of something great into my life, I often make a doll around it....The intention works! I like to place a special object inside the doll's body that can't be seen from the outside, which is symbolic of the quality I am thinking about at the time.


My first sculptural basket making experiment using willow gathered from the local creek and recycled string and wire made in Trace's workshop.... The fun of collecting materials on a long walk through nature is half the fun.