MUSING

I believe the key to creativity is daydreaming, an active  meditation.  It is said that the brain makes free associations and artistic connections while it engages in abstract thinking instead of focusing on a task. 

Neuro-writer Jonah Leherer wrote about Christoff’s work in Daydreams“If your mind didn’t wander, then you’d be largely shackled to whatever you are doing right now... But instead you can engage in mental time travel and other kinds of simulation. During a daydream, your thoughts are really unbounded.” [From the Boston Globe - Daydream Achiever by Jonah Lehrer.]


There are times when I wonder if my creations start to look all the same, then a inner voice comes to my rescue... who cares if they all look the same when basically these dolls are for me a means of relaxation and for my buyers a message if serenity and peace. It would be like saying that all meditation feels or looks the same, for goodness sakes, that is the point, if it works and it feels good, why fix it!
I have been sharing these little creatures to people who find my site or my Etsy store, and do me the honor to adopt them taking them home. If they are working their magic, who cares if they sing the same song?
From time to time, someone has a request or gives me an idea for a doll with a bit of  a twist and I feel it, that makes me smile, and that should be enough.

Wishing for you a very creative day.
Namaste
Griselda

THE FOOL ~ TAROT RAG DOLL
Some time ago, my dear friend Monica Magness (girl_gone_thread_wild)
sent a new batch of her wonderful forms for my painted dolls, along with it came a handful of colorful materials, the perfect motivation for me to create another doll which I have called The Fool, representing the Tarot Card...the creative dreamer, a card with infinite possibilities and new beginnings.

Each time I create a Tarot Doll, I think of how would I interpret this theme in my life, for now I can only say that I am also like The Fool because I trust the journey and I am open and willing to trust and risk. I don't follow what society says, I would rather trust my intuition and follow my heart.

Hecate Wild Moon

Hecate was regarded as Goddess of both heaven and the underworld.

She is also known as The Crone, Goddess of the Crossroads, Queen of the Night and all Ghosts. In antiquity she was venerated as the Goddess of the wilderness, a healer, protector and guide of nurses during childbirth.

"By the goddess I worship most of all, my chosen helper Hecate, who dwells in the inner chamber of my house, none of them shall pain my heart and smile at it!" [Euripides, Medea 400]

TREE DRYADS, SPIRIT ART DOLLS




These are my interpretation of Tree Spirits, In Greek mythology, the dryads were spirits in nature (female nymphs), who preside over the groves and forests.

Acording to the legend a dryad is born with a certain tree over which she watches. The lives of the dryads are connected with that of the trees; should the tree perish, then she dies with it.

Some believe that Dryads place gifts on a special branch alongside the pathways for individuals who love trees. Dryads clone themselves into these pieces of wood with the intention to help the human partner while at the same time to acquire the means to see the world without being rooted to the ground and to learn more about human evolution.


I love to think of my little Tree People as my contribution to those who love Mother Nature.

Forgoten Gardens
Altered Dolls

These are my little altered porcelain dolls, they are wrapped

and painted, they all sold a long time ago.

A few years ago I met a marvelous woman, an amazing artist who inspired me to create altered porcelain dolls from the dollar store! Can you imagine, removing the arms and legs, and making the basic shape of the torso and head a blank canvas to start a new doll...well, she does that and more, check out her site.
Her name is Patricia Anders, my Muse.

When I met Tricia she was making her famous ornies, they are colorful and full of meaning.

Mine took a turn for my grandmother's secret garden, it is a long story, you know me, I love stories and they are strange as they can be.  Well...I will make it short, my grandmother had given me a couple of dolls made of some paste which were very old.  I loved my baby dolls and had them with me everywhere, but one night, I forgot my doll in the garden and it rained so hard, my doll was damaged beyond repair.  I had such a fit, my grandmother said, it was her time to go to doll heaven and we proceeded to swaddle her with cheese cloth and she was buried in the garden.
I often think of going there after 50 years...imagine what I would find if I manage to get the doll...yes...if the doll had not melted into the ground, I would find something out of this world...and I would love it even more.

So, don't come telling me they are spooky...laughs*
My little forgotten garden dolls are to me, sweet memories of my grandmothers garden, her caring and inspiration will always be with me.

I will leave you with something very lovely yet spooky La Isla De Las Muñecas
Gliding across the deathly still canal waters on our final approach to La Isla De Las Muñecas (Island Of The Dolls), a nagging sense of dread suddenly grips Bizarre. Through the gnarled branches of the trees that fringe the island, forlorn faces of what look like lost children stare at us with dead eyes... 

I imagined that The Morrigan would be a Spirit Protector for many people, in ancient tradition she has the same energy as Hecate   because she is a warrior woman as well as a healer.  I see her so clearly in all the battles going on in the world, I see her in all her terror and fury, but also as a loving protector and compassionate Mother, I know that is not what others see.  For this figure I have her caring a shield of skulls.  For me skulls are beautiful because I grew up with one or two around the house...yes...very odd, but for good reason.  First of all, my grandfather found them in a ditch during a horrible flood in my home town more than 80 years ago, which made the cemetery look like a lake, my grandfather talks about rivers of bones along the side of the roads. In those days his older son was studding to be a doctor so they talked it over and decided it would be better to honor the skulls at home instead of returning them to the pile of bones and it served as something for them to study and contemplate.  Often times, I used to hold one of the skulls in my hands before I went to sleep...imagine that...my grandfather would said, just be mindful that it is not a toy and by now it is very delicate...I actually felt very reverent about the whole thing.

The Shell Collector

The loneliness you get by the sea is personal and alive. It doesn't subdue you and make you feel abject. It's stimulating loneliness.

The sea does not reward those who are too anxious, too greedy, or too impatient. One should lie empty, open, choiceless as a beach - waiting for a gift from the sea.  

~Anne Morrow Lindbergh

In case you wonder where all the wings landed...

They are not quite ready yet, but I am having such fun with them...I know people like sweet angelic faces, but I enjoy the more serious/somber type with strong features.  I am making a Spirit Doll, well...she is guiding me though the process as always, she represents a Shell Collector, with rocks and shells...I am loving it!

If you ever read Julia Cameron's book The Artist Way, you might remember her suggestion to have an "artist date" with yourself. This is necessary to access your creativity and to refill the well so to speak. She recommends to do this once a week, setting aside a couple of hours to do something creative, playful and fun.

I have decided to make a bit of art once a day, a doll, a drawing or a collage and to record it here, inspired by another artist who asked me to create a doll for a project of hers. This is quite an extraordinary honor, and challenging as well. This little Spirit Doll (her name is Jewel) is to have long curly hair, free standing and flowing skirt, the colors are teal and purple but the hair needs to have tones of rainbow...with the dragonfly and butterflies for totems and some crystal chips and beads as means of adornment.







Jewel is supported by a wooden dowel so she will be resting on a bottle or another surface when she gets home. I had several faces made so my client could have some choices, once this was agreed, the rest was easy...that is, until I got to the flowing skirts...well, that did not work at all, the doll would not let me, it almost sounds silly, but for those of you who make art dolls, I am sure you understand what I mean, the doll directs the way it is going to go once you get started.
If I weave the cloth it works quite well, I feel it flows with a gentle energy now and I just had to fasten the elements used for the doll, with wire and yarn. This happens often if I try to force the doll to look like I think it should, I encounter many problems, I've learned to let it be and allow the process to guide me in an intuitive manner.