Rosie Dennis's completed doll from her
cyndi Mahlstadt class.

 

Stephanie Blythe Workshop Was Fabulous!

Zanaib's colors were so beautiful... she dipped and painted the dyes
on her silk and the result was yummy!

On January 10, fifteen Phoebes and friends gathered at the Alameda County Education Building for the Stephanie Blythe workshop. Stephanie, who lives in San Anselmo, has established a world-wide reputation as an outstanding porcelain doll artist and specializes in exquisite miniatures measuring from several inches to about eight inches tall. Her original concept of tea cup fairies brought her great recognition and commercial success, as have her figures inspired by “The Kiss.” Go to her Web site (www.stephanieblythe.com) to see these and other amazing dolls she has created.

The fine details she incorporates into her costuming are the result of decades of acquired techniques and skills, and she most generously shared many of them during the workshop. Her fabrics of choice are vintage, including fine silk velvet, and vintage trims, all of which she often custom dyes to match her color scheme of a piece. She brought several types of dyes to class and all had hours of fun experimenting with the many techniques of application she presented. The results were beautiful and it was truly an inspirational event. We couldn’t wait to go home and start dying all those white trims we have been hording in our stash. Thank you, Stephanie, for a delightful and memorable workshop!

Stephanie Blythe (right) was such a sweet and encouraging instructor.

  

Rosie is deep in concentration as she experiments with brush strokes.

 

Katie, Sharon, and Stephanie Smith show exactly how much fun we all had!

 

Laurie is shown dying some of the trims Stephanie most generously
supplied in her kit.

  

Here are two more photos of Zanaib's huge assortment
of fabrics and trims she dyed during the workshop.
She and Sharon were among the cleaver ones
who brought extra items from home to test the
dyes on. Beautiful!