Eureka Springs School of Arts

In July I had the wonderful opportunity to take a workshop in Eureka Springs...I stayed with a good
friend...Becky Ross...in their beautiful lakehouse on Beaver Lake. The workshop was making a
Shaman Doll...was not real sure what that was...but turned out to be perhaps your Spirit Doll???
Really anything you wanted it to be. I surmised that it was to be somewhat of a personification of
you...meaning me...so I proceeded do some prep work ahead of the class...what I eventually came up with was not really anything like that...but an offshoot of my original plan. It was very inspiring..there were 10 people in our class...one man....everyone had their own vision...Becky ended up making an
Alaskan figure....complete with wonderful mask...another friend of mine brought a turtle shell and constructed a figure riding a conch shell with wheels...Cynthia made this and finally I understood what
the whole gist of the class...using found objects to do what you saw in the items.
I was inspired...and said "I get it!"...  Our teacher was Valerie Damon...a renowned artist who used to work for Hallmark but many years ago she and her husband moved to Eureka Springs....bought many acres on top of a mountain and live in a log house...grown their own food...do everything very naturally...even composting toilets....she has long dreadlocks and is quite wonderful...by the end of the class I told her we were kindred souls!! I enjoyed every minute of my time there and wanted to share
my creation.....came home and started on several more....My title for the "BOX" ...is "She's trying to

think outside of the Box!"....which is what the class did for me...I needed it.....the little felt doll I just
finished...she is 7" tall and was very fun to make...found the pattern on Pinterest...