The inner child doll

Aren't we all children at heart?
I recently made two dolls for my nieces, they both loved them so much they told me "these dolls are our best Christmas present ever!" Now their mum, my sister-in-law has commissioned a doll for herself for her birthday this year.


When I made a doll for myself that represented myself as little girl, and it was a most wonderful thing.  As she began to take shape, I felt this doll literally come alive as an outer expression of my child self.  She has a very human presence to me!


The process of making was poignant, taking time to choose just the right shade of brown for her hair, what sort of clothes would she love, stitching her together and remembering my childhood.  Now that she is complete, her addition in the household feels perfect, like she has been missing for awhile, and now she is here.  She reminds me to play and not take myself so seriously, when I do.


Her presence in Australia also significant because I have only ever lived here as an adult, I emigrated in 1997.  She is a little girl my son loves to play with.  I notice myself nurturing this doll, retrieving her from some awkward places she might end up in the tumult of play, straightening her hair, removing fluff and other extraneous objects from her face, making her a new dress for the summer.


I once had a friend who took great delight in showing me her parents bedroom, which revealed a couple of well worn teddy bears sitting atop their pillows.  I think back to that and realise that whatever our age, our child self is still alive, perhaps has something to teach us and is alot of fun to be around!