I just got back from a trip to Flagstaff to visit my friend Judy and have her show me how she makes her spirit dolls. It was a four-hour drive, but well worth it to see her and to escape the 100-degree temps here in Tucson. Flagstaff is about 20 degrees cooler!
In the first photo, she's showing how she binds sticks together for the body and arms. In the next photo (where I'm wearing one of the cool dresses that she dyed for me), I'm starting to dress her with earthy green scraps of fabric and yarn that I brought up.
And here she is! I used a big button for the face with beads as eyes. I'll probably embellish her a little more with a necklace and maybe something on the dress. She's an Earth Spirit.
Judy started a Facebook group called "Spirit Dolls and Guides" in case you're looking for inspiration or have questions about making them.
She sells her dolls at a gallery in Sedona. Here are a few that she still had in her studio:
I love the wispy, airy feeling of her dolls.
She orders some of her clay faces online and also makes her own, like this one:
Then we went to Arts Connection, the artists coop gallery at the Flagstaff Mall where she has more of her art.
She has fabric bowls, boho bags, wall hangings, tie-dye clothing, cards and more. She also sells her work at www.judysalloriginals.com.
What a fun day that was, and it was soooo good to see you in person again! Now get in the studio and make more dolls, because your first cutie tells me you are a natural! Great way to use up scraps, right? ;-) And that will also not be our only play date, I'm sure of that!
ReplyDeleteWhat a delightful play date you and Judy had. Your doll is charming. The palette matches the Sedona Desert terrain.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great day! Thanks for letting us come along.
ReplyDeleteI've never seen anything quite like these spirit dolls. Gosh, it would be hard to choose between them - like yours a lot and Judy's even more.
ReplyDeleteYour friend, Judy, is quite talented. Love her spirit dolls...and dinner looks great!!!!!
ReplyDelete