HEARTFELT DOLLS: THE MEMORY KEEPERS
How important are our memories?
How do they define us, shape us, name us?
Where do we store memories?
What are the triggers to memory?
How do they define us, shape us, name us?
Where do we store memories?
What are the triggers to memory?
There are many ways for each of us to record our memories.
In this digital, electronic age, we can
use an external hard drive,
home videos,
cloud storage,
facebook, tumblr, instagram,
or create our own website.
But these all need to be accessed.
Story-telling is an age-old means of keeping memories alive.
Journals rich in anecdotes and feelings.
Shared stories at wakes and weddings and 21st birthdays.
In this digital, electronic age, we can
use an external hard drive,
home videos,
cloud storage,
facebook, tumblr, instagram,
or create our own website.
But these all need to be accessed.
Story-telling is an age-old means of keeping memories alive.
Journals rich in anecdotes and feelings.
Shared stories at wakes and weddings and 21st birthdays.
Readings and stories and songs and prayers
heard regularly at rituals, such as the Catholic mass,
or seasonally, during Lent or Advent, Easter or Christmas, or Hanukkah,
create and reinforce our memory.
heard regularly at rituals, such as the Catholic mass,
or seasonally, during Lent or Advent, Easter or Christmas, or Hanukkah,
create and reinforce our memory.
Many of us have boxes full of treasures -
paintings and drawings our children have created;
handmade cards lovingly crafted for special days and events;
report cards and letters.
How often do we access them?
We can convert some of these treasures -
drawings into designer jewellery we wear with nostalgia and pride;
birthday cards translated into quilts which envelop us with the warmth of textiles and memory.
paintings and drawings our children have created;
handmade cards lovingly crafted for special days and events;
report cards and letters.
How often do we access them?
We can convert some of these treasures -
drawings into designer jewellery we wear with nostalgia and pride;
birthday cards translated into quilts which envelop us with the warmth of textiles and memory.
From the time of our birth, we are surrounded by textiles -
swaddling cloths, blankets, booties and bonnets,
footwear, head wear, gloves and mittens.
Textiles are in our vehicles;
on our beds and in our living spaces -
carpets and rugs and wall coverings,
We use them to clean;
in the preparation of food;
to decorate and embellish our environments;
for warmth and for fun;
for protection and for identification;
to express community and a sense of belonging.
They fly from flag posts and on poles on mountain tops.
We use textiles to bury our dead.
swaddling cloths, blankets, booties and bonnets,
footwear, head wear, gloves and mittens.
Textiles are in our vehicles;
on our beds and in our living spaces -
carpets and rugs and wall coverings,
We use them to clean;
in the preparation of food;
to decorate and embellish our environments;
for warmth and for fun;
for protection and for identification;
to express community and a sense of belonging.
They fly from flag posts and on poles on mountain tops.
We use textiles to bury our dead.
I believe textiles are an intrinsic part of being human.
They embody memories;
create memories;
transmit and translate memories.
Encountering a particular cloth or textile,
we are immediately transported to another time,
another experience,
another encounter.
Anthony Alvarado writes in "DIY Magic"
"Every moment,
everything I have ever experienced
is still present within me,
and always will be;
it takes only a moment of allowing a light,
a scent,
a melody,
a fragment
or a cookie to summon the experience back.
You can look at anything around you and think,
What does this remind me of?
Memory begins with a question."
They embody memories;
create memories;
transmit and translate memories.
Encountering a particular cloth or textile,
we are immediately transported to another time,
another experience,
another encounter.
Anthony Alvarado writes in "DIY Magic"
"Every moment,
everything I have ever experienced
is still present within me,
and always will be;
it takes only a moment of allowing a light,
a scent,
a melody,
a fragment
or a cookie to summon the experience back.
You can look at anything around you and think,
What does this remind me of?
Memory begins with a question."
Anthony Alvarado in "DIY Magic" continues,
"I could tell you that the point of exercising your memory
is that it can help you with creativity (it can)
and can give you ideas (it will)
and allow you to find connections and meaning in things you otherwise would miss (it does),
but that is not the point.
The point is that memory allows one to appreciate the beauty of life in its entirety,
its shape.
Every human is the artist of his or her own life.
Your life as you have lived it is your greatest work of art,
and it is by memory that this art is perceived,
is known,
is appreciated.
The point of memory exercise is to relish the whole tapestry of one's life."
"I could tell you that the point of exercising your memory
is that it can help you with creativity (it can)
and can give you ideas (it will)
and allow you to find connections and meaning in things you otherwise would miss (it does),
but that is not the point.
The point is that memory allows one to appreciate the beauty of life in its entirety,
its shape.
Every human is the artist of his or her own life.
Your life as you have lived it is your greatest work of art,
and it is by memory that this art is perceived,
is known,
is appreciated.
The point of memory exercise is to relish the whole tapestry of one's life."
"Memory is in us,
but it is also in things,
objects,
images,
and sights that open up for us.
In this way everything we see is filled with life,
is filled with potential memories of the life we have already lived,
and in this way one can,
and should,
experience life not just as a day-to-day affair,
not just as a present moment,
but as an ever piling up accumulation of meaning,
of emotion,
of life.
Memory gives life meaning."
but it is also in things,
objects,
images,
and sights that open up for us.
In this way everything we see is filled with life,
is filled with potential memories of the life we have already lived,
and in this way one can,
and should,
experience life not just as a day-to-day affair,
not just as a present moment,
but as an ever piling up accumulation of meaning,
of emotion,
of life.
Memory gives life meaning."
I think of Heartfelt dolls as memory keepers
because of the very materials from which they are created,
or the shape and nature of the doll,
or the memories they evoke.
Perhaps we made or played with dolls lovingly crafted from wooden pegs.
Or maybe we had a beloved topsy-turvy doll.
because of the very materials from which they are created,
or the shape and nature of the doll,
or the memories they evoke.
Perhaps we made or played with dolls lovingly crafted from wooden pegs.
Or maybe we had a beloved topsy-turvy doll.
Throughout our lives,
we need to integrate all our experiences -
positive and negative.
As we do this, we grow into the fullness of our humanity.
Heartfelt doll making is a way of transforming
a negative experience, such as cancer or divorce,
naming it,
acknowledging it,
and integrating it as part of our life journey.
we need to integrate all our experiences -
positive and negative.
As we do this, we grow into the fullness of our humanity.
Heartfelt doll making is a way of transforming
a negative experience, such as cancer or divorce,
naming it,
acknowledging it,
and integrating it as part of our life journey.
Making Heartfelt dolls is my way of keeping a journal,
a tactile memory keeper.
Not only a means of transforming negative experiences and thoughts,
but a way of remembering the life and times
of family and friends;
of spaces and places.
a tactile memory keeper.
Not only a means of transforming negative experiences and thoughts,
but a way of remembering the life and times
of family and friends;
of spaces and places.
Heartfelt dolls - the memory keepers -
are outward signs of LOVE.
Love for living family members.
Love for those who have died.
Love of the giftedness of artisans and artists and crafters.
Love expressed in the generosity of family and friends and strangers.
Love embodied in shared stories and experiences.
Love in the memories.
are outward signs of LOVE.
Love for living family members.
Love for those who have died.
Love of the giftedness of artisans and artists and crafters.
Love expressed in the generosity of family and friends and strangers.
Love embodied in shared stories and experiences.
Love in the memories.
