My latest painting

This is an oil painting, a diptych landscape painted on canvas.

Spring has come with new creations, here are my newest art dolls, 

most of them available at my Etsy Shop

December is here and I find myself in sheer amazement of the amount of time spent in listing as well as promoting my work when in fact the part that matters to me the most stays in the dark, I am making plans for taping next year the process of creating my dolls as well as my paintings because I enjoy so much those videos where other artists share their experience of creating with the world.

For now, I can only show you what I have been doing in the past few weeks.
Here are some art dolls with wings. Available at my Etsy Shop.

                      Queen Bee Spirit

These little angels make wonderful Christmas Tree Toppers.

                                          Shabby Chic Angel, Dragonfly Spirit

Supported by a wooden form, her wings are made of wire, she is dressed with soft cloth, adorned with fibers and yarn, beads, and a small key symbolic of transformation and discovery. Her sweet face was handcrafted with polymer clay.

Morning Birches, 12x12 original oil paintings by Griselda Tello

Assemblage and Polymer Clay, Bohemian Art Doll

Metztli was the Aztec goddess of the Moon, the Queen of the Night and also protector of farmers. To the Otomi people, Metztli was the Old Mother, a dual representation of both Moon and Earth. 

She is adorned with flowers, corn husks, fibers and a talisman made with beads fastened with wire to a golden key, symbolic of Intuition and creativity. Her sweet face was handcrafted with polymer clay. Metztli carries a small moon beam in her arms symbolic of protection. She has a loop on her back for easy display on your wall.

Metztli, Aztec Moon Goddess

Wishing for you a Happy New Year with many blessings and much creativity.

Spirit Dolls for "Soulmaking"

Long ago, people used to teach their children to make their dolls with corn husks and twigs wrapped with rags, the same way my Nana Maria did with me when I was a little girl, my dolls were intended to be my toys, but she would also make other kind of dolls and "Catrina" with sugar skulls, a kind of Spirit Dolls to give away for Dia de los Muertos which she placed in her altar to celebrate All Soul's Day.

I love tribal art and have been doing research in old traditions from many parts of the world where small images were made and used as "power tools" often found in burial sites. I believe that the creative spirit that moves within each and everyone of us, shapes our lives with inspiration and brings forth images that come awake and alive in one form or another through art. It is amazing that some of these figurines, "soul making dolls" have lasted this long as silent sentinels in time.

During the Paleolithic period people would make portable figurines or decorative objects which were carved from bone, stone or antler. In the old traditions these little totem-fetishes were molded mostly with clay, stone, coral, jade and other semiprecious stones, a few have been found made of metal. These were small figurines of animals and human forms, little goddesses, detailed female shapes. They often served as symbols of protection in some form of ritualistic or magical purposes infused with magic and good intentions, the very same life force by their makers. They all seemed to be helpers to the main concern of peoples for food (hunting and harvest) or fertility, and to gain some kind of control over their environment, or in the case of Egypt and Peru they placed small dolls on graves. It is not certain whether they served as company to the deceased or if they represented offerings to the dead or their gods.

In ancient religions, the numen or manitou was a protector spirit or force which was anonymous. Although it was not known as a person, its power and presence was felt, usually, it was regarded as being attached to some place or object, like a tree, or a large rock. 

There is a storyteller, a woman I admire, Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estés  in in her book Women Who Run With the Wolves, tells the story of a doll, Vasalisa, given to a little girl by her mother.  Vasalisa is clearly the voice of intuition who helps the little girl to succeed while making choices, Dr Estés wrote:

 “The doll is symbolic homunculi,  little life. It is the symbol of what lies buried in humans that is numinous. It is a small and glowing facsimile of the original Self. Superficially, it is just a doll. But inversely, it represents a little piece of soul that carries all the knowledge of the larger soul-Self. In the doll is the voice, in diminutive, of old La Que Sabe, The One Who Knows...the psyche works even when we sleep, most especially when we sleep, even when we are not fully conscious of what we are enacting."

"In this way the doll represents the inner spirit of us as women; the voice of inner reason, inner knowing, and inner consciousness.”
~~ Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estés~~ 

I don't pretend to know much about ancient traditions, but they resonate with me and I allow spirit to guide me, making dolls makes me feel good, as simple as that...they make me bloom (using the words of Dr. Estess)  When people ask me why do I make art dolls...my answer is always the same...because they keep me sane and fill my soul with gratitude and peace!

"I hope you will go out and let stories happen to you, and that you will work them, water them with your blood and tears and you laughter till they bloom, till you yourself burst into bloom."
~~ Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estés~~ 

I am sure my dolls serve mainly as decoration to some of my buyers and collectors, but for others they are symbolic of magic and good will, a kind of good luck talisman...quite simply, they are great helpers, little messangers of healing ...like an image of an angel by your front door or besides your bed. I like to think each one of my little dolls finds its own way to your hands charged with good energy and full of creativity, they may serve as a focal point for meditation, as a reminder of intuition, a mandala or a feng shui remedy, my intention is to share with others a little miracle which is still working its magic on me.

What do I call them, people ask...they are Totem Fetishes, Numen Spirits or Fantasy Art Dolls, they are my interpretation of Manitou, they are Nature Spirits, that is what I call my little dolls a little mystery that keeps on giving me joy.

Bright Blessings everyone,

Griselda

Mother Earth

Ebnoba, Druantia and Gaia, are the archetype of the eternal mother of fertility for both plants and humans, ruling over all acts of creation and passion. She also inspired protection & knowledge.

Avalon Mists

"Truth has many faces and the truth is like the old road to Avalon; it depends on your own will, and your own thoughts, whither the road will take you, and whether, at the end, you arrive at the Holy Isle of Eternity ...'For all the Gods are one God...and all the Goddesses are one Goddess, and their is only one Initiator. And to every man his own truth, and the God within.' And so, perhaps, the truth winds somewhere between the road to Glastonbury, Isle of the Priests, and the road to Avalon, lost forever in the mists of the Summer Sea." ― Marion Zimmer Bradley, The Mists of Avalon

Secret Garden Inspired

Secret Garden Spirit Doll

Heather and Moss, Secret Garden Spirit Art Doll

“As she came closer to him she noticed that there was a clean fresh scent of heather and grass and leaves about him, almost as if he were made of them. She liked it very much and when she looked into his funny face with the red cheeks and round blue eyes she forgot that she had felt shy.” 

― Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden

Heather and Moss was not quite herself yet in this early photo  :)

Night and Day

There is a moon face which I love to use more than others, she has such sweetness.

In giving my dolls a bit of a re-do, this one changed completely.

She was my Raven Moon, now she has found a home when she became Gaia

Raven Moon

Ring the bells that still can ring.

Forget your perfect offering.

There is a crack in everything.

That's how the light gets in.

--Leonard Cohen

Gaia

Renewal of the Kitchen Witch

I have been making changes with my older dolls, mostly finding a new face which will suit the figure, at times the change is drastic like in my Forest Spirit, she turned into The Lady of the Lake, they serve well as a kitchen witch, no matter what face they take, the Spirit of cooperation and good will is the same.  Blessed Be, may Peace abide in every home.

FOREST SPIRIT

LADY OF THE LAKE

Interpretation of Gaia, Earth Mother

Two Spirit Dolls

From my Gypsy Moon Dreamers 

Reiki Healer Series

Folk Art Originals

Assemblage and Polymer Clay Art.

~ Signed by Griselda ~

Approx. 14 inches

She makes a wonderful Feng Shui companion

My little Gaia dolls, (Mother Earth) are wrapped with art fibers and homespun yarn. Adorned with beads, silk and paper flowers. Their sweet moon faces where handcrafted with polymer clay. 

Gaia is holding a small moon symbolic of protection. She has a loop on her back for easy display in your wall.

In the Tarot tradition, she is the Priestess

Cottage Besom, Kitchen Witch

Before she became a kitchen witch, then I found a beautiful besom and this is the end result:

Cottage Besom, Kitchen Witch

Available at my Etsy Store

Athena Goddess and Owl Totem

Athena Goddess

 The Greeks worshiped Athena, the goddess of wisdom,

 she had an owl as her companion on her shoulder which revealed the unseen to her. 

Owl Totem, Secret Forest Spirit

Owl Medicine is pure alchemy that connects us with the power of wisdom 

and the ability to see what is hidden using our intuition to identify any obstacles.

It is said that if we connect with our Power animal, and if we use Owl medicine as a means for inspiration, 

we will know  what is there, we will recognize those hidden messages, our intuition will sharpen

when we pay attention (like owls do) even in the dark we will see the truth

making good choices for our highest good.

Athena is adorned with beads, Swaddled with fabric and soft art yarn and a beautiful owl talisman, her sweet face was handcrafted with polymer clay. There is a small moon near her breast symbolic of protection and nurturing. She has a loop on her back for easy display on your wall.

This brochure shows one of my Bohemian dolls before
the transformation, she had been my favorite for several months

I feel she is more complete with the small moon (symbolic of protection)
and the Owl Totem complements her design along with the softness
of gray feathers, I also added a touch of magic with Amethyst stone chips.

Athena Goddess has found a home...
She sold at Etsy, please come around, I have others
in the series of Secret Forest Bohemian Spirit Dolls

Transformation

All my Spirit dolls have in common basic elements, their faces are made with polymer clay, I use natural fibers and for the most part recycled fabric, I am always hunting for unusual textures, color and the kind of cloth that I can use in my dolls, it is for me almost a quest, I take the day off just to do what they call an "artist date" where I open myself to the magic of the hunt and I often find marvelous treasures to integrate in my little dolls. I remember while traveling, I had only 3 hours to show in Taos New Mexico, you can only imagine, I felt like time was running out on me, but I found shops I never had imagined, I purchased natural wool and amazing beads, trinkets and fibers...pure heaven. Talking about beads...well, I think I will leave it for an other entry. Here is a rather successful story, I needed to come up with a request for an Athena theme, and this is what resulted in one of the sweetest little dolls I have made. What it used to be a rather somber doll, is now a serene beauty, I think from time to time, we need to change our look on life, even my dolls agree with this. :)

After
Athena Totem Spirit
At my Etsy Store

Before

Lady of the Lake, before and after

Lady of the Lake 

This is the way she started, once I change to a smaller face she came alive