The combination of his elements, from the metallic fabrics, beading, and mask delighted me and the details on his bag became the finishing touch to the Medicine Man. Not long after making him available on Etsy, he flew into the gentle hands of a wonderful and energetic massage therapist, Melissa. I think she detected the powerful juju in that Medicine Bag! I hope you can feel some of that healing juju, too.
I'm sitting in the local Starbucks sipping an extra-hot soy sugar-free mocha and savoring the pillow of whip cream. It's decadence reminds me of a wonderful new spirit who recently manifested, "The Medicine Man". One of the most luscious elements of this healer is his medicine bag. I hadn't planned on a bag (though what's a Medicine Man without a Medicine Bag?) so as it manifested I simply enjoyed the ride. The beading part of embellishing a doll can sometimes be the most difficult part for me because there is such a wonderful selection of beads, earrings, bracelets, and necklaces I've collected over the past few decades to choose from. I started beading in AK inspired by an elaborately beaded bracelet I couldn't resist gifting myself with. The beading bug hit me again here in Bellingham, WA in my knitting phase where I spied a knitted, beaded bracelet at the checkout stand. They happened to be offering a class and, of course, as with all my artistic endeavors (clay, watercolors, acrylics, knitting, songwriting) I dove in. So began a knitting frenzy resulting in many sparkling bracelets to gift to my friends and loved ones. It turned out to be a wonderful skill for embellishing Spirit Dolls. Every once in a while, something calls for a tiny knitted beaded belt on a doll, like Gypsy Lee. The beads need not match or be in the same color family. In fact, the more variety the better the outcome. My default mode is to have everything match both with my beading and costumes so my fight comes in allowing a flow rather than over-thinking which beads I choose. Oftentimes, I fall back and pick out an earring with an interesting configuration to hang off of a belt or wrap around a body because all the work's been done. More and more, however, I've been taking apart those earrings and bracelets and using only parts of them. This is what happened with this Medicine bag. I started with a found crocheted, beaded bracelet. I hung the whole of it off of his hand but it just didn't feel right. So I stripped down the beads from the many strands of string and started from scratch, painting the bag white, drenching it in tiny sparkling glitter and then re-beading some of the threads. Since I couldn't find a needle that fit, I switched over to beading wire which easily hung off of the bag. Bigger, showier beads were called for at the bottom and his raiment contained a rainbow of colors so I chose whichever ones ended up between my fingers. Turquoise to represent the earth, pearls to represent the sea, white for purity and many others made out of ivory, coral and glass which held meaning to me. Anther aspect of the Medicine Man beside his belt that means a lot to me is his golden mask--the gold leaf is over 40 years old, given to me by mom who used it to gild her pottery. The mask/cab itself is one of the first 5 I made out of terracotta clay--a medium I later set aside for polymer clay because polymer can be re-worked over and over. I used to think this face/mask was a crude attempt and not one of my greater accomplishments because it had so many flaws but now I realize that those flaws contain so much character and expression.
The combination of his elements, from the metallic fabrics, beading, and mask delighted me and the details on his bag became the finishing touch to the Medicine Man. Not long after making him available on Etsy, he flew into the gentle hands of a wonderful and energetic massage therapist, Melissa. I think she detected the powerful juju in that Medicine Bag! I hope you can feel some of that healing juju, too.
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October 2015 Featured Fellow Artist Robin Alice, of Robin Alice Creations on Etsy.com, is a natural empath, artist, and dancer who displays her creativity in countless ways. A dance major in college, she darted and twirled her way onstage for many soul-satisfying years. In her mid-20's, though, an unexpected challenge arose with the onset of mental illness, later compounded by breast cancer in 2010. A daily battle to survive has become the impetus for her detailed, gorgeous bead creations, necklaces, totem bags, earrings and dolls. Her love of movement and freedom poured into each piece, some taking hundreds of hours, some taking years. Her reputation, as both an accomplished bead and Goddess Doll artist, has spread with her growing body of art and is enjoyed by collectors around the world. Explorations into Primitive dolls, Spirit Dolls, and Goddess Dolls all manifest her love of nature, movement and her strong connection to the creative power of life itself. She continues to serve as a mentor and source of inspiration in my life and art and I am honored to share a little of her spirit with you. What follows is a love letter which offers a fascinating glimpse into her unique universe from Robin to you. "If we look at the world with a love of life, the world will reveal its beauty to us." The Gathering "I have always felt out of step, literally stumbling through my life. I've never fit in and because of that I've found solace in places many dare not tread. My grandma, mom, sister and myself all have special gifts we were born with. The true aspect manifests for me in how we utilize these gifts and express these treasures."
Children are great and true friends to this world, they bring grace, tranquility and the joy of discovery. Because you see, it is all within us, not lounging on the outside but waiting deep within our atoms in our own internal universe." "I began to dance at age four. I couldn't live without it. I could express treasures and discoveries I never dreamed. I think one small story will help explain my nature and tenacity to create through dance my will to live and the foundation for my life and creativity. At age five in a dance recital, I found myself in the front line, my glorious coral tutu swirling in time with all the dancers. Then...I fell. As I hit the floor, it felt as if a sledge hammer knocked the wind out of me. Everything happened in a split second while at the same time in a slow motion cocoon. As I looked out in the audience, everyone was laughing uproariously.
We are all given such opportunities as gifts--what makes the difference is if we can recognize these moments as such and incorporate them into our daily lives." "Dolls are as old as time itself. The gathering of leaves, sticks and tanned hides made wonderful dolls for little girls & boys, thousands of years ago. Many dolls were used in rituals and ceremonies. The Goddess doll originates not only from voodoo dolls, but from the Ancients and their use of dolls in ceremonies. "I love the timeless, tender feel of the dolls I make. I channel a lot of my spirit into these dolls, resulting in very powerful and protective energies. I intuitively let the work flow through me, rather than me guiding the doll. My hands are only the instrument. The creation of my work with dolls has enabled me to heal and assist in healing others. It's my way of saying, "I love You" to the world." "To start, I gather some fabric, fibers, buttons, beads, threads and just surrender to the doll. Much of the time as I shift fabric, wrap yarn and embellish I don't know where I'm going. In dance terminology, this is a "trance dance" between the doll and myself. I took a dance class from a master once and I will never forget how the nature of the ingredients that exist in all life comes through, and flows through and, oftentimes, knocks hard on our door to get our attention. Everyone is a great creator. One does not have to be a dancer, poet, painter etc. in order to be a creative person." "All beings thrive in this creative force. Many religions have a name for it. I practice Nichiren Buddhism and it is referred to as 'the Mystic Law of Cause-and-Effect' or "Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo". I think of it as the Divine Force." "Each person has their own way of divining this life force called creativity. It manifests in how you live your life. Each moment is a creative force that connects us to each other and everything else in the universe and can manifest in both wonder and great suffering. The name we call this force is our own and cannot be taken away by another soul." I encourage all who may read this little diary to take a walk and breath in the wonderful fresh air. Pay attention to your footsteps with each movement. Notice the sounds and the sights of the gatherings of little creatures and how they, too, dance to their own little rhythms. Be aware of the breath of the wind, the heat from the sun and maybe, just maybe, you will hear the whisper of all the guardians who walk with you and every person, who dances side-by-side with us and all of creation." Love, Robin Alice Thank you so much, Robin Alice! As always, I'm fascinated by your generous and warm-hearted spirit, abundant wisdom and awe-inspiring, diverse body art!
You can find more of Robin Alice's dolls and jewels at her Etsy store, Robin Alice Creations. Follow her art and inspiration on Pinterest. Become a fan on facebook and drink in more of her process on her wonderful blog. |
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