A Doll for the Season
The Equinox Spirit Doll
A five-week live online make-with-me workshop
Sundays, September 13, 20 & 27 and October 4 & 11
1:00–4:00 PM Eastern · Live on Zoom
$375 or two monthly payments of $187.50
Recordings included for registered students
Registration closes September 6
Why a Doll? And Why Now?
You begin with wire, clay, fabric, and yarn—ordinary materials—and slowly a presence begins to form. A face develops an expression. A shape begins to suggest a personality. A color or small detail carries more meaning than you expected it to.
And if you're thinking you need to have it all figured out before you begin, you don't. That's part of the mystery of making this way... each step reveals the next.
We enter playfully and imaginatively, and meaning begins to gather around what we create. A doll may reflect something you're already living. She may open the door to an idea you hadn't considered. She may become a storyteller, a companion, or the keeper of a particular season in your life.
The autumn equinox gives us the setting for this doll.
It marks a moment of balance, when light and darkness meet before the year begins its gradual turn inward. It invites us to notice what has ripened, what is changing, and what we may want to carry with us into the quieter months ahead.
We'll begin making shortly before the equinox and continue as the season changes around us. The equinox will become part of the conversation, but your doll's story will remain entirely your own.
She may be wise or wild, tender or funny, quiet or gloriously peculiar. You don't have to decide who she is. We'll let the making show us.
This workshop isn't about forcing a profound meaning onto every choice. It's about creating enough room for something unexpected to appear. A funny expression, an unusual shape, or a piece of fabric chosen simply because you love it may lead somewhere you couldn't have planned.
We play, but we play for a reason. As your doll develops, I'll invite you to notice what feels alive, what catches your imagination, and what story may be forming through the choices you make.
It marks a moment of balance, when light and darkness meet before the year begins its gradual turn inward. It invites us to notice what has ripened, what is changing, and what we may want to carry with us into the quieter months ahead.
We'll begin making shortly before the equinox and continue as the season changes around us. The equinox will become part of the conversation, but your doll's story will remain entirely your own.
She may be wise or wild, tender or funny, quiet or gloriously peculiar. You don't have to decide who she is. We'll let the making show us.
This workshop isn't about forcing a profound meaning onto every choice. It's about creating enough room for something unexpected to appear. A funny expression, an unusual shape, or a piece of fabric chosen simply because you love it may lead somewhere you couldn't have planned.
We play, but we play for a reason. As your doll develops, I'll invite you to notice what feels alive, what catches your imagination, and what story may be forming through the choices you make.
You Don't Have to Know How to Make a Spirit Doll
You'll start with wire, clay, fabric, yarn, and a few simple tools, and I'll guide you through every stage of the construction.
And I know the part that often makes people hesitate: the face.
I've got you there.
We’ll work with a face mold that gives you a strong starting point, and I’ll show you how to alter and add to the molded face so it becomes entirely your own.
No experience is needed. You don't need to consider yourself an artist, and you do not need a finished vision for your doll before we begin.
You only need to begin. Your doll will find her way from there.
How It Works
Over five Sunday afternoons, we'll create our dolls from scratch together.
In each session, I will demonstrate the next step, and then we will work alongside one another—with time for questions, support, troubleshooting, and genuine progress during class.
This is a make-with-me workshop. We're making together, in real time.
The recordings are available if you miss a session or need to revisit a technique. But the heart of the workshop is the experience of creating in good company, allowing our dolls to develop gradually over five weeks.
Because clay, paint, and doll-making need time to unfold, you'll also have a few manageable steps to complete between sessions so your doll is ready for her next layer when we meet again.
What We'll Cover
Session 1 — Body, Shape, and Beginning
We'll open with a conversation about spirit dolls, the equinox, and how we can let meaning emerge through the making. Then we will begin constructing a wire armature.
I'll cover shape, proportion, and ways to create a body with personality. We'll also explore the possibility of small clay feet or shoes. Between sessions, you'll refine the form so it is ready for the next stage.
Session 2 — Hands, Face, and Expression
We'll begin working on the hands and face.
I’ll demonstrate how to use and alter a molded face, including how to add clay to change its features, expression, and personality. I’ll also show you how to make simple wire hands.
There is no pressure to create a perfect face. This session is for experimentation, practice, and play. Between sessions, you can continue refining the face and allow the clay to dry.
Session 3 — Attach, Wrap, Paint, and Presence
This is often the session when the doll begins to feel particularly alive.
We'll attach the head and hands, begin wrapping and shaping the body, and start painting the face with soft pastels.
As her expression begins to look back at you, we'll also begin paying closer attention. What is her mood? What seems important about her? What part of the season—or of your own life—might she be carrying?
Session 4 — Clothing and Character
We'll explore simple ways to dress your doll using tunics, skirts, wrapped layers, shawls, and small pieces of cloth.
Clothing often reveals more of a doll's personality than we expect. A rough scrap, a bright color, an old piece of lace, or an unusual combination may suddenly feel exactly right.
Most of this session will be spent working together, with plenty of room for individual choices, questions, and help when you get stuck. Between sessions, you'll finish the primary layers of clothing.
Session 5 — Hair, Symbols, Finishing, and Sharing
In our final session, we'll add yarn hair and the small details that bring the doll fully into her own: beads, charms, stitching, tiny bundles, found objects, or whatever seems to belong.
We'll talk about symbols and how meaning can gather around an object without needing to be assigned in advance.
And of course, there will be time to share what we have made and honor the very different dolls—and stories—that emerged from the same basic materials.
Materials
A complete materials list will be sent before the first session.
We will use wire, paper clay, fabric, soft pastels, yarn, and small meaningful details such as beads, charms, thread, and found objects.
Use what you already have whenever possible. A scrap with a history, an old button, a piece of worn fabric, or something gathered from nature may carry more life than anything purchased especially for the workshop.
I'll keep the materials list clear and manageable and include information about the recommended face mold.
Who This Is For
This workshop is for you if you would like to spend five early-fall afternoons making a spirit doll slowly, imaginatively, and in good company.
It's especially for you if you're drawn to handmade objects, folk art, spirit dolls, seasonal reflection, and the kind of creativity in which meaning reveals itself as you go.
You may already have a rich creative practice, or you may be returning to creativity after a long time away. You may be interested in personal or spiritual growth but tired of the idea that everything meaningful must be intense.
Here, there's room for depth and delight.
There is room for crooked smiles, wild hair, quirky little surprises, and moments when your doll makes you laugh. There is also room to recognize that something real may be taking shape beneath the play.
No experience is needed. No plan is required.
Throughout the workshop, there will be time for individual support, questions, experimentation, and the kind of soulful connection that helps the work unfold.
Registration
Sundays, September 13, 20 & 27 and October 4 & 11
1:00–4:00 PM Eastern · Live on Zoom
$375 or two monthly payments of $187.50
Recordings included for registered students
Registration closes September 6
[Join the Equinox Spirit Doll Workshop]
If you'd like to review my cancellation policy, click here. (link to FAQ)
FAQs
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No. This class is built for you whether you've never touched clay or you've made a dozen dolls before. I'll walk you through every stage.
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Not at all. We’ll begin with a face mold, so you’re never staring at a blank lump of clay wondering where to begin. I’ll show you how to alter the molded face and make it entirely your own.
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I’ll send recommendations when you register, including the type and size of mold that works well for this project.
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That’s great. You’re welcome to use one you already own, as long as it’s an appropriate size for the doll.
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A spirit doll built with wire, clay, fabric, soft pastels, and yarn — start to finish, over five sessions.
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No, and that's the point. I'll show you the process and the choices along the way, but what she becomes — her face, her clothing, her details — is yours to decide.
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Each week we'll meet live on Zoom for 2.5 hours. I'll demonstrate the next part of the process, then you'll have time to work while I answer questions and offer guidance.
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Every session is recorded, so you won't lose anything if you have to miss one. That said, the live, working-together time is where most people get the most out of this class, so I'd encourage you to join live when you can.
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Yes, a bit. Clay and paint need time to dry between stages, so you'll have simple steps to do on your own so your doll's ready for the next layer when we meet again.
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Plan for some time between sessions, especially if you like to work slowly or add lots of details. You may spend an hour or two between classes, or more if you get happily pulled in.
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That happens, and it's okay. Between the recordings and simple catch-up guidance, you can pick back up — this isn't a class where falling behind once means you're out.
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Because all sessions are recorded and registered students receive access to the complete workshop, registration is nonrefundable. Please review the full cancellation policy before registering.
If you have other questions, you can contact me here.