ARLEY BERRYHILL: DOLL CLASS DESCRIPTIONS
Meet instructor Arley Berryhill. Arley has been a professional costume maker for 25 years. He has worked in all mediums; making costumes and accessories for Broadway shows ("Phantom of the Opera", "Cats"), Movies ("The Grinch", "X-Men"), Theme parks (Disneyland, Universal Studios), Jim Henson's Muppets, Ringling Bros. Circus, plus many operas, to name a few.
"FABRIC COLLAGE DOLL"
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In this class, students will make a finished "collage" fabric doll, 14" tall, complete with armature & base, face mask and hair. Techniques taught include free motion machine embroidery over layers of fabric to make the body fabric and hair. Plus, embellishment techniques using beads and sequins will be covered.
Students will cut up their own fabrics and arrange them on a base fabric to machine embroider over. The result is a unique, one-of-a-kind fabric to create a doll out of.
Special attention will be placed on energetic posing of the figure, bringing them to life with apparent animation and movement.
Hair will be made by embroidering fibers over sheer fabrics using a dissolvable stabilizer. Students will be given a paperclay mask to paint. An "all-over" bead embroidery technique will be taught to add sparkle and pizzazz to the finished figure.
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"LADY PEACOCK"
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 Meet "Lady Peacock" – a stylish, glamorous woman from a bygone era. In this class, we focus on the costume, not the doll.
Students come to class with the finished doll-mannequin, and together we will paint the figure, put together the costume, and embellish.
A paper-clay mask will be included in the class kit, plus extra pattern pieces will be available for variations (see picture to the right) in the finished costume and headdress.
In making "Lady P", techniques learned will include making design choices in costuming by mixing different pattern pieces, tips on how to make fabric choices, sewing & assembling costume (including a wired "lampshade" hip skirt), painting a face mask and body.
Plus embellishment tips on trimming clothing, and creating accents and accessories.
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"Le Femme" Doll Class
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Skill level: Intermediate to Advanced
Class length: 2 day class
Kit fee: $10
Pattern: $10
Homework includes sewing body parts.
Students will put together the basic adult female cloth doll pattern, "La Femme". Emphasis will be on designing a unique "character doll". Students will leave with a finished doll body and head, with face and shoes.
Techniques taught include face painting, wire armature for hands, and shoe making (with sculpted heels). Special attention will be given to defining your doll's character, and posing the doll in an animated attitude full of character.
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"Art Deco Tassel Doll" Class
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Skill Level: Beginning to Intermediate
Class Length: 2 days
Kit Fee: $10
Pattern Fee: $10
Homework: pre-sewing of doll body
Sewing machines may be required to finish sewing costume pieces
Learn how to make this Tassel Lady from the Art Deco period. Use new and exotic fabrics for the costume. Learn beading and embellishment techniques. Emphasis will be on design and embellishment.
Pre-sew basic body shape at home. The class will start with making the costume. (You may pre-sew costume pieces at home, or bring your machine and sew in class.) We will explore the possibilities of embellishment design, embroider the belt with beads, and learn to make beaded tassels and swags.
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Faces and Hands
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Skill level: Beginning to Advance
Class length: 1-Day class
There is no kit fee
Homework: bring in a blank doll head, and pre-sew hands
This technique workshop is focused on just making a doll face, and a natural-looking cloth hand.
The first four hours students will needle-sculpt, draw, and color a face on their own cloth doll head. We will cover basic face proportions, and practice drawing faces on paper before starting on the head. Students will learn to color face using acrylic paints, gel pens, markers, and colored pencils.
The second part of the workshop will teach students a unique hand armature and stuffing technique to make natural looking, feminine cloth hands. No more over-stuffed, awkward looking, balloon hands in this class!
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ARLEY'S CONTACT & TEACHING INFORMATION
Instructor: Arley Berryhill (male-hey, some people don't know!)
Email: ArleyBerryhill@aol.com Website: www.ArleyBerryhill.com
INSTRUCTOR FEE: $300 per day, plus travel and lodging
CLASS SIZE: Minimum of 10, Maximum of 25
A teaching contract is available on request.