February 2019 Phoebe Meeting

The meeting this month was held at Kathy's in Berkeley. Over 20 members attended and were extremely impressed by her fabulously decorated and colorful home filled with wonderful art. A highlight of the day was Betts' special enrichment session featuring collages made using many of her treasures of lace, buttons and ephemera, which she has largely collected in France and surrounding areas over the years. In rapt attention are Sharon, Anne, Barbara and Harlene. Betts continues to be one of the most inspiring members of our club. Thanks again, Betts, for sharing your amazing collection and your knowledge.

Calendar of Events 

March 14, Leslie Keeble's Workshop, at Michael's, Union Landing.

March 16, (Saturday), 1:15-4:30 P.M., Phoebe Meeting at Barbara's. Please bring a folding chair if you are attending.

March 23, (Saturday), Phoebe Make and Take at the Castro Valley Library, 11 A.M. to 1:30 P.M. To volunteer, contact Suzanne.

April 13, (Saturday), 1:15-4:30 P.M., Phoebe Meeting at Sally's.

May (date to be determined), 1:15-4:30 P.M., Phoebe Meeting at George Mark. Daisy will be presenting a "make and take" session.

Heart Challenge

The challenge due this month was to make something incorporating hearts. Two of Anne's most recent ceramic wall hanging figures certainly met the requirement. One has a darling heart-shaped mouth, and the other a sweet little heart on his head.

Bonnie is still working on her very ambitious book filled with many pages of heart-themed collages. Each page is a unique design featuring a variety of heart shapes.

Donna has been finishing more of her embellished silk hearts, which can be made into a pin or a necklace. They make nice "thank-you" gifts, too.

Elizabeth felted her heart and trimmed it with colorful felted balls. Caroline cut her heart from a lovely vintage embroidered cloth.

Harlene made the beautiful "stuffed envelope" filled with glittered hearts (shown below) for the challenge, but she also modeled her latest vest. This one was sewn from an innovative and clever pattern she found on line. It is the perfect showcase for all of her colorful embroidery work.

When we saw the charming heart-shaped bound book Jennifer made, we all wanted to make one just like it. We are hoping she will demonstrate its construction at a future meeting.

Even though Jo has been extremely busy with the fabulous quilt show at Bay Quilts in Richmond, she found the time to make these two small squares with hearts. Loved the show... loved these hearts!

Linda not only created a wreath made of hearts, she made the beautiful heart necklace from vintage embroidered silk and sewed on a beaded edging using tiny seed beads. Lovely!

Mary shared her sketchbook pages of designs for dolls to be made using the wonderful polymer clay heads she has sculpted. Their costumes would be constructed from heart-shaped pieces of fabric. Mary's a great artist and a very creative lady.

Sharon brought samples of some of her beautiful paper heart ornaments. At the center of each is a doorway graphic and sweet vintage photos. 

Flalt Doll Challenge
Bonnie handed out a pattern for the flat doll challenge which will be due in June. The pattern shapes can be assembled in any configuration and modified and embellished in any way one desires. It will be exciting to see the different approach each artist will take. Below are samples of Bonnie's work for inspiration.

Show and Tell

Anne wowed us all with this assembled piece made using faucet parts, a vintage Brownie camera, a sink strainer, chalk tin, and tea pot top. It is sure to sell at one of her upcoming art shows.

Caroline's show and tell was this beautiful fiber necklace in her favorite color.

Daisy is gearing up for the next big Girl Scout event. The theme this year for the various teams of girls will be California native birds and each team will have their own symbol. So, Daisy is working hard to make 5 to 7 different birds. Shown here are the Condor, Quail, and Western Tanager. 

While several members brought "crinkles" they had made to donate to George Mark, Anne went above and beyond the call of duty by presenting a huge plastic bag of over 100 flannel and ribbon crinkles she made for the cause. George Mark, a hospital for critically ill children, dispenses the crinkles to the babies, who are amused by the sound the plastic inside makes, as well as by the bright colors and ribbon tabs. They are disposable, so they go through a lot! Thank you so very much Anne for your extremely generous donation of materials and time. 

Elizabeth shared with us this skillfully carved little house she recently purchased from an artist in Grass Valley. It even has a tea light in it for an inside glow.

Donna has been dabbling in watercolors after a 16-year hiatus from painting. Above is her first painting... a small original attempt to paint a face, hair and the steampunk crow she made from fabric.

 This is a small study painted from another artist's work...just to try to remember how to paint washes and petals.

And the third is a study of work by the artist she will be taking a class from next month, Jeannie Vodden, who will be teaching various techniques, including painting metals in a work with a steampunk theme. 

Our hostess for the meeting, Kathy, brought out these quilted pieces she has been working on. She is using scraps from men's silk ties... a very tricky fabric to work with. But, just look at the precision sewing of the shapes and the beautiful colors! Can't wait to see the finished quilt.

Zanaib, our Crochet Queen, has been making various motifs to paint with metallic and glitter paints, using Sharon's techniques for painting lace. Looking forward to seeing them on her upcoming creations.

And, last but certainly not least, above and below are photos of Zanaib's "border clusters." She discovered this idea on Pinterest. Certainly they will be beautiful on greeting cards, stuffed envelopes, and so many other possibilities!