Why We Make Dolls and What We Expect from Our Experience

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of blog posts and YouTube tutorials dedicated to making all sorts of art including dolls. Sometimes we get lucky and find a site that isn’t complicated to navigate and has a freebie doll pattern to download. Joy of joys, we have scored a goodie! We might even sign up for their newsletter and follow them on social media, take an on-line class or two. I’ve done them all and continue to enjoy the talents and efforts of others.

This, for now, is not one of those blog sites.

This site is primarily devoted to Musings of a Doll Maker and other thoughts under the Restorative Justice tab, which will become clear later on.  I do include select doll patterns for sale and featured pieces I am currently working on; some for sale and some just to present my current work. But mostly I want to share my thoughts and perspective on doll making in general; how doll making is a healing art and is growing along with puppetry as a tool to aid in working through trauma; and as a salable product, whether as a finished doll, a pattern or online class.

Shall we begin?

Many of us, when we were very young, learned to sew through organizations such as 4-H.  We also learned at the knees of our mothers and other women in our families. Many of have been fortunate enough to pass these skills on to the next generations which have produced some exceptionally creative art. Even if we didn't have these opportunities, most of us had a taste of sewing in high school Home Economics classes. These experiences were the foundation for everything we did later. With ubiquitous access to the Internet and social media learning the basics and building a foundation for artistic expression has gotten easier and easier. Along with the this upside has also come the downside for artists as well as consumers. Being aware are the environment, just like walking in an unfamiliar neighborhood requires knowledge and some protections against those that would do us harm.