When asked to describe something positive that arose out of the 2020 Pandemic, Linda wrote: The artist/seamstress in me has been really getting a workout not just now with face masks, but in the past two years. As I’ve said before, working with one’s hands on something – whether woodwork, dolls, clothing, etc. – can be such an amazing way to tell a story, to express one’s deepest experiences and insights, in ways that transcend the barriers that are more daunting than ever now of culture, ideology, race/ethnicity, class, gender, etc. Even as we just make face masks right now, volunteers around the nation are sharing their lives with one another, our different perceptions of the pandemic, our disagreements, and of course our own artistic flair in textures, styles, etc., in such supportive ways. Guys are involved. Young people are on board. While we re-acquire a skill that has largely been lost in this nation. I don’t know quite yet how, but I felt in the Dream Catcher summary and its challenges a call to somehow translate this experience into something I can offer to the Society, including overseas, and certainly within and between marginalized communities. My community of African-American doll artists who come from across the world really embody these ideals, and I’m trying in prayer to figure out a way to translate this model and experience into something “useful” for the Society in a polarized world. (To read more about Linda, click on the link(s) under her name.
Relationship to the Society:
RSCJ
