So we grabbed a bite to eat-messy tacos so required a restroom trip.Now I have to confess there were posters up for the Black Arts festival and I had flippantly suggested there was a Harry Potter thing on but I was so wrong.

I deviated through the festival on my return from the restroom but was distracted by a craft table full of supplies.A delightful presence greeted me.”We’re making dolls” standing the other side of the table to me was Marita Dingus.This woman is an icon to me.

I first encountered her work in my early days as a docent at SAM but our connection goes back way before that.As my graduate piece essay in 1989 I elected to write an essay on the emergence of HIV.Those were very early days and we considered it would develop into a pandemic.

Run forward 2010 and I see Marita’s piece in SAM.She had used textile dolls to highlight the issues of HIV and sexuality.

So here’s my icon offering to make a doll with me.So here she is sat on my bench with my crew.She has a cloud on her forehead jointly reflecting “the cloud” Yes, it’s yellow for obvious reasons.She is green and white ( yes I can say that).She is a child of the world as yet unnamed.OK let’s just call her Jules.