Worry Dolls Workshop
Event Details
7 North Water Avenue
New Hampton, Iowa 50659
Contact Name: Juanita Andersen
Email: carnegiecc@yahoo.com
Phone: 641.394.2354
Website: www.carnegieculturalcenter.org
Event Description
The Carnegie Cultural Center’s 2014 Temporary Exhibits calendar is dedicated to the visual arts. In conjunction with the current exhibit, “Art of the People”, which includes examples of folk art from a variety of countries, the Carnegie is inviting area residents of all ages to make a little folk art of their own by taking part in three workshops, “Worry Dolls”, “Dream Catchers” or “Coiled Baskets”, slated for the weekend of March 29 – 30.
The first get-together is scheduled for 10:00 – 11:30a.m.on Saturday, the 29th, and is open to students in grades 1-4 with an adult helper. During the workshop, participants will make several of their very own “Worry Dolls.” Also known as “trouble dolls”, worry dolls are traditionally made in Guatemala. When a person, usually a child, cannot sleep due to worrying, they express their concerns to one of these small dolls and then place it under their pillow. According to folklore, the doll assumes the person’s worry, permitting him to sleep. The person may then wake without their worry which was taken away by the doll during the night. Some medical centers use them in conjunction with treatment for disease in children. Parents may involve the child in making the dolls to further increase the psychological benefits of releasing worries. There is no fee for this workshop, but pre-registration is required.
Also on Saturday, the 29th, in the 1:00 – 2:30 p.m. time slot, “Dream Catchers” is open to students in grades 5 – 8 and offers a different sort of relief to participants. Native Americans believe that the night air is filled with dreams both good and bad. The dream catcher, when hung over or near one’s bed and swinging freely in the air, catches the dreams as they flow by. The good dreams know how to pass through the dream catcher and slip on down to the sleeper. The bad dreams get tangled in the dream catcher’s web and perish with the first light of the new day. It is said that the dream catcher holds the destiny of the future. Again, there is no fee for this workshop, but pre-registration guarantees that sufficient materials will be on hand.
Adults and high school students are invited to take part in the “Coiled Baskets” workshop planned for Sunday, March 30 from 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. Coiling is a basketry technique used by Native Americans all over North America. All coiled containers begin at the bottom with a flexible coil or core that is wrapped around and on top of itself as it is stitched together. Coiled baskets from different regions have different styles of coiling depending on the materials used in the core and the type of stitches used to bind the coil together. Pre-registration and a materials fee of $3 is necessary for this workshop.
Pre-register for a workshop by calling the Carnegie Cultural Center at (641) 394-2354 or emailing carnegiecc@yahoo.com and look forward to shaking off the doldrums this long winter has bestowed on us all!
