phearnik!® is No Stella Al Fresco

Published on March 24, 2025October 7, 2025 by awsstudiosart2 Comments

Who is Stella Al Fresco

I made a doll and it is not like Stella Al Fresco.

Sunday morning in the NYTimes, I saw an article about how Megan, The Dutchess of Sussex, promoted a doll on her new show “With Love, Megan.” Commonly known Stella Al Fresco, Megan’s daughter’s doll is sold with “a little baguette and a little cheese.” The dolls’ creators claim the dolls and their accessories help kids mimic adult behavior. Says Acorn Store owner Heather Hamilton where the dolls are sold, “Kids really like imitating life, and if this is what they’re seeing on their parents’ patio, then they just pretend play.”

A picture of the doll commonly called Stella Al Fresco. It helps to show the difference between it and the aws Studios.art phearnik! plush and how it is different , has a different purpose and is not like Stella Al Fresco. — The doll commonly known as Stella Al Fresco

A picture of the phearnik! plush, a small rag doll with a lavender body, a navy blue jumpsuit and a wild head of yarn for hair. It has big black eyes and a squiggly mouth. Funny, cute and a little bit scary. — The phearnik! plush

Which makes me think that my little phearnik!® has a long, uphill slog to the market. How does my slightly scary looking doll/plush that is not like Stella Al Fresco compete with the sweet, cute and Cabbage Patch-like doll? And how does my aws Studios.art doll stack up against a doll promoted by Megan?

phearnik!® is no Stella Al Fresco

phearnik!® is 180° from Stella. But that’s okay. phearnik!® is not meant to mimic adult/parent behavior. phearnik!® stands for something else.

A Little Scary Looking

Yes, phearnik!® is not a sweet looking doll like Stella. phearnik!® actually looks a little scary. It’s supposed to look scary. I made phearnik!® to look a little scary because the plush represents a “little fear.”

The idea behind the phearnik!® doll was to make an object that represents fear. I would take the “little fear” with me to remind me to keep my fears small. When I keep my fears small, they don’t get big and take control of things I want or need to do. More about where I got this idea here (hint: it’s from Elizabeth Gilbert’s book, Big Magic: Creative living beyond fear).

A picture of one of the original versions of the phearnik! plush prototype. A small rag doll with a lavender body, a navy-blue jumpsuit, googlie eyes, a crooked mouth and wild hair kids love. — One of the original versions of the phearnik! plush

Initially, I created phearnik!® to help me with my fear of the blank canvas. Then one day my granddaughter spied the doll on my dresser. She wanted one too. (How couldn’t she? With its quirky face and wild hair, I thought!)

A picture of the cover of the original book about phearnik! titled "Adventures with phearnik!." The book has been revised and is now "Phoebe and phearnik! Fight BIG Fears" — The original picture book about phearnik!. Now revised as “Phoebe and phearnik! Fight Big Fears”

While making my granddaughter a phearnik!®, I came up with the idea to tell her its story in a book. Hence, I created the picture book Adventures with phearnik!® and gave her both the book and plush as a birthday present.

A picture of a little girl holding her phearnik! The plush helps her overcome her fears so she can join in and have fun. — Guess who with her phearnik!

The phearnik!® Campaign

Since then, I wanted to share the book and the plush with others. phearnik!® definitely helped me. Every day it’s there to remind me not to be fearful of things that are new to me like a blank canvas. More importantly, it helps me with becoming an entrepreneur to promote the phearnik!® idea to others. I believe phearnik!® can help others who, like me, are held back by irrational and debilitating fears.

phearnik!® has helped me do everything I have needed to do to get to this point of launching the phearnik!® Campaign. The campaign seeks to raise funds to support mental health making the plush available to others, both kids and adults, dealing with irrational fears.

Yes, phearnik!® is no Stella Al Fresco but That’s Okay

A picture of the doll Stella Al Fresco holding a phearnik! plush symbolizing how the plush reminds kids to keep their fears small. — Stella and phearnik! as friends

phearnik!® is not like Stella Al Fresco. But I like to think that even Stella would like to have a phearnik!® It would remind her to keep her fears small so she can live a more fearless life. Ah, yes, what a vision. Instead of competing with each other, Stella and phearnik!® could be friends!

Do you agree? What do you think? Have you ever had a doll like Stella? Or phearnik!®? Tell us about it in the Comments.

Find out more about phearnik!® and get a free “How to Use phearnik!®” pdf here.

Support mental health and sign up for the phearnik!® Campaign

Coming soon: the many faces of phearnik!®

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Art, Artists, Anxiety and Overcoming Fear of the Blank Canvas

Published on March 19, 2022October 9, 2025 by awsstudiosart5 Comments

New Way to Handle Fear

Image shows a collage illustration of a man sitting in front of his easel looking unsure of what to paint like he can't start his painting.

My picture book, “Phobe and phearnik! Fight BIG Fears,” is a story about a way for children (and adults!) to deal with fear and anxiety. Compared to how fear presents in other children’s books, my book introduces a new and, may I be so bold to say – revolutionary – way to handle fear.

As an artist, I suffer from what’s called “blank canvas syndrome.” It’s like “fear of the blank page” that some writers experience or stage fright that actors might encounter.

Artists + Fear

We fearful artists have the expertise to do our jobs. At least we have enough to produce a piece of (art) work. But fear holds us back from tackling the canvas, page or stage. While experiencing this, I feared the outcome. Would my picture come out as I envisioned it? I feared my work would be judged by others negatively. When the artist accepts the outcome of their work, they more readily dismiss negative judgements. They then see it as a mismatch between the art and viewer.

Building Confidence

Having these fears mainly shows a lack of confidence. Confidence comes from artists doing a large amount of work. With this comes the faith that the outcome won’t be so bad. Granted, not all art outcomes are accepted, even by the confident artist. Doing scores of work – making lots of paintings – might become garbage. I wonder how many artists out there have a fear of wasting materials like me?! I am a child of parents who grew up during the depression. People like us don’t waste things! We eat everything on our plates! We use and reuse things repeatedly and rarely buy new! Cheap artists like me want the work to come out the way we wanted it to the first time. Or else we’re wasting materials! Yes, sad but true.

Studying Fear

For years, I “studied” what I could do about my fear of the blank canvas. I read books like “Art and Fear”, “Affirmations for Artists” and “The Artist’s Way” and kept them for reference. But none of these helped me break through my fears until I read Elizabeth Gilbert’s “Big Magic: Creative living beyond fear.”

Take Fear with You

In the book, Gilbert offers a new way for artists to deal with/confront their fears in a now, well-known vignette titled, “The Road Trip.” In it, Gilbert suggests artists accept and acknowledge their fears instead of trying to ignore it or get over it or, somehow, get rid of it. She uses the metaphor of taking a road trip as a lesson in acknowledging fear. On the trip, you bring your fear with you but it must sit in the backseat and it doesn’t get to control anything. It doesn’t get to drive and it definitely doesn’t get to control the radio!

An illustration of a seated woman with a very frightened look on her face but you don't see what is frightening her.

Revolutionary Strategy

This idea of acknowledging fear but not letting it take control was, for me, revolutionary. It makes so much sense. Fear is one of our most powerful emotions. It’s part of us. It cannot be willed away. It’s always there but we can learn to control it. And, as a mental/social and emotional health educator, I know that’s a skill. Having an understanding about a health topic and learning the skills is how we are healthy.

A picture of the "Phoebe and phearnik! Fight BIG Fears" a picture book that helps kids reduce their fear and anxiety. — Book cover

Picture Book Explains Strategy

In “Phobe and phearnik! Fight BIG Fears,” I’ve created a picture book using Gilbert’s idea. I take it one step further. I help kids and adults learn the skill of acknowledging fear. In addition, I want them to not let it take control of the things they want to try or need to do. It’s worked for me and I bet it can work for you too!

How about you? Are you an artist that has experienced fear of the blank canvas or page? Or maybe even fear of wasting material!? Or maybe you are someone who would like to of make art but is afraid of what people would say about it ? I would love to hear about it in the “Leave a Reply/Comment”.

And, if you’d like to be one of the first to get a copy of the “Phobe and phearnik! Fight BIG Fears,” picture book, click on the picture to place your pre-order! After your info, type “Pre-order” in the box!