"Kali," an assemblage of odd bits

In April 2013 I was getting ready to go to Bob Hoffa's yoga retreat in Zion, where I would be singing and playing harmonium and practicing yoga. Yay! A few days before departure, Bob asked if I had a Kali for the front of the classroom.

"No," I said, and as an  afterthought, "But I could make one!"

I thought about it or a few moments and asked, "Would it be o.k. to make a Kali out of dolls?"

"Sure!"

And the idea was born. I went to Saver's and pursued the bags of children's toys and found some old barbies and a Ken doll.

I began to study paintings of Kali and the meaning behind all the symbols, because at first glance, Kali can be a bit frightening to say the least: Red tongue hanging out, wearing a skirt of severed arms, holding a human head and a necklace made of severed heads, standing on a dead Shiva. All these things mean something, and  I recommend if you are remotely curious.... google it.

I was inspired, and taking my loot to the Pink Angel Art Boutique, I set to work priming and painting my barbies, and using my vintage doll bits to make her clothes. The wonderful thing about collecting almost anything is that you have almost everything when you need it for a project like this: