Kyeema
Marilyn Halcomb
Merrylands, New South Wales, Australia • www.marilynhalcomb.com

Friday, April 28 – Saturday, April 29, 9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Kyeema is an Australian Aboriginal doll, meaning “Of the Dawn”. In this class students learned unique methods of achieving face shapes with fabric, using trapunto and needle sculpting as well as unique painting techniques to achieve a realistic look on dark skin. Kyeema has beautiful teeth set in an open-mouthed trapunto smile. Her body is fully wired and needle-sculpted, with nipples, belly button, shapely bottom and exceptionally realistic hands and feet. Her clothing fabric is stamped & painted in class and you will learn how to design Aboriginal fabric. She is carrying a protective stick and a “dilly” bag

Australian doll artist Marilyn Halcomb has been making dolls ever since she can remember. She used to leave them out for the fairies at night, who would leave a little gift in return. It wasn’t until she attended an epb workshop in the early 90’s that she realized she had been making and actually designing cloth dolls. She tested her designs on the market and they were snapped up. Marilyn is adept at all mediums but fabric manipulation is her passion; she is regarded as “Australia’s Queen of Soft Sculpture”. Marilyn is an active teacher and she has recently expanded to teaching on-line in the USA. Marilyn is also a qualified competition judge.

Day one begins with some sewing and stuffing.
Ladies at work.
Deborah makes the first stitches on the face.	Sample Kyeema.
Mary Ellen stitches the mouth . . .
. . . and a little while later, her face comes to life.
Ready to be stitched by Deborah.
Break time.