Welcome to Dangerous Old Dollmaker
There comes a time when an older woman is no longer willing to abandon what she knows. She begins to question old rules, listen more closely to her body and imagination, and give form to what has been hidden, dismissed, forgotten, or waiting.
Dangerous Old Dollmaker is depth-oriented creative circle for experienced makers who want to explore life, story, body, symbol, intuition, and transformation through the art dolls they make.
This is the spirit of the Dangerous Old Dollmaker.
Why “dangerous”?
She is not dangerous because she wants to harm anyone. She is dangerous because she has become less willing to silence herself. She follows what is alive. She digs beneath the obvious story. She makes things that do not yet have names. She is willing to tell the truth about what she has learned.
The Dangerous Old Dollmaker is not a character you are asked to imitate. She is an invitation to discover your own version of the wise, creative, truth-telling woman who is emerging in you.
What kind of circle is this?
This is not a traditional dollmaking class and it is not a casual craft group. It is a mentored creative circle growing from more than thirty years of my work with healing dolls, expressive art, personal story, symbolism, imagination, and transformation.
We use The Healing Doll Way as a shared foundation. Through live Zoom gatherings and Open Studios, members make dolls, explore images and archetypes, write and reflect, share discoveries, and receive guidance as their work develops.
Who is it for?
This circle is intended for women who have enough experience with dollmaking or other art materials to work independently. You do not need formal art training or advanced technical skill. You do need curiosity, a willingness to experiment, and readiness to engage thoughtfully with your own creative process.
If you primarily need patterns, step-by-step construction lessons, or close instruction in basic dollmaking, another Healing Doll Way offering may be a better starting place.
A gentle but real threshold
The work can be playful, surprising, moving, challenging, and deeply meaningful. You choose what to explore and what to share. You are always encouraged to work at your own pace and honor your own limits.
You do not have to know where the doll is taking you. You only need enough experience to begin—and enough curiosity to follow what emerges.
Dangerous Old Dollmaker is depth-oriented creative circle for experienced makers who want to explore life, story, body, symbol, intuition, and transformation through the art dolls they make.
This is the spirit of the Dangerous Old Dollmaker.
Why “dangerous”?
She is not dangerous because she wants to harm anyone. She is dangerous because she has become less willing to silence herself. She follows what is alive. She digs beneath the obvious story. She makes things that do not yet have names. She is willing to tell the truth about what she has learned.
The Dangerous Old Dollmaker is not a character you are asked to imitate. She is an invitation to discover your own version of the wise, creative, truth-telling woman who is emerging in you.
What kind of circle is this?
This is not a traditional dollmaking class and it is not a casual craft group. It is a mentored creative circle growing from more than thirty years of my work with healing dolls, expressive art, personal story, symbolism, imagination, and transformation.
We use The Healing Doll Way as a shared foundation. Through live Zoom gatherings and Open Studios, members make dolls, explore images and archetypes, write and reflect, share discoveries, and receive guidance as their work develops.
Who is it for?
This circle is intended for women who have enough experience with dollmaking or other art materials to work independently. You do not need formal art training or advanced technical skill. You do need curiosity, a willingness to experiment, and readiness to engage thoughtfully with your own creative process.
If you primarily need patterns, step-by-step construction lessons, or close instruction in basic dollmaking, another Healing Doll Way offering may be a better starting place.
A gentle but real threshold
The work can be playful, surprising, moving, challenging, and deeply meaningful. You choose what to explore and what to share. You are always encouraged to work at your own pace and honor your own limits.
You do not have to know where the doll is taking you. You only need enough experience to begin—and enough curiosity to follow what emerges.
Root Weaver
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What we will do together Dangerous Old Dollmaker is a place to continue making—not simply to watch, read, or talk about creativity. The meaning grows through the combination of making, noticing, reflecting, sharing, wondering, and allowing your own discoveries to emerge.
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The Healing Doll Way as our foundation
My book, The Healing Doll Way: A Guided Process Creating Art Dolls for Self-Discovery, Awareness and Transformation, provides the shared language and foundation for our work. Members are asked to own the book and become familiar with pages 9–114. You do not need to complete every exercise or understand everything before joining.
Beginning with Discovery
We begin with Discovery: a season of curiosity, experimentation, play, research, and exploration. You may develop a healing intention, begin or deepen an art journal, explore symbols and body imagery, and consider your own relationship with dolls and self-image.
The first dolls may include a figure of yourself entering the process—a grounded or emerging self—and a Guardian or Gatekeeper who brings protection, compassion, hope, and encouragement. These are invitations, not assignments that must be done perfectly or on a rigid timetable.
Responsive rather than rigid
The circle is alive and responsive. I may bring in a reading, image, visualization, demonstration, question, or unexpected creative invitation in response to what is emerging in the group and in my own work. That responsiveness is part of the process.
What I ask of members
My book, The Healing Doll Way: A Guided Process Creating Art Dolls for Self-Discovery, Awareness and Transformation, provides the shared language and foundation for our work. Members are asked to own the book and become familiar with pages 9–114. You do not need to complete every exercise or understand everything before joining.
Beginning with Discovery
We begin with Discovery: a season of curiosity, experimentation, play, research, and exploration. You may develop a healing intention, begin or deepen an art journal, explore symbols and body imagery, and consider your own relationship with dolls and self-image.
The first dolls may include a figure of yourself entering the process—a grounded or emerging self—and a Guardian or Gatekeeper who brings protection, compassion, hope, and encouragement. These are invitations, not assignments that must be done perfectly or on a rigid timetable.
Responsive rather than rigid
The circle is alive and responsive. I may bring in a reading, image, visualization, demonstration, question, or unexpected creative invitation in response to what is emerging in the group and in my own work. That responsiveness is part of the process.
What I ask of members
- Come with curiosity and a willingness to experiment.
- Be able to work independently with your chosen materials.
- Respect confidentiality and the different paths of other members.
- Take responsibility for your own pace, boundaries, and well-being.
- Seek appropriate personal or professional support if material arises that needs care beyond a creative learning circle.
- There is no “right” doll to make. Your task is to show up, pay attention, make, wonder, listen, and see what happens.