A worry shaped like a question left unanswered, the fear of what opens, what closes and what we cannot control. A slender promise of openings and endings; the worry born from doors we fear to unlock, and those we wish had stayed closed.

Dimensions - approx. 7 cm (2,75’’) wooden circle diameter, 15 cm (5,9’’) long without the hanging loop

Mixed media - paperclay, wooden disc, lace, Japanese paper, key. She is painted with acrylics, soft pastels and colored pencils, and sealed with matte varnish.

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Ioanna Tsouka is a special education teacher by day, but moonlights as a doll maker.

She created "Anima ex Manus" in March 2015, when she decided to leave her home country (Greece) and start a new life in a Northern European city; a new beginning that took all the weight off her shoulders, in a way that she could breathe free again.

Each one of her pieces is handmade and unique, telling their own tales "of woe and misfortune".

What Ioanna loves most about her work is the connection that it creates between her and the world, collectors, artists, and everyone that supports and encourages her artistic endeavours. Ioanna believes that it's truly a magical thing: when her work resonates with people on a deeply emotional, almost subconscious level, leaving space for interpretation through the metaphors and symbolisms integrated in her dolls and stories. It feels as if we're all weaving our most well-hidden secrets into the fabric of this world, each one telling their own tales and narratives, and altogether telling a bigger story.

Browse more of Ioanna's works here:

https://cactusgalleryla.com/collections/anima-ex-manus-art-dolls-at-cactus-gallery