Leslie Molen Workshop Was Fabulous!

The Phoebes' Leslie Molen Workshop on January 23 and 24 was an
outstanding success. Leslie taught her two dolls, "Ling Li-Hua" and Chun Woo."
While the doll patterns were basically the same (maybe one was a little taller
than the other), the costumes were slightly different and the choice was ours.

The Phoebes were so thrilled to have Leslie agree to fly from Denver to San Leandro, CA to conduct her workshop on two of her dolls. Leslie was so much fun... she has a great sense of humor and she is such a thorough and amazing teacher. Almost everyone finished their dolls during the class, and every one of them turned out adorable. We love them!!! The highlights of the class were learning to hand-paint the eye balls on wooden beads and insert them into the cloth sculpted heads— and sculpting the too cute faces with the rose bud mouths. Thank you, Leslie, for this opportunity to meet you and to learn so much.



I believe sixteen people had signed up for the class. Two were unable to attend at the last minute,
so I think the attendance was ultimately 14.

Each artist's individual interpretation of the pattern was evident in their choices
of fabrics and embellishments. The hands and lower legs have wire armatures and
the dolls are weighted with shot for balance.

Each artist chose a different color palette for their doll. The woven cloth sculpted heads were
covered with a layer of knit and colored with pastels. Every doll looked like she was
so proud of her costume.

Each doll turned out to have her own personality and attitude. Every one was a work of art.

Leslie supplied the horse hair for the dolls. Some were braided, while others were not.
It was a fabulous two days for the Phoebes!
 

You can tell by Stephanie's smile how enjoyable the class was for all.
We owe Stephanie a great big thanks for making all the arrangements for
Leslie's trip and for making this workshop happen!



Colleen Patell and Christine Shively are seriously concentrating on making their dolls.
Leslie was surprised at how we gave her our undivided attention,
but we didn't want to miss a word she said.

After the class everyone was eager to photograph the line-up of dolls. All the proud "moms" are beaming as they take their pictures. It was truly amazing how darn cute those dolls
looked standing next to each other.