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Folk art figure, soft sculpture wearing a embroidered and beaded mask which can be removed by untying sari ribbon at the back, to show the hidden face underneath.
Made using hand dyed cotton and upcycled scraps, and free motion embroidery, inside is a pouch of dried plants and berries that are often used in folk magic for healing and for protection.
Doll figures were often made for protection to ward off evil spirits which is why they often have fierce, angry or quizzical expressions, today we would most likely say they drive away or neutralise negative energy and were often placed near doors and windows or crossing places such as above the threshold of a room but they are not toys but spirit beings, made specifically for this purpose.
The scraps of fabric, some of which I have dyed by hand, are sewn flat to make a larger piece of fabric and then the body of the figure is cut from this, extra stitching and embellishment added and the figure is filled.
Full of character, traditionally any type of spirit doll would have been made with natural materials, from whatever the maker had to hand, old cloth from worn out clothing, seeds and dried berries etc.
All of these things would help to 'ensoul' the doll and add to its power and protective abilities and in keeping with that tradition I have also incorporated natural materials in the dolls construction.
With tall antler like protrusions, beaded and winged, there is also a hidden face under the mask and the mask can be removed to reveal the guardians hidden face to the owner of the doll, wearing a beaded necklace.
This soft sculpture, figure measures, 36cm tall and the body is 9cm wide the whole width including the wings is 18cm, quiet a tall doll and it she is free standing.SOLD
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Folk Art
Folk Art
Folk art guardian doll made using hand dyed cotton and upcycled scraps, this little figure is filled with a fibre filling and has a small amount of dried herb and plant filling, this is the herbs and plants that are often used in folk magic healing and for protection.
Beaded and full of character, I hope her one tooth and wide-eyed expression will bring a smile to your face as she is slightly quizzical and disarming.
She looks lovely sitting on a shelf or hung over a door frame, to lift the vibrations in a room or a specific space, protective in the folkart tradition.
Each of the larger beads on the shoulders I made myself in a ceramic class years ago, from local clay that came from clay around a natural spring, harvested on the southern slopes of Bath UK above the city where the sacred hot spring of the local goddess Sulis and her temple still stands and the hot spring is still active today.
I think this adds to her charm as springs are sacred places in the Celtic landscape and Sulis is a goddess of war and healing but also of the arts and culture.
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