Artist Statement - Shelly Ann Szigli

I am an artist, not by permission of a degree or a title, but through the living work of my hands, heart, and spirit. For three years, I have shaped form from wool, breath from the needle, and soul from silence - creating dolls that are not merely objects, but vessels of transformation.

My artistry is a convergence of energetics, facilitation, and creation. Each doll is born through a dialogue between the seen and unseen- felted with intention, infused with ancestral connection, and carrying the medicine that arrives through me. I am not bound by the definitions of what an artist should be. I embody the truth of what an artist is: one who dares to bring the invisible into form and invites others into their own becoming.

I create from sovereignty. I create from devotion. I create knowing that my work is not simply art to behold- it is art that holds you.

Shelly’s Previous Work

My professional path began in child and youth care, where I first witnessed how deeply the unseen- grief, trauma, ancestral pain- shapes our lives. That early work didn’t just lead me into the field of helping others; it became a doorway into a much deeper journey. One that has since unfolded into over 15 years of working with energy, spirit, and the hidden layers of human experience.

In my private practice, I’ve worked with hundreds of women and young men, offering one-on-one sessions rooted in intuitive care, soul work, and spiritual restoration. My group work took new form in 2017, when I began to share more openly about the energetic world- guiding others through inner landscapes that are often hard to name but impossible to ignore.

But in 2022, everything changed.

I hit a wall- sudden, disorienting, and deeply painful. Despite all I knew, I could feel something vital was missing. I didn’t know where to find it.

That’s when I found the doll.

Through Julia Inglis introductory Spirit Doll course, I was introduced to needle felting, and everything shifted. The first time I made a doll, I felt something sacred unlock inside me. I knew this wasn’t just art, it was a way through. A way in. A way to help others who, like me, were feeling stuck in their inspiration, lost in their purpose, or unsure how to begin again.

Doll making became a mirror. A ritual. A quiet reclamation of voice, body, and soul.

The Soul Doll isn’t just something you make- she’s someone you meet. A living invitation into what’s been waiting for you all along.

Now, through my artist kits, courses, and facilitator trainings, I help others find their own way in, through wool, through story, through sacred play.

And while this work is deep, it’s also full of joy. Because joy, too, is a portal.

When I was five, a teacher asked me what I wanted to be. Without hesitation, I said:
“An artist. I want to draw, paint, and stuff.”
I didn’t meet my inner artist until I was 40- but when she woke up, it was as if she’d been here all along.

My passion for tarot also lives at the heart of what I do. I’m enchanted by decks, imagery, and the invisible threads of energy they reveal. The cards speak in symbols, and I’ve always loved reading between the lines.

I’m a mother to eight beautiful, spirited children, and their presence reminds me daily of the raw, wild, sacred nature of life. I find rhythm in folk, indie, and even a little country music, and feel most at home in the windswept magic of Ireland and the Celtic Isles, places that speak my soul’s native tongue.

This isn’t just about crafting.
It’s about remembering.
Returning.
Reclaiming.
And letting your hands tell the story your heart has always known.