Serenity's arms cried out for a baby to hold. The challenges was finding the best material to make the baby from. After a few experiments, I decided felting would be the best choice. I allows the baby to hold onto Serenity without being too heavy or ridged.














I had planned to write on this page after it was painted, but I found it calming so left it as is.

This is a song I used to sing to my third daughter when I was pregnant with her. I found myself humming it while felting the baby so it seemed appropriate to include in the journal.

The song is called "In This Heart" and is sung by Sinead O'Connor.

These pages were created with paint, a glue mixture, and tissue paper.

Serenity came to me with empty arms but was otherwise so complete and lovely that I couldn't add something just to add it. Then it occurred to me that I have never felt so serene as I did after nursing my baby to sleep. The look on the doll's face showed the peace of a mother whose body is flooded by oxytocin and whose heart was full of gentleness and love.

Once the baby was in her arms, I thought perhaps the deepest serenity was feeling safely cradled in mother's arms. All needs met, all love received, sleeping in perfect bliss.

Whether you imagine yourself cradling the babe, or being cradled, I hope these two will bring you some of the serenity they are enjoying.

The scalloped edge reads-

"Breathe....out....in....out....in...out....in....

Serenity Oceana

Serenity's face is so beautiful and her body is so interesting. Yet I still felt she wanted arms to enhance the centaur aspect of her body. I gave her arms and attached her wing/fins to them. I also added some raggedy lace fins to her tail - she reminds me of the sea horses at the Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific. They are really lacy and raggedy.

I glazed her eyes with dimensional glaze for shine, but I didn't want to fool around with her face any more. I gave her hand cut scales made from a milk bottle, that look rather mother-of-pearly, instead of using sequins.

So many "Serenity" quotes had already appeared in the journal so I did some searching and found some words I like.

Here's my favorite:

"I pray to be like the ocean, with soft currents, maybe waves at times. More and more, I want the consistency rather than the highs and the lows." ~ Drew Barrymore

serenity leaves arlee

"The canyons of the sea
call and protect me

They are home
they are unknown,
serenity and surrender to my destiny"


"One cannot write one's destiny on the waves,
one must flow"

Serenity has wing fins so that she may swim with the currents, or against them to reach the sky above the canyons of her underwater home, or to delve deep in the waters and grottos of her submariner scapes.

We all swim or fly with or away from the currents of our lives--these travels make our experiences and shape our wisdom.

Serenity's Journal - by MA

Now for her journal...

This is page 1 & 2

The inserts in the pocket on the left...

Page 3....

Centre folds...

Final page....

Serenity - work done by MA

Serenity 

told me she really
wanted to
be able to
stand upright.

So a search began for  a suitable seashell because obviously a seahorse centaur NEEDED a seashell for a  stand...right??  After several false starts she now has her stand.  She has a rod inside her and one mounted in the seashell which slide together to hold her in place and yet are removable for the other artists to continue to work on her.

She also informed me that
she was COLD

here in Canada
and she really thought she should
have a nice warm
crocheted shawl.

(having no arms makes it hard to wear a shawl, but she knows someone else will give her some)

Serenity

As soon as I saw Serenity, I knew I wanted to make her a seahorse centaur. A seahorse is a very serene little critter. Having semi-useless fins, it prefers protected waters like a bay or inlet, and relies on the currents to carry it from place to place. Serenity's posture and long neck, and the shells and moons and horsehair added by Yvonne, all led me to creating a seahorse centaur. Since she was already 11 inches tall without legs, it was also a way to finish her length without exceeding our 12 inch goal by much - she's just shy of 14 inches tall now.

Her seahorse tail is slightly stuffed fabric over a wire armature and is embellished with copper netting (from a repurposed scouring pad) and copper wire. I just had to use the vintage lace with leaves that so closely resemble those in Amy's fabric torso, so I painted it to complement Yvonne's lace headdress and made a paper and lace belt. She could probably use a belt adornment, but I left that for someone else to decide.





She'll soon be heading to MA in Canada. I figured since seahorses don't travel real fast, I better get her off early so MA would have some time with her.

Serenity's First Stop

Serenity came to me with just a head and torso,

 from her creator Amy in Central Texas.

Serenity is so beautiful,

with such an interesting face.

I just kept thinking of

the Sea of Serenity

on the face of the moon...

Mare Serenitatis

Enjoying the splendor of the full moon

has always been very calming

in my life.

Serenity....

makes me think of..

calm

peace

music

a creative life

a centering line of thought

a study of work

contemplation

with eyes wide open

voices from the past

Boredom is the feeling that everything is a waste of time;

serenity, that nothing is.

by Thomas Szasz

The Serenity Prayer

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change

The courage to change the things I can

And the wisdom to know the difference.

Center-down

...Quaker saints

To the possession of the self the way is inward

...Plotinus

The cell of self-knowledge is the stall in which the pilgrim must be reborn

...St. Catherine of Siena

The crane symbolizes peace.

The Moon Shell,

a gift from the sea,

 says 'solitude'

and in solitude there is

serenity.

Everyone needs some time alone

to find the peace and serenity within them,

especially when there is chaos all around you.

Mano Poderosa...

a labyrinth shaped like a hand,

derives from the ancient times as a sign of

magical protection and benediction.

Walk the labyrinth for

serenity.

Some additions...

hair

vintage lace head wrap with beads

faux diamond on nose

moon shell

pearled polymer clay moon face cabochon

to forehead

man in the moon earring

long horsehair pony tail,

representing travel

in Native American culture

additions listed in journal

Old dictionary page

 showing definition for serenity.

Last journal page...

watercolor of Serenity

on dictionary page.

I truly enjoyed working on

Serenity.

Soon she will be traveling on

to the second stop in her year long journey...

to North Carolina with Gail.

Yvonne

Serenity

My start with Serenity is based on a pattern I created for another doll I'm working on at the moment. She's a cloth and wire armature torso and soft-sculpted cloth head. Her name came about as Serenity is something sorely missing in my life at the moment. I hope that she will bring calm and peace into the lives of all she meets and collect some to bring home to me.

Serenity's journal is a book that I bound in my first book binding class. The cover is paper that I painted and stamped.

Inside, I've created a title page that mirrors the chaos and stress of life that Serenity is destined to encounter.

And a set of pages that reflect the calming influence Serenity can bring, if only she is allowed to do so.