Dolls have being-ness. They are an art form with layers of story, like a person. Because of this, we can relate to a doll in a way that is different from painting or sculpture. Unlike other art forms, dolls are meant to be touched and held. It’s not always enough to see art—sometimes we need to feel it. Because we play with dolls as children, they can unlock powerful emotions that our adult self might otherwise ignore. We all have a need for connection, and dolls can meet this need both with their humanity and with their ability to speak to us through our sense of touch.

The work of women has been systematically devalued in the art world for centuries. Creating dolls and working with fabric is my way of demonstrating the great power of practices that have traditionally been considered “women’s work” and relegated to the status of craft, rather than high art. It is also a heartfelt refutation to those whose hearts are too closed to see the great emotional, spiritual and artistic value women have long created with needle and thread.