Worry dolls

It's time for the final show of student projects in my course on the Book of Job and the Arts. As in years past, projects run the gamut from intense to whimsical and operate in a plethora of media. One evocative project was a non-religious student's desire to make for her friends analogs to the small totem-like objects she's always handled when stressed. I guess having the tokens with me is an act of religious practice on my end, she muses. Making wishes to the tokens and praying to them makes me feel stronger and safe. So I created worry dolls for myself and my friends. Sometimes sharing pain with others helps letting it go. She asked some friends what causes them stress and what they do when overcome with worry and got to work. 

This "worry doll" is for a friend who says she fidgets with her fingers when under stress and seeks out water for consolation for sorrow. Not quite Job's potsherd, but somehow it scratches a kindred itch.