Medicine "Doll" Workshop

This weekend I spent a wonderful day creating and healing with a group of women in a Medicine "Doll" Workshop.  We were instructed to look at it more as sculpture and that is exactly what I did!  Thank you Gail for hosting this amazing day and sharing your delicious studio!  

I named it "Devotion."  A wasp nest head...

....and rusty angel wings.  The shell is representing openness.  She stands on a cigar box....

...... wrapped with this gorgeous African (Ghana) fabric of eyes and mouths. ....
(UPDATE:  Those mouths are actually cowrie shells I'm told.  Which makes sense
because they look like cowrie shells!  Thank you Tami for setting me straight!) 

She came about rather quickly,
perhaps 20 minutes....

... the rest of the box took hours!

The open box....

My Sacred Heart of Sadness with straight pins and wire.   My journal pages from earlier in the workshop are wired to the heart.   This is the Catholic side.  It reminds me of what Trungpa Rinpoche  calls the tender heart of sadness.   An open heart means you feel vulnerable and tender.  It aches with sadness and compassion.

I was so focused and worked frantically during the workshop.  It was important
for me to finish it while I was there.  

The Buddhist side!  Prayer flags with something representing each energy.
The center Padma (red) represented by the Sacred Heart.  Padma is passionate
energy and the energy I relate to most.  Vajra (blue) represented by the antique eyeglasses.  They look sorta like Gandhi's glasses, yes?  I wanted a sword which is the traditional symbol of Vajra but I liked these representing compassionate clear and direct wisdom.   Ratna (yellow), representing abundance with a small copper vase.   Karma (green): Compassion in action.  I loved this running figure.  He looked like he was holding a scroll.  My buddhist name is Faith Turquoise Torch.... the torch part is holding the faith of the Dharma.  So that's what I liked about that little guy.  Finally, the Buddha flag (white) which is spaciousness.  The mirror representing self reflection and emptiness.

 Thank you for stopping by!