An Accidental Journey Into Mindfulness

© Melissa Gaggiano

We had a true Autumn weekend. The world was grayish and we mostly stayed indoors. It was not a lost weekend, as we happily disappeared into the land of clay sculpting.

Inspired by the Japanese stories we've been following (Spirited Away, Totoro, Kamisama Kiss and even the game Breath of the Wild) we made prayer statues. It wasn't something that we planned on. It was one of those activities that happened organically.

The books we read, and films we watch have a way of reaching into our creative hearts. In turn the things we make reflect those ideas and images. It's a beautiful process.

Now we have a number of prayer statues around the home. There is even one in the garden. The youngest visited her prayer statue, right before school started, and I watched her passionately say a silent prayer. It was then my realization that this clay project quite by accident became a journey into mindfulness.

Need to Learn

© Melissa Gaggiano

    From machine stitch to hand sewing. From rag dolls to armature. From mermaids to fashion dolls. From felt pattern pieces to needle felted sculpting… My journey in doll making has been varied and expansive. 

    More than a decade ago I fantasised about constructing my own china dolls. I imagined modern dolls made with old school doll making techniques. Nothing came of this, as these thoughts were before the dawn of the online crafting renaissance. Then two years ago I discovered there were artists achieving this very thing. It gave me hope and with gradual research have discovered resources that can demystify these doll making techniques.

    After at least a year's worth of um-ing and ah-ing I began practicing and teaching myself how to sculpt. This is no easy task, as I am back where I began when I first tried making dolls. When you are learning from scratch the path ahead looks scary and bumpy. There will be mishaps and the outcome seems so far away. Despite all this there is something inside that says 'just give it a go'. 'Surely a couple of steps forward wouldn't hurt'.

    My first sculpted doll head was simply fugly. Though with each attempt at sculpting, while rough, it comes closer to what I need it to be. I've still got a long way to go with this sculpted doll making, and ultimately it may not be the right thing for me, but for now it's what I need to be learning.

© Melissa Gaggiano

Who Knows

© Melissa Gaggiano

    I have all sorts of ideas rolling around in my head. Nothing new about that. I've never really been linear or singular about the things I make.

    A couple of months ago I sculpted these doll limbs, then left them to sit, not really knowing what I wanted to do with them next. This week I pulled out those sculpted limbs and took to some freestyle painting. There's something about the boots that remind me of Astroboy, and the arms must have been inspired by the cold weather because they look like woolly knitted sleeves. There's no telling what will happen next. I might leave the limbs just as they are. Or I may create a body and head next.

© Melissa Gaggiano