Heirloom Totems : An Intuitive Doll‑Making Workshop with Agape Pennywell

Heirloom Totems : An Intuitive Doll‑Making Workshop with Jasmine “Agape” Pennywell

This 3-class series is open to adults (18 +) and requires no prior art experience.

Example of a Totem by Instructor

Heirloom Totems is a process‑oriented, hands‑on workshop that uses art‑making as a tool for reflection, memory, and personal storytelling. Participants craft a unique doll‑like figure that serves as a symbolic object—part keepsake, part narrative vessel—designed to hold meaning, intention, and care. Using upcycled fabrics, sacred objects, and simple construction techniques, participants are guided to transform meaningful materials into a personal heirloom. These materials may include garments worn during significant life moments, textiles passed through family hands, or objects connected to memory, grief, joy, or transition. No prior art or sewing experience is required.

The figures created in this workshop are not toys or decorative crafts. They are keepers—objects made with intention that serve as witnesses to lived experience. Each totem becomes a tangible expression of what a participant chooses to remember, honor, and carry forward.

The workshop emphasizes slow, mindful making and intuitive decision‑making rather than technical perfection. Participants are encouraged to listen to their hands, reflect on personal stories, and allow meaning to emerge naturally through the creative process. The act of making becomes a grounding ritual—supporting presence, self‑trust, and connection to lineage and personal history.

What will you learn?

Participants leave with a completed heirloom totem and a deeper sense of connection to their own narrative, along with tools for using creative practice as an accessible form of reflection and care.

To the right is an example of one of the totems made in a previous session:

Class Series Fee:

$100 for 3 Classes

Supplies Needed:

This class will provide majority of supplies needed.

Participants are invited to bring fabric, thread, beads, buttons, and symbolic objects.

Class Schedule:

• Thu, Sept 17, 2026 | 6PM -9PM
• Fri, Sept 18, 2026 | 6PM -9PM
• Sat, Sept 19, 2026 | 3PM -6PM

Students are required to attend all classes in the series.

Agape

Award-winning fashion designer and intuitive artist Agape is bringing her transformational workshop series, The Language of Fabric, to the ArtsXchange in Atlanta - and it’s already generating buzz. Agape, whose work includes collaborations with Oscar-winning costume designer Ruth Carter and a custom hat worn by Erykah Badu in Denzel Washington’s The Piano Lesson, now invites students of all backgrounds to explore their personal stories using fabric collage and mixed media. "You're not just making art –you are reading your own soul, and letting it speak in fabric and color," says Agape. This intergenerational class is designed to build confidence, heal through creativity, and preserve personal and ancestral stories in powerful visual and story form.

Example of an heirloom doll made by Agape (BELOW)