My logo made up from three figures – honours the keening woman. Not just the keening woman who know from Irish and Scottish sources, but all women throughout history, who were versed in lamenting, and knew how to sing the soul home. The image holds the story of the ancestral women who stepped into the role as well as those women in the future who will lead the death rituals.
The women that stepped into these roles throughout different eras in Scotland knew death differently, each time had a different view on death and dying, and what lay beyond.
Different Views on Life and Death
At Clad Hallan on South Uist, Bronze Age people people practiced an intriguing form of ancestor veneration where they kept their dead as ancestors, among the living, while practices of excarnation speak to ancient death goddesses who carried the soul onto the next world.
Dolls also offer way to explore feelings around grief and dying. Some of the oldest dolls (or figurines), such as the Woman of Hohle Fels, was created over 35,000 years old. What beliefs did those who carved her have of life and death. Did they live in matrifocal society, honouring the great mother? Did they live lives that were always connected to her, returning to her in death.
How did we stray so far from those beliefs? That is the story of patriarchy , a story which gave rise to grief-phobic, death-denying cultures which are disconnected from nature. These beleifs would have been incomprehensible to our oldest ancestors.
Ancestral Mothers. L-R, painting by J Lally, Woman of Mal’ta (Siberia), Woman Hohle Fels, art assemblage.
An Ancient Linage
As a doll maker, I see myself as part of an ancient linage, stretching back to those that created Woman of Willendorf and the clay figurines from Dolní Věstonice. This is a living linage. The materials may change, outlooks and beliefs have changed, but the invitation remains to use doll making to explore birth, death and every emotion in-between.
For every figurine that survived, imagine the thousands upon thousands that did not, poppets created from stone and bone, sinew and dried grass, bird skulls and feathers. Each one embedded with prayers and petitions, gratitudes or pleading prayers. Imagine these creations made together, place in ritual, then scattered by the wind, dismembered by rain, dissolving back into their elements.
Their intentions released, whispered to the wind, cried into the soil, each message finding its way to the Great Mother, piece by piece, part by part.
Keening Dolls Course
My dolls continue this ancient story, created through weaving prayer and intention, and the remembering that we are a breathing, thinking and feeling part of nature.
This October 2025 I am offering a doll making journey, where you will make three dolls to explore grief.
1 Clay Figurine
A figurine inspired by dolls made in both the pre-patriarchal times and the Neolithic. A doll which speaks to a to way of life closely integrated to earth, there was no separation. What symbols will they hold, and what stories will they tell?
2 Straw Doll
This doll os made from dried grasses, sticks, bark and other natural materials. This is a doll which speaks to eco-grief, our lament of the collapse of climate systems. It explores the loss of animals, plants, insects and humans, lives lost and those who need to relocate due to extremem weather events of the breakdown of climate systems. This doll reminds us that we too are nature.
3 Poppet
This twig poppet is a doll which speaks to your personal grief. While our culture gives us a set time to get over grief, the doll allows you to explore the grief, giving it shape, voice and a presence.
How Will This Course Work
Doll making instructions. Full instructions as well as a list of materials are online, you follow the instructions in your own time
Zoom gatherings offer a sense of community, offering:
A guided story which helps bring part of your dolls story alive
An opportunity to write down insights and if you’d like to, share them with the group
A conversation around what came up for you when making the doll (even if you’re still preparing to make her), your thoughts, inspirations
Sharing ideas around rituals to work with your doll
Workbook A workbook will guiding you through your doll making rituals, offering pauses to record your insights, feelings and inspirations
Join the Keening Doll Course Waitlist
This is more than just another online craft course. It’s an expressive grief ritual, offering space for conversations. Join the list to be notified when registration opens