Worry Doll

WORRY DOLL

In this piece, Worry Doll, I explore my relationship with anxiety. The stitched text reads:

Inside me, there's a smaller, wrapped in protective yarn

I want to unravel it, just a little, but I can't find the loose end

So I whisper my worries and my fears to her, and tuck her back inside

Worry dolls are Guatemalan in origin and given to anxious children. They would tell their hand-made wire and wool doll about their fears and worries, then hide it under their pillow at night. The child surrenders their worries to the doll and by the next morning, all sorrows have been taken away by the worry doll.