Spirit Dolls

Join us as we explore working with an ancient material used by hunter/gatherer cultures the world over, hog gut or sausage casings. We’ll form rudimentary wire armatures as our doll structures and I’ll show you ways for using this natural material as a covering for your doll. If you’ve not worked with wire, don’t worry. These can be very simple structures. The casing will dry and stretch to create unusual and luminous effects over the steel wire. The casings are clean and packed in salt water, they do emit a slight odor, much like the sizing in watercolor paper, or the family dog after a dip in the creek. They can be dyed, painted or inked when wet. We’ll then construct Paperclay masks to imbue our dolls with personalities, reflecting our own. I hope each of you will bring your own unique experiences and concepts of “spirit” to the table. Possibly, as you explore Fort Worden you may find natural materials to embellish your doll. Adorning your doll will be the delicious finale! So as we part from the collective that is Artfest, each of our dolls will express our personal journey.  

"And what is it to work with love?" "It is to charge all things you fashion with a breath of your own spirit". - Kahlil Gibran

Supply List:

• Dark annealed iron binding wire, possibly a couple of different gauges. The thickest 16ga makes wonderful structure but some find it too stiff. The smaller gauges are nice for details and added interest. This wire is available at hardware stores sometimes called stovepipe wire. You can have Henery’s Hardware in Port Townsend hold some for you to pick up when you arrive. (360) 385-5900
• variety of pliers both heavy duty and jewelry types for working the wire
• a small plastic tub for water  like a yogurt carton.
• an impervious surface like a baking mat or cutting mat
• I used hemp to connect my pieces together and for “hair”, you might also use black waxed linen, thread- whatever fibers you like!
• package of Paperclay if you cannot find this at your local hobby store Akamai in Port Townsend can have some ready for you when you arrive akamaiart.com
• scissors
• you might want gloves, I don’t use them, some people prefer them.
• tweezers can come in very handy
• any paints, Adirondack inks or dyes you’d like to try. I will bring a few as well as Peerless concentrated watercolors. You may also want paints for your doll’s face. Cheap acrylic hobby paint works fine.
• brushes or application materials for your pigments, wipes if you need them for your pigments
• you might want your own paper towels
• Embellishments- Bring one “adornment” to put in our class share pile. Think fibers, beads, charms… the possibilities are endless! And you may want to let the Artfest Muse guide you by checking out the bead store in Port Townsend, one Port Townsend’s  antique shops, or just find things on the beach to adorn your doll.
• Clear spray coating like Krylon, the wire rusts so you may want to spray it to either prevent or slow this process