Doll making should be fun. It should be a way to spend time energy and creativity in a way that enhances one's days. The most important thing that I have to say about doll making is to forget about making a mistake. In my opinion there are no mistakes in doll making, only opportunities to create a new and different doll than the one we saw in or head at the time you sat down to create.
Doll making should encompass every part of your being. Your senses should be excited and inspired by the fabrics you choose. Your spirit should be imparted to each and every doll you make. The time you spend making the doll should be time that heals, encourages, and instructs you, with each and every facet of making the doll.
Your dolls should carry on conversations with you as you cut, design and sew, if they don't then you are not listening hard enough.
Your pattern, your hands, and your mind are only tools in doll making. The actual process comes from deep inside of you as you interact with the fabric, the tools, the feel of the cloth, and the particular doll itself.
Dolls should bring joy, whimsey and healing. They should be a source of meditation and relaxation, and not a chore. They will become more than a hobby when you apply what I hope to impart to you in this web site. They will become a source of pride. They will become a mindless task where you can sit for an hour or more a day, turn off the thinking process and let your heart and spirit take over.
Dolls should be a reflection of who you are. Your belief systems and your ideals and attitudes will creep into you dolls the more you learn to interact with the cloth and the patterns you choose.
Remember, doll making is fun, if it becomes a chore then it is time to find something else to occupy your time.
I call my line of dolls Uncommon Folk. My dolls are designed for no other reason than to keep me sane, to keep my sense of humor intact, and to give me a safe and harmless medium to transfer my attitudes, opinions, and judgements to. They become a statement that I make. They become a judgement that I have, that needs to be addressed. They become an opinion of something or someone I have seen or met. They all have attitude, and that attitude lies somewhere inside of me just waiting to get out and be heard.
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