the dancing Goddess Dolls of ALTAMIRA

These wonderful dancing Goddess Dolls of Altamira caught my imagination today. I happened upon a display of them at a local crafts fair and really they belong in an art exhibition.




They are made by Gloria Simmonds of ALTAMIRA and were inspired by her love of dance.



There is an article about ALTAMIRA IN THE SUMMER edition 2009 of Art of the Doll magazine. I am going to look online for a back copy.



For more information or to order a doll you can reach Gloria Simmonds at:
glowria99@yahoo.ca



There are days when we walk along expecting to see usual things. Then suddenly our eyes light on something gorgeous like these shamanic dolls and our outlook has been uplifted.

The name Altimira is very intriguing as is the work of this talented doll artist.

The word altamira has fine Spanish meanings. The first half, alta, means "high". The second half is a form of the verb mirar, meaning "to look at, to gaze, to behold, to watch, to value, to think highly of, to regard, to consider, to aim, to have in mind". Thus altamira can mean many things, from "behold on high" or "high things to look at" - such as the paintings on the ceiling of the Cave of Altamira - to "high value", "high aims", and "high regard". Altamira, the company, took it to mean "high quality images".

Even the Indo-European roots are benign. The root for alta is al-, "to grow". From this came the Latin altus, "high", then the Spanish alta and such familiar English derivatives as altimeter, altitude, alto, enhance, exalt, and oboe (from French haut bois, "high wood"). The Indo-European root for mira is smei-, "to smile". From this came Old Latin mir-, "to look at (with wonder or astonishment)", thus causing one to smile, and Latin mirus, "astonishing, strange, wonderful". The Spanish mirar is derived from these as are the English words admire, marvel, mi (as in do-re-mi), miracle, mirage, mirror, and smile. In astronomy, star Mira (the Wonderful) is the protypical variable star.

.