Heartfelt Dolls
  • Home
    • About me
    • I Am A Dollmaker: crafter's statement
    • Beware when you honor an artist
    • Heartfelt Dolls: Fool's Errand or Heroine's Journey
    • Doll making as a spiritual journey
    • Igniting creativity with Heartfelt dolls
    • Heartfelt doll-making: a healing experience
    • Heartfelt Dolls: the memory keepers
    • Heartfelt Dolls on life and death
    • Heartfelt Dolls: aesthetic meditation
    • Heartfelt Dolls: using textile crafts in contemporary art
    • Heartfelt Dolls: seeking a definition
    • Heartfelt Dolls: A Political Voice?
    • Heartfelt Dolls: Face On/Face Off
    • Heartfelt Dolls jammin' with JAMTV
    • Heartfelt Dolls @The Open Studios Project Blog
    • Heartfelt Dolls @ ArtsMad Rotorua
    • Heartfelt Isolation
    • Exhibitions old and new
    • Heartfelt Inspiration: a blog of that which inspires me
    • Testimonials
    • Contact
    • News
    • Links
  • Dolls
    • Heartfelt Dolls: companions for the journey
    • The Quotidian Doll: an introduction >
      • The Quotidian Doll Blog: introducing a Heartfelt-doll-a-day
    • Diaspora: the 101 dolls project
    • Heartfelt Dolls willing to leave home (for sale) >
      • Matariki
      • Through A Glass Darkly
      • Stitch Yourself a Boyfriend
      • Pink Walkers
      • Steampunk Dolls
      • Selfies
      • The Heroine's Journey
      • An English Country Garden
      • Hobo Chic
      • The Fisherman
      • I Shall Wear Purple
      • Enraged Woman Riding a Black and White Dog Writing Wrongs
      • Salute to the Sun
      • Old Woman in a Shoe
      • Soul Sisters
      • The Smiles Project
      • BFF
      • Blue Belles
      • Shades of Gray
      • Angels with attitude
      • Angels of gold
      • Angels
      • 'Ladies a plate'
      • Cosy up with a bit of skirt
      • Ice Palace
      • Troupe de verde
      • Animal Antics
      • Male dolls
      • Carnivale: stiltwalking dolls
      • Calendar Girls
      • Dammit dolls
      • Oh Cliche
      • Heartfelt Graffiti
      • Double Trouble
      • Lilliputians
      • Kiwi Icons
      • Faeries
    • Heartfelt Fundraisers >
      • Volunteer Fire Fighters
      • Memory keepers
      • Shades of Gray >
        • Shades of Gray Duets
        • Shades of Gray Men
      • Calendar Girls
      • Pink Walkers
      • Bandanna Chic
      • Selfies
    • Heartfelt Companions: sharing my journey with you >
      • One-of-a-kind heartfelt dolls >
        • Julie Has Flown North For The Summer
        • Hot Flash!
        • Whoops!
        • Medusa
        • The Bag Lady
        • Purple people eater
        • Social Climber
        • Place
        • Fertility Fairy
        • Smile
        • Blue Baths Belle
        • An Artist's Book
        • Pink Lady
        • Beloved
      • Heartfelt dolls in a series >
        • The Rainbow Connection
        • What's in a cup?
        • The Apple
        • Hi-Cut Internet Dolls
        • Godde Dolls
        • Shrines
        • The Rites of Autumn
        • Bibliophile
        • Seeing the world through different eyes
        • Akuba: encouraging change
        • It takes a village
        • Umbrella and Umbrage
        • A cautionary tale ...
    • Heartfelt Process, Heartfelt Transformation >
      • Matron Saints
      • Creative Guardians
      • The Nest
      • Freeing the caged heart: the poets and the dollmaker
      • The Unemployment Blues
      • The Bare Necessities
      • The Heroine's Journey
      • The Alchemy of Change
      • Sticks and stones
      • Stitch yourself a boyfriend
      • Inner Child
      • Salute to the Sun
      • Bindings
      • Euphrosyne: reclaiming joy >
        • Freeing the caged heart: poetry to lift your spirits
        • The Smiles Project
        • Dancing Feet
        • Irrepressible
        • Greening: a lenten journey
        • Wild Women Like to Dance
        • I Am Woman
        • Harakeke flowers
        • Circle of friends, vessel of hope
        • Dance
        • Spirit seekers, spirit guides
      • The Great Divide: one woman's experience of divorce >
        • Numb
        • Bound
        • Burlap and lace
        • Naked
        • Reclaim
        • Bitch
        • The Devil on my back
        • Burdened
        • God alone is enough
        • Simple heart
        • Broken dreams
        • Will the real me please stand up?
        • The Classifieds
        • Sing-a-song
        • Dark nights >
          • You are dying ...
          • Beast of burden
          • Wounded healer, broken heart
          • A moment of conversion
          • Unbuilding
          • Peace
          • Transform me
          • A clean heart
          • Unwrapped
          • Doormat
          • The weight of expectation
          • Promise
          • A new me
          • The fabric of my life
          • Struggle
          • Hanging
        • Dance me To The End of Love
      • Black Dog: one woman's experience with depression >
        • The Anti-depressants
        • Some days
        • What I wish you knew about depression
    • Heartfeltfelt Emotion >
      • Gold Angels: coping with tragedy
      • Emotions: a challenge
      • Lamentation
      • Heartfelt Anger >
        • Anger Management with Dammit Dolls
        • Dammit!
    • Heartfelt Celebration! >
      • I Shall Wear Purple!
      • Birthday dolls
      • Birthday cards
      • Julie's 21st
      • Celebrate my femininity!
      • Troupe de verde
    • Heartfelt Graffiti
    • Heartfelt Care >
      • Ageing >
        • I Shall Wear Purple
        • The Seven Ages Of Woman
      • For the children
      • Living with dementia
      • Say 'NO' to family violence >
        • You don't have to take it like I did
        • Are you the one?
      • Heartfelt Conservation >
        • Seduced By The Wild
        • Feathers Over Hamurana
        • Birds
      • Living with cancer
      • Breast Cancer Awareness >
        • Hello Dollies: an article
        • Pink Walkers
        • Primal scream
        • Flat Out
        • Paradox
        • Just Checkin'
        • I Love you, Mum
        • Mammogram Slam
        • Friends for the journey
        • Hair Today
        • Domestic Goddess
        • Deconstruct Reconstruct
        • Sewphie the stitcher
        • Nana and Gran
        • Procrastinating Polly
        • Colour blind
        • BRAve New World
        • Unzipped
        • Lord, to whom shall we go?
        • Knitting Nellie
        • The nay-sayers
        • Vessels of hope
        • Dancing Woman Labyrinth
        • Breast Labyrinth
    • Time Capsule series
  • Heartfelt Creativity
    • Heartfelt Fun
    • Heartfelt Comfort >
      • Girl Reclining on a Sofa
      • Cotton-soft boas
      • Wild Women Like to Hang About
    • Heartfelt Stitch >
      • Mother's Little Helper
      • Needlewomen
      • Old Woman in a Shoe
      • Delight in a cup
      • Heartfelt Companion
    • Heartfelt Wrapping >
      • Colour Blind
      • Spirit dolls
      • Bound
      • Aspects of Self
      • Wrapping as an art form
      • Wild Women Like To Dance
    • Heartfelt vestis >
      • What a wonderful world!
      • A thanksgiving vest
      • Dalmatics
      • In Praise
    • Labyrinth >
      • Shell labyrinth
      • Breast Labyrinth
      • Labyrinth scroll
      • Stitched labyrinth
      • Dancing Woman Labyrinth
      • Hopi labyrinth
      • Bead labyrinth
      • Journey
    • ANZAC: a tribute >
      • ANZAC Quilt
      • Rawene Boys
      • ANZAC jacket
  • Heartfelt prayer
    • Heartfelt crocheted rosaries
    • Heartfelt Retreat >
      • An Advent Retreat in Daily Life
      • Our daily medicine: a 28 day reflection on living and dying
      • Hidden in Plain View: a retreat in daily life
      • 24 hours: a retreat reflecting on the passion of Jesus
      • Stations of the light
    • Heartfelt waiting: reflections on the season of Advent >
      • Matron Saints of Un-named Women
      • Advent is a vessel
      • Advent is a pilgrimage
      • Advent remembers we are all related.
      • Advent is creative
      • Advent is a ritualised experience
      • Advent is expectant
      • Advent names God
      • Advent is a door
      • Advent: a sacred space
    • Stations of the Cross >
      • Christchurch Stations of the Cross
      • 24 Hours
      • Stations with haiku
      • John Badcock "Stations of the Cross"
    • Heartfelt Season: reflecting on the season of Lent >
      • A Lenten Walk
      • Lenten Prayer Flags
    • Heartfelt Hallelujah: reflections on the season of Easter >
      • Voices on the Via Lucis
    • Prayers from the Ark >
      • The Mouse
      • The Spider
      • The Dog
      • The Elephant
      • The Lizard
      • The Lamb
      • The Peacock
      • The Giraffe
      • The Toad
      • The Parrot
      • The Mother Hen
      • The Goldfish
      • The Cat
      • The Lion
    • Heartfelt Belief
    • Heartfelt Reflection >
      • These Parables Blow Me Apart!
      • A Single Thread
      • Every moment is gift
      • Harvest Wheat
      • Stepping out in faith
      • Harvest Heart
      • Dream catcher
      • The Sewing Basket
    • Sacred Story >
      • The Road to Emmaus
      • The Loaves and the Fishes
    • Listening To Winter
    • Genesis
    • Heartfelt Writing >
      • Joy on a String
      • Changing Landscapes
      • Rites of Passage
      • Sowing and Reaping
      • Hidden In Plain View
      • An Emmaus Journey
      • God and Dog
      • Dear Julie
      • An Intentional Walk
      • The Widow's Might
      • Does God Exist?
      • The Sewing Basket
      • Advent: A Sacred Space
      • A Secular Liturgy
      • Your Call
      • Dance me To The End Of Love
  • "100 day" projects
  • Prayer flag project
    • Blessings on the wind: a year of blessings >
      • April blessings
      • March blessings
      • February blessings
      • January blessings
      • December blessings
      • November blessings
      • October blessings
      • September blessings
      • August blessings
      • July blessings
      • June blessings
      • May Blessings
      • April Blessings
      • March Blessings
    • Prayer flag blog
  • Gratitude Flowers
Picture

HEARTFELT DOLLS JAMMIN' WITH JAM TV

I was invited to participate in a documentary called "This Town" produced by JAM TV.
This 8 part series presents ordinary people with a passion,
with a sense of belonging to their community.
Like syncopation in a piece of music,
this documentary accents those who would not usually be accented.

This experience, both surreal and profound,
helped me realise that
"The things that you are passionate about are not random.
They are your calling."

Fabienne Frederickson

For a person who avoids the camera whenever possible,
whose natural instinct is to work behind the scenes and enable others,
a Mother's Day spent in front of a lens, with a microphone taped to my shirt,
was way outside of my comfort zone.
But whenever we participate fully,
actively, consciously, attentively,
there are always many blessings bestowed.

On reflection, I received and continue to receive, these gifts ...

The gift of community ...

Picture
I live in the geographic community of Ngongotaha.
It is the sunny side of the mountain of the same name.
I grew up in the shadow of Mt Ngongotaha.
This is my home,
my turangawaeae,
my place of belonging.
I am blessed to be a member of a community called 'family'.
The dolls above are tactile reminders of events and people in my family story.

I am also a member of a community - my 'age group'.
The birthday dolls below celebrate my membership of this group:-)
I am a member of an arts' community that challenges and explores social epidemics, such a workplace bullying ...
... and raises awareness of important health issues, such as Breast Cancer ...
Picture
PEARL AND GLAM AT THE MAMMOGRAM SLAM PHOTO BY NATASCHA HARTZUIKER
... and the rapid increase of dementia in our society.
I am a member of a worldwide community that meditates together and alone ...
... and another that greets the dawn with a Salutation to the Sun.

The gift of laughter ...

It is OK to laugh,
to guffaw and to giggle.
More than OK, it is healthy and life-giving.
Laughter draws us together in shared experiences.
It can dispel frustration and fear
and transform our attitude.
Doll-maker Noreen Crone-Findlay wrote,
"Simply having fun while questing for depth and meaning,
can add untold zest and joy to living."

The Smiles Project, each doll with their own oversize smile, embodied this for me
as I journeyed through the pain of divorce.

The gift of stewardship ...

We are all called to be stewards -
of ideas,
of skills,
of relationships,
of places and spaces.
None of these are for our sole consumption
but to enable and empower all those we encounter to become their best selves.

I am a steward of Heartfelt Dolls,
or rather it is a mutual relationship.
I give them a form and a voice.
and they, to paraphrase Pablo Picasso,
are "...just another way of keeping a diary."
They reflect my thoughts and musings.
They enable me to transform disaster into hope;
desolation into healing.
They are my soul companions.

The gift of our uniqueness ...




I often struggle with being 'different'.
Through this experience,
I have come to believe it is always OK to be authentic,
to be my true self.
It is OK to respond to my calling to create dolls.

Doll-maker Pamela Hastings wrote,
"Each person is born with a unique capacity for creativity.
If you don't give voice to yours,
it will never be heard."


May I have the courage to share my true voice.
Picture
SURROUNDED BY MY HEARTFELT DOLLS

The gift of the pause ...

There is joy in waiting,
in anticipation,
in having a breather!
There is a generosity of spirit
in allowing others to do their job;
to apply their skills and giftedness.

The gift of connection ...

We connect through community,
whether short-term or long-term,
virtual or face-to-face.
We connect through shared story;
through reminiscing;
through active and reflective listening.

The gift of those who raise me up ...

During filming,
I came to realise that almost anything is possible
when we know we are loved;
when we accept the generosity of those who wish to help us;
when we respond to the enervating vision of creative genies:-)

After filming was over,
I was asked "Where do you feel it?"
I answered,
"I feel it in my toes.
I want to dance."

So I created two dolls who want to dance:-)

"and forget not that
the earth delights to feel your bare feet,
and the wind longs to play with your hair."

Kahlil Gibran

Thank you, Dean, Megan, Bevan, Andy and Lisa
for taking me on this journey of self-discovery.
Thank you, my heartfelt dolls,
for being my companions.

Heartfelt gratitude to my daughter, Julie, for taking photographs of my day with the crew.
Without her photographic record,
I would largely have been unaware of the creative genies recording me,
especially at The Arts Village.

We are all human beings seeking to become the best people we can be.
There are so many people willing to companion us on this journey.
Isn't that wonderful news?
Picture
ARTICLE IN ROTORUA DAILY POST

THE DOLL MAKER AND CONSERVE CANTAVIT

The Doll Maker is the first in a series of seven dolls
immortalizing my experience with a boutique film company called Jam TV.
I have called this series "The Doll Maker and Conserve Cantavit".
All the dolls are in the steam punk genre.
It was a wonderful opportunity
to use items that I have been gifted over the years;
to inject beloved items into a new story;
to contemplate an experience that was both surreal and profound;
to push the boundaries of my doll making.
While making each doll, with its unique personality,
I came to deeply appreciate the giftedness and creativity of the crew.
I am filled with gratitude for this glimpse into the world of film.
The Time Turner is the director.
This is a person who can hold a completed vision in his head.
But not only can he visualise the completed product,
he is able to break it down into its many parts,
juggle and manipulate these parts,
play with time and sequence and order,
and then create a new whole that realises his vision.
I am in awe.
MS Lotse is the Production Assistant.
She is a woman of considerable talent,
and carries much responsibility.
She is a time-keeper, an administrator,
an enabler and facilitator,
a carrier of equipment and possibility.
MS Lotse is polyvalent, a many-layered woman,
looking to become the best person she can be.
Our lives are richer because of her passion and her drive:-)
BC Lux is a cameraman -
a manipulator of light and a capturer of images.
Sleeves rolled up,
armed with a 'can-do' attitude,
prepared for any eventuality.

Where do the images go?
Has this man captured a part of my soul?
Perhaps capturing a digital image is similar to creating a doll -
a  way
to honour;
to entertain;
to remember;
to transform;
to tell stories;
to stimulate discussion and reflection;
to reveal the essence of what it is to be human.
LM Forscher is the researcher.
Intuitive. Focused. Perceptive.
An enquirer. An enabler.
A conversationalist.
A lateral thinker.

She seeks out the impassioned,
the innovative,
the curious,
the zealous,
the free spirit.

Her research has a profound effect on people and communities.
AT Klink is a sound technician,
a silent listener to every conversation.
Such a privileged position!
Our words reflect so much of ourselves -
at our most vulnerable;
in times of joy and of desolation;
with the power to hurt and the power to console;
with the power to motivate and to inspire.
To be heard is a precious gift.
Let's share this gift with those we encounter today:-)
Deedee is the final doll in this series.
There are some people who have the gift of organisation.
They enable others to become their best selves -
in their work and in their personal lives -
by ensuring they are fully informed;
that they understand what is happening;
by providing a point of contact.
These people provide a still point
in the hectic and sometimes hazardous journey that is our life.
They shoulder the burden
so that our lives are easier.
How wonderful:-)
visit "HEARTFELT DOLLS @ THE OPEN STUDIOS PROJECT" BLOG
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.