Spirit dolls are capable of lifting your spirits with their grace, colour and form. You can feel the exhilaration as this Spirit Doll leaps into her dance. For me they express joy, spontaneity and freedom.

I came across these types of dolls when I bought my copies of Susanna Oroyan's Books 'Anatomy of the Doll' and 'Designing the Doll'. However, I couldn't find any reference to where and why they had got their name. 

My feeling is that Spirit dolls allow their creator complete freedom of expression.  Unconventional in their style, they go far beyond what people usually consider to be rag dolls. One can create a Spirit doll using textures, colour and exploring the human form, adding embellishments in the form of beads, ribbons, wool, felt and buttons, fabric stamps or printing onto textiles as an expression of one's mood, experiences, inner needs, feelings or thoughts. 

Unlike Cloth Art Dolls, many of these dolls may not have limbs and may look quite primitive in nature, whilst others explore the curves and shapes of the human form with exquisite fluidity and yet the dolls often have no facial features. Others may have symbolic, almost Picasso-esque features. Being an important tool for expression as an art medium in their own right, these cloth dolls can provide a great deal of joy to anyone who creates one as well as for those who may later own them. (see links below)

I find this type of doll making exciting and enriching. It makes me think back to those early days at Infants' School when children make soft dolls with an uninhibited charm. They also invoke an atmosphere of the American Indian and Nature.

Other Spirit Doll sites

http://anniedolls.com/galleryspirit.htm

by Annie Mayer Hesse       

http://www.ryndaoriginals.com/Sky%20Gallery.htm Lisa Rynda Sky Gallery

Spirit Dolls by Robin Atkins
Published 2005 by Tiger Press
ISBN: 0-9705538-4-6 
http://www.robinatkins.com