Beadlust

Spirit Dolls ~
Two New Ideas!

Mary, one of my mail order customers, just sent me an email about her ideas for making her first spirit doll. She has two fabulous new ideas, which need to be shared right now.

Explaining that she's been disabled for 16 years and that there's no cure for her disability, Mary wrote that she could use a "miracle doll." Isn't that a great idea? It's a special, healing process to make a spirit doll, to imbue her with your prayers, to empower her with positive energy. What if you could take it one step further, and actually fill her with your prayers for a miracle? Why not?

Her second idea is really sweet! She writes: "the maker could write the intention on a piece of cloth (or soft paper), and include it in the stuffing of the doll - just to reinforce that intention forever!" I've sewn little pockets on the outside of some of my spirit dolls, pockets which then carry little scrolls of paper with poems and/or wishes written on them. I like Mary's idea, because it is more permanent (the little scrolls sometimes get lost) and because it's more private.

The spirit doll pictured here is Madrona ~ Tree Protection Goddess. I made her last summer when our beautiful madrona trees (and many other species as well) were suffering terribly from three consecutive years of drought. To weight her body (so she won't tip over easily), I put a packet of river pebbles inside at the base. My thought was that rivers carry water, and by association I wanted the pebbles to bring water to the trees.

If you've never been to the NW coast, you may not know what a madrona tree looks like. Fortunately for you, my husband is a photographer! Go here to see color images of our beloved madronas (taken right on our property), and/or here to see B&W images. Both series feature close-ups of the fracturing, peeling bark... a phenomenon that ocurrs mid to late summer every year.