Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

Pretty somber topic, Dilu, but at my age, I need to think about stuff like that!!   Neither of my daughters is "into" bears, but I've thought that they could auction off my endless supply of beary items on ebay and get some very much needed money to pay off school loans and other debts.  The really huge job will be to get it all gathered together and itemized . . . poor girls!!

I have been lurking at Edinburgh's Classroom and found a great piece of information.  The editor of "Bears and Buds" put up a link to an article about our very own Laure in the webzine.  It has photos of some of Laure's totally wonderful bears and lots of great stuff about her!!  Here's the link: 
http://www.bearsandbuds.com/webzine/FoolsGold.asp    Big congrats, Laure!!

Yahoo!!!!  I can see it now and WOW!!  Laure, what a talent you are!!  This teenie tiny guy is great!!

Thanks, Eileen . . . actually, the black bear is very dark brown . . . but it IS hard to photograph a dark bear whatever the color.  I try to use a lighter background when taking pics of dark bears, then have the light source behind you.  I still take photos outside in natural light and don't have the light tent setup that some of you have.  And, while I do come up with some good photos, I believe the light tent probably does the best job of looking like a professional pic.  All of the photos above were taken with a circa 1978 Minolta SLR camera . . . except for Briscoe, and I used my digital for him (and ended up with a not true mohair color!).  Sigh.

Oh noooooo . . . we will miss you a bunch, Laure, but I certainly understand your reason!  Wish I had the will power to work more on my bears and spend less time on the computer.  Then I might have a chance of getting up enough inventory for San Diego in August!  Think about us!!

Thanks SO VERY MUCH, ladies . . . I knew you would all give me great feedback, and you certainly didn't disappoint!!   Well, Briscoe did sell yesterday at the show and, Daphne, you were right . . . I did have fun showing how the joints work and all the positions he could "do".  You are all SO nice and complimentary of my bears and I do feel very humble with such praise!!  Think I WILL try a few more bears with the two techniques and see if I can get a little faster and more efficient at doing them.  They did take the time!!

Someone, somewhere said that Jennifer Laing's book Constructing Teddy and his Friends has the pulled toes info.  If any of you don't have the book, I'll be glad to 'show and tell' how I stumbled my way through it. 

Jane, the mohair is at least 8 years old as I have a bear made from it from 1997!  Also, I don't know what my camera was seeing, but the fur isn't as colorful as what shows up in the pic.  I will tell you that I got it at Edinburgh and in reality, it's a dark-tipped, taupe color mohair . . . doesn't really have the rusty color that shows up in the photo.  The fur is labled B75-2, color 9020 in Edinburgh's catalog, however, should you want to try it. 

Thanks again, ladies, for your wonderful help and feedback . . . you are the greatest!

BooHoo . . . I can't see the pics, either!!  Waaaaa!

I, too, am really sorry about your pain, Jane!  My sister had the "keyhole" gallbladder surgery several years ago, and recuperated very well in a short period of time.  I can empathize with your pain in the tum experience, however.  About a year and a half ago, I had an awful day of stomach pain, diarrhea, throwing up, fever . . . you name it, I had it!  After not improving one bit, that night my hubby took me to the emergency room.  After a 14 hour wait in ER, they decided I had a hot appendix and finally took me to OR.  Needless to say, had they waited much longer, I would have been in deep d. . d . .!  It was ready to pop!  So - I can say "I feel your pain"!!  Take care and good luck with your surgery!!  We'll be thinking of you.

DillyWonk . . . what a nice tribute to all artists!!  You can be THE MOST inspirational writer!!  And all of you have said some meaningful things.

When I first discovered the teddy magazines, I really drooled over Ted Menten's bears.  They had such very sweet faces, yet there was a hint of mischief there, too.  I took a design workshop from him in 1997, and he had one of his bears there for us to look at, handle, admire, etc..  I had known that he had a reputation for stuffing hard, but this bear was like a ROCK!!  So, my "inspiration" was knocked down a notch or two . . . just couldn't reconcile the sweet, innocent/naughty, childlike look of his bears with the VERY hard body.  But, Ted is still an icon in the bear world and I have bought a couple of bears out of his collection on ebay.  He will forever be one of the "GREATS" of beardom!

Wow, Shelli . . . that is one GREAT looking piece you've put together!!  Congrats on such a terrific entry!

Good luck, Louise and Garnet, at your show.  My show today was only so-so, but I'm not complaining!  I made back my expenses and had lots of fun time with artist and collector friends . . . so it was definitely worth the 4 + hour drive from my house.

Rita, here's wishing you a very speedy recovery!  Sending my best vibes your way!

Marie, that is SO wonderful!!  I know Tammy pretty well and, in fact, was right across the aisle from her at the Austin show today!!  She is a VERY lovely lady and it's remarkable that she can do most everything that a two-handed person can.  Her dogs are so cute and lifelike . . . great work!!

I have just finished an all-fours bear using a double jointed neck and needle sculpting the toes . . . two techniques that I've never done before!  I found both techniques to be quite time consuming, so what I need is feedback.  And where better to get it than from all you wonderful bearmakers!  What I'm asking is if the double joints and the toes make enough difference in the overall appearance of the bear compared with what I usually do - to make spending the extra time worthwhile.  Does that make any sense?  Please be honest as I do not have a thin skin and welcome your critiques.  I'm going to show pics of the usual all fours that I make and this latest one.  I'm only going to leave these photos up for about a week, then I will delete them, 'cause they take up a lot of space.  But I guess I just need to see if those two extra steps make the bear a lot more appealing!!
      These are some samples of how I've been making all-fours.

        This is Briscoe, the latest all fours.

Now I MUST get off this computer and get stuff ready for Austin.  See you ladies/gents (if you guys are still with us) on Monday.  Hugs and thank you for responding!

Shari, your bears are all adorable!!  I couldn't get the dolls/angels link to work, so didn't see your dolls.  You are a busy lady!  Look forward to visiting with you via the message board!

Teri, welcome to the board and thanks much for the great quote!!  I need to show it to my husband.  VERY cute avatar you have . . . lets see some more!!

GREAT story, Eileen!! 

Rita, I read the article thanks to Shelli's, link and it's wonderful!  May I ask if I can come along when you present your bears to Pierce and Sean??!!     

Thanks, everyone, for tolerating my "message" posts . . . I REALLY think the world of all of you and want y'all to know it!  Bear people are the greatest!

Shari . . . what's your website address?

Judi . . . guess who IS Bear Street???!!!  Our very own Dale!!! 

Eileen, does your sister-in-law love bears?  I'm driving to Austin tomorrow for a bear show on Sunday!  Am sure she won't be out in the Texas summer heat in that coat!! 

Yes, yes . . . we all want to know!!

Big, big welcome, Shari!!  Your avatar is amazing and wonderful!!  Hope you have lots of fun here as we love to talk, support, share, and joke around a LOT!  Would love to see more of your bears, too!

Danni . . . just as I thought . . . you ARE beautiful!!  Thanks much for sharing a photo with us.  You NEVER need to be bashful around the people on this board, you know.  All of us have our faults and our good traits, and we all are cut from the mold of humanity!    Yuck, I can get sickeningly saccharine sometimes!   

I'm with the majority . . . fray-check before stitching!!

Lovely little pink teddy, Margaret!  Good luck with selling your Steiff bears!

WOW . . . incredible writeup, Danni . . . and thanks much for the link, Daphne!!  We already know Danni as a star on our board and now a lot of other people know.  The selection of bears in the article is wonderful, but I wan't to see a pic of Danni now!!  I don't care what you look like, Danni . . . you are beautiful!!!

Why, thank you so much, Laura!!

Oh my gosh, Jane, I gained 20 lbs. just reading the recipe!!  Wow - that cake sounds like "death by chocolate" . . . and I'd die a happy camper!  Thanks, oodles, for the recipe!