Shaman Spider Woman Bead Head Doll

This is the Shaman/Spider Woman doll I made as a very special wedding gift. I wanted to invoke the Native American connection to their wedding ceremony. Many of the items for the charms and trim are from vintage jewelry including a Kokopelli pin and road runner turquoise earrings that were my mother's. Some of the beads were new purchases, others from vintage necklaces taken apart.

Many of the fabrics used in the patchwork over robe were given to me by my mother-in-law. She has a huge collection of different vintage fabrics that she has collected over the last 40+ years in her travels. I combined upholstery fabrics with antique embroideries, printed Indian silks and quilting cottons, including small scale liberty prints.

My daughter contributed a lot of her design talents to the project. It was she who designed the tattoos for the doll's cheeks. She also chose the yarn combination for the hair, to coordinate with the robes. She sewed the little felt bag for the Kokopelli, a fertility deity, which contains a baby figure made from "stone" polymer clay.

The feathers in the headdress and one of the charms came from decorations on the wedding invitation. I also made many of the paper beads from the lovely stiff textured papers on the home made invitation and "save the date" cards. They made really lovely beads. Her staff was made from fallen wood I collected on our way to Sedona.

She was great fun to make. Sometimes I look at her and see a bit of Eastern Europe in the silhouette and layering. This makes me very happy too. Best of all she seemed to be appreciated by the recipients.