Medium:  Mixed media

Dimensions:  Assorted

Price:  Not for Sale

Description:  The Yup’ik people of Alaska make dolls. Dolls: miniature humans; the spirit images of living things are metaphors for human experience. From physical birth to physical death, amulets and dolls are carved and consecrated by a shaman and placed at the doorposts of the house and at the gravesite for protection.
I began my journey with Eskimo dolls after suffering a difficult personal loss. Wanting to explore authentic expressions of birth-to-death-to-birth cycles, I found that the Yup’ik and Inuit talismans spoke directly to my heart. I sketched from prototypical images using inks and ink washes. I was also compelled to make personal interpretations of my own Eskimo-inspired amulets, dolls and masks. Old, worn and natural materials as well as ink on paper expressed ancient, archetypal and universal experiences.