Medicine Man Doll and Thank You!

My daughter, Caroline, and I made this Medicine Man Doll together for her boyfriend in England.It was fun to create together! I am surprised and touched by how similar are creative styles are...


Here I am with Caroline during our post-surgery pedicure celebration! She worked very hard caring for me after surgery. She even loved me when I was crabby! Caroline left for England the day after this photo was taken...

Thank you all so very much for your fortifying insights and support regarding life and rage! You all mean so much to me...You are part of my tribe of wise, fabulous women. I am so lucky and grateful to share my life and my art with you! I have a fantasy that one day we will have a chance to meet...maybe renting a beach house or cabin somewhere with great food, sharing, hikes, and art projects...

My rage has settled for the moment. I have been doing therapy related to it as well as some wonderful acupuncture sessions...and massage. The Chinese herbs kicked in at 4am to help me with the medication related constipation. What an interesting, difficult at times, and revealing journey this is! I am battling some depression at the moment as well...I am hoping that it will lift some when I am able to exercise again. I can't wait to swim again!

I was talking with Susan this morning about dividing up the magnificent crystal curtain from the Academy awards...Anyone interested in sharing it with us???

I am working on a wild looking large, red owlish bird that began emerging yesterday afternoon...I'll give you a peek later this week!

Rage Doll and The Raven

Three weeks following my surgery I am experiencing tremendous bouts of uncontainable rage. It is quite unsettling and quite unlike me. I am trying to befriend this new emotion or, at least, to sit with it in acceptance for the moment. This Rage Doll poured through me this weekend. She may have saved many innocent bystanders from experiencing my wrath had I dared to go out in public rather than stay inside my womb-like studio and express through my creation.

The beads pouring out of her mouth beautifully express the rage pouring forth from me related to a combination of issues from my past, recovering from surgery, and hormonal attempts at rebalancing. After I finished making her, I noticed that she has a regal mermaid-like quality. She appears beautiful, centered, and powerful even in her ragefullness.

She is holding a sea shell in her triumphant raised hand that symbolizes once again my ovary...the one that was taken and the one that remains...I am so grateful for my ability to create through process! This journey contains both extreme challenges and a deep richness...I probably would have it no other way...


P.S. I found this fabulous Folkmanis Raven puppet by chance today. She embodies so much of how I am feeling as well as the mystery behind all of this turmoil. She gets along well with my Rage Doll self. In one of my favorite books, Animal Speak, her characteristics are Magic, Shapeshifting, and Creation. Raven "teaches how to go into the dark and bring forth the light...This is creation." I relate to her disheveled feathers, slight air of irritability, sense of humor, and great access to deep wisdom...I am taking her to school with me tonight!

Art Doll Quarterly "Mystic Bride" and More!

Here is my"Mystic Bride" bead and bone doll published this week in the Spring issue of Art Doll Quarterly! Look for two more in the Summer issue!



Here is a close-up of her beaded features...I incorporated sea glass and butterflies into the design of her face. She has winsome eyes. She may be longing for a Prince who is more than just a frog...


A lovely surprise healing Mermaid from my friend, Ellen! She arrived in a gold tin box with a coveted scrap of gold lame fabric. Delicious! I feel better already! Thank you Ellen!


A "Guardian Spirit" for my surgery sent to me by my dear friend Bobbi. I was actually able to bring the spirit doll with me into the operating room!


These dolls came through as a set of three sisters just before my surgery. The third sister is Japanese. She has not revealed herself completely yet. This is Elderisa and The Mermaid. The first time that I held Elderisa in my arms, I wept. She reminded me of holding my babies for the first time. She helped me to access the many feelings that I had regarding the loss of my uterus. They both stayed in my bed with me in the hospital!


My Kitty and Amelia dolls came from my beautiful and talented friend, Dot in Australia. I ended up receiving an unexpected gift of a real kitten, George, while Dot's creation was winging its way across the seas! The Amelia doll was wearing the same pink bell that George has on his collar when she arrived! George loves her too! These two creations kept me smiling in the hospital...They were a part of the "Art Tour" that gathered more attendance each day in my room!


I was so excited to find this nest last night when I walked out to get my mail! It feels so hopeful to me as I continue on my path to recovery...I wonder what eggs will grow inside of my "new nest" as the Springtime unfolds for me...


It actually looks like a heart without the bowl...I always thought of my uterus as my second heart...

A Glorious Tribute to My Uterus!

My embellished uterus is 14 inches wide by 12 inches high...


The golden angel has one hand on my seashell ovary and another on my elaborate cervix!


Photos related to the surgery...Healthy me with kitty, George. Surgery doll. Me with my surgeon. My children when they were young.



Thank you all for the tremendous support during the process of my surgery! I was so happy to experience the healing process of creating and decorating my own version of the transformation and honoring of my uterus during my first weekend home from the hospital...complete with lovely angels, charms, shells, and sea glass. It kind of looks like an elaborate Valentine's heart!

I am doing quite well. The experience was blessed and I was so magnificently supported and cared for. I am very grateful. The Blanket of Love experience just before my surgery began was amazing. I have never experienced anything quite so blissful! Fifty friends and family members participated! I kept telling the anesthesiologist that I would not need any drugs prior to surgery. I was so relaxed and filled with love. My surgeon is skilled and wonderful. I had a beautiful healing room with a view of the Flatiron mountains and room service meals whenever I desired them. I am experiencing a small setback today following many days of feeling so wonderful. I think that I overdid a bit yesterday...Another lesson in patience and slowing down...Alas.

I am missing my daily interactions with all of my wonderful, creative blog family. My energy is still a little slow. I will regain my momentum soon I am sure.