Never Say Never

I think I've said this before, but it needs repeating, if only for me. I once said I'd never make dolls. I said that for several years, before doing a workshop with Michael Brennand Wood, where lo and behold, I made a totem doll (as well as something deep, meaningful and serious, which I still have in a cupboard somewhere). That was followed by various art dolls in cloth. But, I thought, I draw the line at paper dolls. That's just silly. Ahem. Guess who just made an ACEO with a paper doll, and intends to make more? Yes, you guessed it. Dotty is the first of what appears to be a series of little dolls, while Ukraina is a totem doll; both are available for sale here.

What have I learned from this? The obvious lesson is above: never say never. The less obvious answer is that whenever I say 'never', it means I should recognise that this is something I'm not ready to do, yet. It certainly doesn't mean I'm never going to do whatever it is, just that I'm ahead of myself in thinking about it. That tends to be the case with some books I've bought, looked at and put aside. Eventually, I come back to whatever it was, in need of that particular technique, sentence or photograph that I rejected before. I suppose everything comes to those who wait. Especially the things we need to help us grow and change, as artists and, more importantly, as people.

ps check out Michael's website; you won't regret it, I promise. Great teacher, lovely person.