What is a Mud Doll?

What is a Mud Doll? A Mud Doll is more of a spirit than an actual doll. The Mud Doll Spirit is a 'taking things by the horn' approach to living, making art and being connected to our environment, even when things aren't perfect, and often times are a little muddy. It's about letting go of the constraints in our own minds, while getting dirty, and still shining like a star. Ceramics, art and nature are all ways that I connect to and share my Mud Doll Spirit.

The first time that I connected to my Mud Doll Spirit was when I was eight years old. My third-grade teacher taught our class the basics of ceramics. Our first project was to make a pinch pot, which I still have over four decades later in some of my favorite colors.

My first ceramic piece at age 8 : Pinch Pot, 1980

Then Mrs. Chinn taught our class how to coil build and hand build. Each project was followed by a lesson on glaze. I had so much fun building with ceramic clay, and I waited with great anticipation for each new assignment. The feeling of earth's mud all over my hands, fully submerged in creating something wonderful, felt so natural to me. It felt where I belonged. Something so simple at school would later grow to a strong passion throughout my life and that passion is my Mud Doll Spirit.

As I was learning ceramics at a young age, I also had a skin condition that was miserable at times. Western doctors had tried everything, but they couldn't get the condition to heal properly. That summer, my father took my family to see his good friend, a chief in the Blackfoot tribe of Montana. His friend brought me to the sacred mud bathes that were heated through a natural hot spring on the reservation. I played around in the mud, neck deep, as the earth's minerals started to heal my skin. The Blackfoot tribe allowed my parents to take a large container of the sacred mud back home to Seattle, Washington when we left. For several weeks, I would soak my body in this mud as my skin healed. This experience also brought me a lot closer to the healing power of earth's minerals and just added to my Mud Doll passion. Earth's minerals are a healing solution for the mind, body and soul, all at one time. Occasionally you may even see some native influence in my work as a tribute to my dad's dear friend, who helped change my childhood tremendously.

Later in life, I would go on to take ceramics in high school and college. I learned different tools, techniques and how to throw clay on a wheel. I bought a kiln and taught myself how to fire it as I began to study the different mineral compounds and how they react to each other at different temperatures and firing environments. The science of ceramics is just as fascinating to me as the art process. It's still a learning process each time I go out to my studio and with each new firing, but each experience is truly a value lesson.

By sharing my love for mud and arts, I hope to connect with others who feel that same spirit. Whether you connect to your Mud Doll Spirit via ceramics or another way, I hope to hear your story as well. By sharing our stories, we can shine through the muddy times and find beauty everywhere. When was a time that you felt your Mud Doll Spirit?

Best wishes always, Judy aka: Mud Doll