April Meeting Featured Tiny Collections

Speaking of fairies, we were thrilled to see this one brought by Phoebe member Elise Bozo from Spokane to the March Phoebe meeting. She proudly exhibited this
beautiful fairy doll she had just completed. The costume is hand-dyed.

SHOW AND TELL

The theme for the March meeting was "It's a Small World." Zanaib requested that we bring samples of miniatures to share. These could be items we had made, or ones we had collected. Many people brought  Gollywogs, which are historically small black dolls that are now highly collectible and said to be valuable. And, we were appreciative of those who brought new dolls and mixed media art they had just completed.

 

Elise is shown here with two of her Gollywogs. If you check the background of her fairy at the top of this post, you will see more examples from her large collection that she

brought with her on her California visit.

 

Diane Willis created this too cute "retro" costumed doll she made from a wooden figure like ones many of us have used to sketch human poses. And, how many of us remember when we wore skirts just like this to high school? Those were the days!

 

 

Several people brought collections of the figurative pins and ornaments they have made or received over the years. It takes skill and patience to create items this small!

 

Colleen is already ahead of most of us... she has made several dolls from the Nola pattern. They will be destined for the Castro Valley Library doll exhibit we will display in November. This doll is a true tribute to the essence of the art of Nola Hart, creator of this pattern, which was published in Cloth, Paper, Scissors several years ago.

 

Another fabulous and very colorful doll created by Colleen.

Obviously, Colleen has an amazing stash of fabrics!

 

 

 

Here is one of the latest dolls created by Stephanie.

I think she used the Nola pattern for this one.

Those legs look familiar.

 

And, here are two more of Stephanie's darling dolls. She used doilies for their underskirts. A really cute idea!

 

Stephanie is a master at creating animal figures. These made from felt are adorable. If you ever visit her Pinterest site you will see many boards filled with links to free patterns.

You might want to try some of them yourself.

 

Donna brought this wall-hanging made

from vintage fabric scrap. 

 

This is the second fabric collage she made to hang on a wall.

 

April 2014 Updates

A photo of artist Frida Kahlo reminds us that the theme of
the postcard exchange for April is MEXICO!

Calendar of Events for 2014

 

April 1 through 30, Zanaib's Altered Book Display celebrating the 54th anniversary of the B Street Book Shop in Hayward. Many Phoebes are participating and while the original goal was 54 books, many more are expected to be on display. Be sure to go by and see it.

April 17, Phoebe Monthly Meeting, 6:30 P.M., Alameda County Office of Education, 313 W. Winton, Hayward. The Exchange is a "Mexico" themed postcard. Theme of the meeting will be "It's a Small World," so bring any of your small dolls, whether pins, miniatures, collections... made by you or not... we want to see them! Patterns for small dolls will be available at the meeting, along with a discussion on tips for making them. Don't miss it! Also, read over your copy of the new by-laws, as we will be voting to approve them at the meeting.

April 26 and 27, Betts Vidal "Frog Prince" Workshop, Saturday and Sunday, to be held at Always Quilting, 4230 Olympic, San Mateo (on the border of Belmont). Contact Stephanie at smitharts2002@yahoo.com to sign up. Contact Betts at bettsbetz@aol.com for information.

June 28 (Saturday), Phoebe Alameda County Fair Outreach Day. Set-up at noon. Open to the public at 1 P.M. Sign-up sheet to work noon to 3 P.M. or 3 to 6 P.M. will be at the April meeting. Each Phoebe is requested to make at least 25 stump dolls for this event, or donate push-mold polymer faces. Start going through your cotton stash for colorful doll fabric, and also for glitzy embellishments you would like to donate for the event. Bring your dolls—and stuffing and sewing tools—to stuff and sew at our monthly meetings.

July 7 through 11, Lisa Lichtenfeld Workshop, Boy Scouts Building, San Leandro. Class limit is 18 students. Contact Stephanie at smitharts2002@yahoo.com for details and to sign up.

September 2014, Phoebe Doll Exhibit at the Castro Valley Library. Date to be determined. Each Phoebe is asked to make their original interpretation of the Nola Hart cloth doll pattern (you may enlarge or scale it down a maximum of 10%). You may also submit other dolls you have made. Dolls will be due in August.

EXCHANGES AND CHALLENGES

The theme for the March postcard was France. Here are two examples of the very beautiful and clever cards that Phoebes made for the exchange.

The first challenge in 2014 was due at the March meeting. In January Mary Porter Vaughan had handed a bag with a CD in a tin and some origami papers to all who wished to participate. The challenge was to use one or more of the challenge bag items to create some original art. Here are a few of the many one-of-a-kind creations the very imaginative Phoebes came up with...

Harlene Strauss turned her CD and its tin into a working clock entitled "Time to Smell the Roses."

Daisy Kiehn covered her metal tin with the brown paper from the challenge bag 
and created a boudoir scene inside.

 

Elise Bozzo, our dear Phoebe who lives in Washington state shipped her challenge. It was
an amazing bunny doll with a clay head—the CD tin was covered for the body
and the arms, legs and head were then attached.

Suzanne Rudisill made a miniature table from the CD tin and added chairs.
Perfect for a tiny tea party.

Zanaib Green used her tin as a base for a fabulous assortment of cut and folded paper
shapes, including beautiful butterflies.



Zanaib also made the most wonderful pendant necklace from the CD buy heating,
cutting, and drilling it, then coloring it with alcohol inks to get a
stained glass effect.

PARADE OF DOLLS

 A special event at the March Phoebe meeting was the Parade of Dolls, which consisted of everyone bringing a doll they had made or collected, and wearing something that matched their doll.

Daisy Kiehn is shown wearing African prints to match those of her newly completed
cloth doll. Using some of the techniques she learned in the recent Leslie Molen
workshop, she made and inset the eyes into the cloth head and engineered the doll to stand alone.

Harlene Strauss matches her "Minnie Me" rescue doll. Harlene's scarf is made from a colorful tiny-print fabric, from which she cut little circle motifs to adhere to the doll's costume.

Anne Klocko is shown with her colorful clay figure riding a bicycle.

Bonnie Hoover wore lavender clothing to replicate the colors of her
original cloth doll, Millicent.

Elizabeth brought her fanciful "Timekeeper" doll made from a Barbara Willis pattern.
Elizabeth added an clay over-lay to the face and a feminine cuff bracelet for 
the timekeeper's wrist.

Marcella Hardy dressed as a babushka to match her three "traveling sisters"—dolls
she had made in a Sally Lampi workshop some years ago.



Rosie Dennis donned a cone headpiece with a sheer train to mimic her
Betts Vidal workshop doll, "Princess of Procrastination."

Stephanie Smith came down the runway wearing a French beret and proudly
exhibiting her lovely French doll with ruffles and lace.

Suzanne Rudisill wore stripes representing the colorful Julie McCullough doll that had
extra long legs in matching leggings.



Zanaib Green coordinated look included her original and famous stump doll, wrapped
in material from Ghana. Zanaib wore a matching twisted cloth necklace and headpiece
made from the same gorgeous material.



Tani Martinat swirled her skirt and presented her original doll, which is crowned with
a colorful abundance of yarn and fiber hair.

 

ABOUT ME BY STEPHANIE SMITH

 

 A special segment of the March meeting was devoted to our on-going "All About Me" presentations, where Phoebes talk about their artistic journeys and the road that led them to the world of doll-making. Stephanie Smith led us on an inspiring walk through her life. She was already sewing and making dolls by the time she was seven. Her past was hugely influenced by her Godfather, who was an artist and window dresser for the Emporium store in San Francisco.

Stephanie brought an assortment of dolls showing her progression from porcelain and mold-making to polymer and cloth dolls.

Stephanie at one point was seriously into bear making. A barber by profession, her barber shop
in Noe Valley in San Francisco has long been a popular attraction where people love to view the window arrangements of the bears and dolls she has created.
The name of her shop is Barbers and Bears.

Stephanie is also into making the most fabulous polymer and lamp
work beads, which she turns into beautiful jewelry.
 

Stephanie also shared her knitting and needlework creations with us. A woman of many talents!



Prominently displayed were pictures of her late parents who lovingly
supported her many endeavors and of her Godfather, who instilled
and encouraged in her artistic appreciation and pursuit of her creative talents.

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.

Time To Get To Work—We Have A Busy Year Ahead Of Us!

On January 16, the Phoebes held their first work day to make dresses for
"Dress a Girl Around the World." These are the dresses that were completed during the first workshop, but many more kits were put together to be sewn up by others.
 

Colleen introduced us all to this wonderful organization "Dress a Girl Around the World," that collects donations of pillow case dresses and ships them to girls around the globe who have no other opportunity to obtain one nice dress. Some have gone to Africa, the Philippines, Haiti, as well as other equally deserving areas. The Phoebes have adopted this outreach project and will be actively participating this year. Our goal is to donate at least 35 dresses.  Let's all do our part!



Calendar of Events for 2014

Now through January 31 , Sally Lampi Painting Exhibit. Sally currently has her paintings on display in the B Street Book Shop window this month. Stop by to see her work, which was also recently featured at an exhibit at the Hayward Library.

Now through March 8, Alta Bates Hospital Doll and Painting Exhibit. Come and see the dolls exhibited by a group of Phoebes and former Phoebes—Daisy Kiehn, Suzanne Duran, Wanda Fudge, Donna Perry, Laurie Scott, Stephanie Smith, Zanaib Green, Kelly Mead, Bonnie Hoover and Mary Porter Vaughan.  This is the group's second Alta Bates exhibit with dolls staged in beautiful Plexiglas boxes. Colorful paintings by artists Heidi Shonkoff and Em Herstein will also be on display for viewing.

February 8, Red and White Charity Quilt Show, 3 to 7 P.M., Civic Center Community Center, Walnut Creek, 1375 Civic Drive at North Broadway. 

February 15, Wooden Gate Quilts Doll Class by Gina Chang. The shop is located at 125-F Railroad Avenue in Danville. 

February 20, Phoebe Monthly Meeting, 6:30 P.M., Alameda County Office of Education, 313 W. Winton, Hayward. Enrichment will be presented by Sally, who will be sharing her clever methods for displaying art in exhibits. The exchange will be both January and February 5"x7" postcards for Italy and Morocco.

March 20, Phoebe Monthly Meeting, 6:30 P.M., Alameda County Office of Education, 313 W. Winton, Hayward. The mystery kit challenge is due this meeting. Kits have been handed out and you are asked to use at least one item. Use more or all if you can. Contact Mary at mary@mpvdolls.com if you don't have a kit and would like to participate. We will also be having our Easter Parade. Bring one of your dolls and wear something that matches something on your doll. Stephanie will be presenting "All About Me." The postcard exchange theme is "France."
 

April 1 through 30, Zanaib's Altered Book Display celebrating the 54th anniversary of the B Street Book Shop in Hayward. Many Phoebes are participating and while the original goal was 54 books, many more are expected to be on display.

April 20, Phoebe Monthly Meeting, 6:30 P.M., Alameda County Office of Education, 313 W. Winton, Hayward. The Exchange is a "Mexico" themed postcard.

April 26 and 27, Betts Vidal "Frog Prince" Workshop, on a Saturday and Sunday, to be held at Always Quilting, 4230 Olympic, San Mateo (on the border of Belmont). Class is $80 with a $20 kit fee for members. Non-members pay $110 plus $25 kit fee. Contact Stephanie at smitharts2002@yahoo.com to sign up.

June, Phoebe Alameda County Fair Outreach Day, Date to be determined. Each Phoebe is requested to make at least 25 stump dolls for this event, or donate push-mold polymer faces. Start going through your cotton stash for colorful doll fabric, and also for glitzy embellishments if you have any you would like to donate.

July 7 through 11, Lisa Lichtenfeld Workshop, Boy Scouts Building, San Leandro. Class limit is 18 students. Members cost is $250 plus a kit fee. Non-members/$350 plus kit fee. Contact Stephanie at smitharts2002@yahoo.com  

September 2014, Phoebe Doll Exhibit at the Castro Valley Library. Date to be determined. Each Phoebe is asked to make their original interpretation of the Nola Hart cloth doll pattern (you may enlarge or scale it down a maximum of 10%). You may also submit other dolls you have made. Dolls will be due in August.

Phoebe January 2014 Meeting "Show and Tell"

Betts Vidal's April 26-27 workshop will be on the "Frog Prince," determined by
vote at the January meeting. While the "High Maintenance Fairy" lost
the vote this time, there were many Phoebes who would love to learn to make her, too.
We are hoping Betts will teach her at a later date!

Show and Tell

Zanaib's friend Kimberly Mayfield Lynch is pictured
wearing Zanaib's latest hit creations... crocheted "crown" head wraps. The word has spread,
and Zanaib is overwhelmed by orders.

 

Here is a close-up view of one of Zanaib's crowns.

Zanaib never runs out of ideas... she is amazing. Each crown is an original work of art.



VonZetta made the long trip from Los Banos to join us at the meeting.
We were all overjoyed to see her. We hope to see her more often. She brought with her
the colorful Steelers quilt she has just completed.



Tani made a doll with amazing joints and beautiful, colorful
hair made with eyelash yarn.



This is detailed view of the lovely vest Harlene made and
embellished with yoyo flowers made from men's tie fabrics.

Guest Katie B brought several wonderful items to show us. This was an carved-out altered book,
originally a Readers Digest volume. What a lot of work!

Elizabeth impressed us all with this beautifully sculpted and painted
African mask. She is so talented and creates such amazing
figures and forms from clay.

Another original and wonderful cloth sculpture by Daisy. This one features fabric on which
Daisy printed her own drawings. It is mind-bending that Daisy can create
so many pieces in a single year. Inspiring to us all!

This is the colorful "Wacky Women" friendship altered book Colleen brought for all of us to see.
 



The inside is just a wonderful as the outside.
A beautiful and creative collaboration by artistic friends.

Pame's ornaments are truly amazing. If you thought last month's pig was great, check these out!

Donna's altered book creation is destined for The Book Shop window display.
This was made before Christine's altered book workshop, but you can see the Donna's
class book in the upper right, also for the window display.

This altered and assembled figure is, of course, the creation of Anne Klocko.
As are the figures seen the in following photos. Talk about prolific! These photos
represent only a portion of the ones she brought to show and tell.
No wonder she is such a well-known and successful artist. 

Totally amazing!!!!