Celebrating Our Ancestors Through Flip Dolls...

Exploring our ancestors and grandmothers stories through the vehicle of flip dolls...

Two weekends ago I was honored to be able to facilitate a wonderful group of women, to make ancestor/grandmother flip dolls. These creative women reminisced about grandmothers and using a variety of techniques created unique dolls. Some used the transfer technique to add images of their relatives faces and some either drew or stitched their faces.
Then they used the doll skirts as a way of representing elements of their ancestors, or in some cases of themselves, through symbols or costume. For instance, there was a mother and daughter who created flip dolls about their mother/grandmother. One ingeniously decorated flip doll depicted the wife/husband pair  top and bottom, front and back, with the younger and older pair displayed. And there was a pair of sisters who created dolls that were more alter ego than ancestors. 
This was the first time in a long time that I had offered a two day workshop like this but the time went quickly. I was amazed that most of the women finished their dolls. I am still fascinated with flip dolls and with the idea of exploring the stories of our ancestors.
​It was a magical weekend. Here are some of the photos. 
Stay tuned for more workshops and other ways of sharing my love of flip dolls.