Minnesota Retreats 2021

March 9th I had a heart attack and had a stent put in my heart. I am in recovery mode for the remainder of 2021. I will offer two close to "home" retreats in June and October. Click here for details.
Recently I was interviewed by Karen Garrett of joyfulpurposecoaching@gmail.com  Here's a video of the interview about creativity, doll making, and healing.

2022 Healing Doll Way Class


The Healing Doll Way 2022 
Start Here for Details
The Healing Doll Way online class is an experiential learning opportunity to receive guidance, coaching and mentoring from me and support from members in the Healing Doll Way group as you move through the process and learn how to design and create your own healing dolls.
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In The Healing Doll Way Barb shares stories and images from her transformative experience becoming a healing doll artist, as well as those of many of her students and peers. The book also guides you through the process of making healing dolls for yourself. The act of making a doll can take you through a process of imagination, healing, and growth. You do not need to be an expert at dollmaking—or artmaking, for that matter—to experience the healing power of this kind of work. This dollmaking process invites and encourages readers to explore a range of perceptions and emotions, and in doing so reach a deeper level of understanding and acceptance of themselves.

How to Make Your Own Healing Dolls

New Series of Classes Starts in August
Click here for details
If you cannot attend in person you can view the recordings

Are You a Healing Doll Maker?

​Do You Want to Be?
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Consider these definitions.
DOLL:  A representation of a human figure; a little person. People make dolls and like them for lots of reasons, but in most cases they make them because they are interested in other people, what they do, how they look, what they wear, how they feel… . . . A doll is just another way we appreciate the infinite variety of humankind. The doll figure, in all its multitude of forms, has been around for hundreds of years.

PLAY DOLL: A typical child’s doll to be played with;– a child occupier,  most likely designed to be movable, and probably has removeable clothing. The player can decide the doll’s identity and how that character fits into the world around them, real or imaginary.

AESTHETIC or ART DOLL: A solid, sculpted figure that comes in many forms and sizes. It expresses depth and power as it relates to the expression of human character or personality in the piece. An art doll invites the maker and viewer to feel and think about certain aspects of the human condition. Some makers simply make an art doll for the sheer joy of creating.

Both play dolls and art dolls need to please, educate, or amuse the players. At the very least they need to provoke an emotion or intellectual reaction that will hold the attention for longer than a passing moment.

HEALING ART DOLL: A healing art doll expresses the creative process the maker went through, including the depth and power of story, thought, and emotion. The more thought and emotion that goes into the design and construction, the more likely there will be an evocative or provocative, powerful reaction felt by the maker and, in most cases, the viewer of the completed doll. Making a healing art doll for oneself can create a shift, transformation, or-yes-even some kind of healing as the maker defines it.  When a dollmaker shares a healing art doll with a group, including the story and emotion behind it as well as the dollmaker’s process, this deepens the doll’s meaning and connection to the dollmaker and those in the group.

A maker of healing art doll is a person who:
  • is curious about the concept and wants to make, small. representations of human being-and parts of human being – both external and internal, visible and invisible.
  • is willing to explore and ask questions about emotional expressions, personal beliefs and preferences, and life events.
  • is willing to be vulnerable and play with her creative energies.
  • starts the design of her dolls with questions like How can I? and I wonder what would happen if?
click here to go to page about the classes
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Go here to sign up or
​contact me at bkobe@healingdollway to discuss

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Reviews

A trove of images, exercises, insights, and stories, Barb Kobe's   The Healing Doll Way is the distillation of wisdom gained from a lifetime of creating art for healing and growth. Her book empowers readers to begin their own doll-making journeys.
Kay Porterfield, M.A. Author, Educator, Artist

The Healing Doll Way is a treasure. The illustrations alone are beautiful and inspiring. But Barb’s offering is beyond the visual. I’ve been blessed to have Barb mentor me through the healing process detailed in this book. If you’re seeking to explore your inner terrain, to gain insight or to transform some part of your life, look no further. Dive into these pages and let Barb’s gentle and enlightening guidance lead you forward.
 Anne R. Heck, Author of Finding the Gift: A Memoir of Rape, Intention and Miracles
​Read More Reviews HERE