After the events of September 11, 2001-a few artists got together and
made cloth dolls to send to children who had lost loved ones in the tragedy.
Around December, after we shipped the dolls to New York--we decided to
contribute locally.
Working with Children's Hospital Oakland--we created Kids in Need of a Cuddle project--to make 100 soft cloth dolls for the children. We made dolls of all ethnic backgrounds, and we made some up.
This was a nine month project with one day workshops offered free of charge once a month for five months in Berkeley.
We advertised in newspapers, made flyers and web pages--and one doll maker who had attended one workshop was interviewed on the Berkeley early morning radio.
Many people responded who had spent time in Children's Hospital Oakland when they were children..and they told many stories of how the art and gifts of dolls helped them through a scary long night.
We had volunteers who worked for local companies and they brought their coworkers..and yes we had guys make dolls too!
L-R:
a preggers Ryl Brock Wilson, Kristena West & Tristy Taylor