Come
Make Magic
Private Spirit Doll Retreats
A private day — or two — in my West Asheville studio. Just you, or you and a friend, with beautiful materials, good food, and my full attention from the moment you arrive.
This is a day of making, but it’s also a day of listening — to your imagination, to the materials, and to whatever wants to take shape through the doll.
Whether you’re local to Asheville or planning a trip here, this is time set aside to make something meaningful.
There’s Something Different About Making This Way
Most creative experiences are designed for a group. This one is designed for you.
There’s no big room, no rushing, and no kit where every choice has already been made. It’s just you, or you and a friend, in my home studio for the day — with my full attention, plenty of room to follow what’s happening, and a process that gives your doll time to reveal herself.
We begin with conversation and a short guided journey, so the making has a deeper place to start from. Then we move into the materials: building, shaping, choosing, adjusting, and listening as the doll begins to become herself.
I’ll guide you through the process — structure, technique, ideas when you need them — but I won’t over-direct. The doll is yours. What comes through belongs to you.
You don’t need experience. You don’t need a plan. Come as you are.
The Inner Journey Is Part of the Making
Before you create your doll, you move inward through a guided visualization to listen for what’s just beyond your awareness. It’s an anchor into the day, the making.
For more than thirty years, I’ve worked with women through intuition, imagery, energy, story, and the symbolic language of the inner life. That background is part of what shapes these retreats. We’re not just making a doll from the outside in. We’re also letting the image, feeling, message, or presence of the doll begin to appear from the inside out.
The guided journey gives the making a deeper place to begin. It helps you step out of planning and into imagination, where symbols, colors, shapes, and unexpected impressions can start to show us what wants to come through.
You don’t have to be experienced with this kind of work. I’ll guide you gently. You only need to be willing to pause, listen, and see what appears.
There’s Something Different About Making This Way
Most creative experiences are designed for a group. This one is designed for you.
There’s no big room, no rushing, and no kit where every choice has already been made. It’s just you, or you and a friend, in my home studio for the day — with my full attention, plenty of room to follow what’s happening, and a process that gives your doll time to reveal herself.
We begin with conversation and a short guided journey, so the making has a deeper place to start from. Then we move into the materials: building, shaping, choosing, adjusting, and listening as the doll begins to become herself.
I’ll guide you through the process — structure, technique, ideas when you need them — but I won’t over-direct. The doll is yours. What comes through belongs to you.
You don’t need experience. You don’t need a plan. Come as you are.
How the Day Unfolds
You arrive to coffee, a light breakfast, and a handmade felted bundle waiting at your place — a small wet-felted pouch I make myself, filled with crystals, herbs, charms, and a few carefully chosen little things to use during the making or take home.
We talk first. About the day, about what’s been on your mind, and about what you feel pulled toward making. There’s no rushing into it.
Before we pick up any materials, we take a few minutes for a short guided journey. This is where the day begins to turn inward. It’s a way to step out of thinking mode and into something quieter, so your imagination can begin to show us what wants to come through. What appears in that quiet space often becomes the thread we follow as the doll begins to take shape.
Then we make.
The morning is for building and beginning. Lunch is a real break — good food, easy conversation, and time to let things settle a bit. The afternoon is for slow, soulful making — listening to what the doll is becoming and following where she leads.
On a two-day retreat, the second morning begins with another short journey, this time with the doll you’ve already started. What does she want? What is she showing you? This is often when the doll begins to speak more clearly — not only about who she wants to become, but about what she may be here to help you see in yourself.
We end with time to sit with what you’ve made, talk about what came through, and think about how to stay connected with her and her message after you leave.
What you create here is more than just a doll. It’s something meaningful, made with your own two hands. Something that holds a story about you, this moment in your life, and who you are becoming.
One Day or Two?
A one-day retreat is best for a stick doll, a small spirit figure, or a symbolic handmade object. It's a full studio day — enough time to make something meaningful without rushing.
A two-day retreat gives us more room. More layering, more drying time, more detail, and more space to listen to the doll as she becomes. This is the better choice if you want a more developed spirit doll with wire, clay, fabric, paint, and adornment, and more time to explore the deeper connection between you and the figure taking shape.
Some dolls feel like guides. Some feel like protectors. Some hold a wish, a turning point, a question, or a part of you that wants to be seen in a new way.
No two are ever alike.
What Folks Are Saying
“I spent two days with Stacy making a spirit doll. I had no idea what to expect. Stacy guided me to explore something I was wishing for, and I had the most beautiful, surreal experience — colors, messages, love, and acceptance. It was very emotional, and I cried a lot, but happy tears.
Now I have that visualization to return to when I’m feeling lost. The spirit doll turned out lovely, and I keep her by my bedside to remind me of what I felt during our time together.”
— Joy
_________
“Spending a day making a doll with Stacy was such a delight. Intentionally connecting to spirit and bringing that light through artwork — there is nothing sweeter. Especially when you’re finished and see what you’ve created.
I found the process relaxing and meditative. Stacy made it fun. She was aware when I needed help, but otherwise let me create the doll that was mine. I am so very happy with my doll. She makes me smile.”
— Darla
Details
Location
West Asheville — address provided after booking
Time
10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Investment
One-day retreat: $600 for one woman · $950 for two women together
Two-day retreat: $1,200 for one woman · $1,900 for two women together
A $250 deposit is required to reserve your date. The remaining balance is due two weeks before your retreat.
What's Included
All materials, light breakfast, lunch, coffee, tea, a handmade felted bundle, and photos
Group Size
One woman, or two women, coming together
Cats live with me. If you're allergic, plan ahead. See my cancellation policy in the FAQ below.
Ready to Come Make Your Spirit Doll?
Come to Asheville for a day or two and join me in the studio. Make a spirit doll — something soulful, personal, and completely your own. It may become a guide, a guardian, a reminder, a marker of this moment in your life, or simply a little being that makes you smile every time you see her.
Come on your own, or come with a friend. You'll leave with more than you came with — and not just the doll.
FAQ
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No. I’ll guide you through the whole process. You don’t need to think of yourself as creative or artistic. These retreats are designed for absolute beginners as well as seasoned creatives.
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No. We’ll talk at the start of the day, look through materials together, and let the direction reveal itself as we work.
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The one-day retreat works well for a stick doll, small spirit figure, talisman doll, or symbolic object. The two-day retreat gives us room for a larger, more developed spirit doll with more layering, detail, and finishing.
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Yes. The retreat is designed for one woman on her own or two women coming together. I don’t pair strangers for private retreats.
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Nothing, unless you have small treasures you’d like to include — fabric, charms, beads, jewelry, stones, written prayers, or meaningful bits. Everything else is here.
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It can be, but it doesn’t have to be. Some women experience the process as deeply symbolic or spiritual. Some simply want a beautiful day of making. Both are welcome.
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A $250 deposit is required to reserve your date.
Cancellations made 21 or more days before your retreat may be refunded, minus the deposit. Cancellations made less than 21 days before your retreat are non-refundable unless we can reschedule.
You’re welcome to transfer your retreat to someone else, or reschedule once if we can find a date that works for both of us.
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You’re responsible for your own lodging and travel. I’m happy to share a few nearby suggestions once your retreat is booked.
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Yes. Just include that request in your inquiry and I’ll take care of it.
If you have other questions, you can contact me here.