Dolls, Desserts &, Sweet Dreams Collage

Join Heartland Institute's Women Writers and Artists Matrix, in collaboration with growURpotential.org for an uplifting afternoon of doll and collage making, creativity, reflection and community connection.

In a midtown garden oasis you will be inspired by centuries of hand crafted toys, and artistic innovations of collagists Betye Saar, Romare Bearden, and Njideka Akunyili Crosby. We will work in St. Elmo Village studio, gallery, and pond side garden to discover ways in which art transforms memory into meaning and imagination into possibility.

There will be plenty of time for storytelling, shared conversation, and ideas, as well as space for writing reflections, memories, celebrations of ancestry, identity, healing, and dreams for the future.

Guided by master teacher Dorothy Randall Gray, artist, activist, poet, and the author of the best-selling book Soul Between the Lines, you will explore how art can serve as an altar for memory, a vessel for healing, and a bridge between generations.

What to Expect

o Guided Sweet Dreams Collage Activity

o Community Storytelling and Connection

o Desserts and Beverages within a Beutiful Garden Setting

This is a welcoming environment for Healing Healers and community members of all backgrounds. We will enjoy a variety of fabrics and images, found objects, buttons, beads, ephemera, materials for sewing, gluing, stamping and coloring. We will suply doll forms and mixed-media art materials, along with a demonstration, and creation reflections on artists, collages, and dolls.

We will enjoy cake in honor of Betye Saar's 100th Birthday!

This gathering invites participants to slow down, enjoy sweet treats, connect with community, and engage in creative practices that honor both personal and collective histories. Whether you identify as an artist, healer, caregiver, community organizer, or curious learner, this experience offers space to create, reflect, and be inspired.

We encourage you to make donations and inquirey directly to [email protected] and we are happy to support you at [email protected] if you need assitance.