Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

what a bummer it can be to find something out like that.
It's very cool how in the responses there are stories from both
sides of the fence tho - showing that people have come up with similar
names & ideas completely innocently!

I googled toadbriar before I chose it - I wanted Toad Hollow, but
only a bazillion things share that name - including artist studios etc.

it's obvious that my intention isn't being heard. I didn't "attack" anyone,
& referring to what I am responding because it gives me different ideas from
the poster's does not in any way equal me "shooting them down as imbeciles"

good grief.

if me disagreeing & showing why I disagree is enough to tweak you off, I can't
help you, & all my explaining in the world won't do a bit of good. But because
I can be bullheaded sometimes, for the record I was trying to keep the tone light
but folks chose to take offense. "old broad"? I can't wait to be one (some of my friends
say I already am one at 31) & my family's full of them. Old broads say what they think,
you know where they stand, they laugh loud & don't stop having a fun attitude just because
they're not young enough to get carded anymore. If this is offensive - & at this point,
maybe for here it just might be - then I clearly don't belong. I'm happy to leave more
room for hug icons than actual differing points of view.

& for the record, I don't see where I have to write  :hug:  :hug:  :hug:  :hug: to people
who have suffered tragedy to show them respect. Apparently the posters who were having
the same 'argument' as I was, but on the other side, were also distracting from the apparent
true purpose of the thread, which was in fact  :hug:  :hug:  :hug:  :hug: But it's fine if you want
to single me out.

Oh & I dunno why the word 'BEMOAN' twists your knickers so much:

be·moan   Audio pronunciation of "bemoan" ( P )  Pronunciation Key  (b-mn)
tr.v. be·moaned, be·moan·ing, be·moans

   1. To express grief over; lament.
   2. To express disapproval of or regret for; deplore: “Tom Brokaw of NBC News recently bemoaned ‘the cancer of the sound bite’ afflicting Presidential campaigning” (John Tierney).

(so now I wonder if Tom Brokaw is now writing angry emails to dictionary.comabout John Tierney)

enjoy, ladies

my intention had been to show a differing perspective, & what I see as one of
hope (it IS my middle name, after all) but I didn't respond today because I didn't
want to do it when I felt like I'd been put on the defensive.

'Love one another' is a pretty important tenet, right? That seems like the most important
thing, so it's what I've been working on & I've given it a lot of thought. For me, I can't love
someone until I respect them. If I respect them, I give them the benefit of the doubt
to assume they're doing the best they can with what they've got, just as I am. If
they're doing horrible things, well, the world is full of stuff I can't understand. I can
try to understand why they do what they do, without excusing it, & then lets's put them
where they can't hurt others. But trying to love, respect, & understand people is what
I mean by 'faith' - faith to me means assuming that other folks in the world are for the
most part doing their best. That's the belief I don't see shared much in this thread - I get
the feeling that folks posting here think it's extinct or nearly, so, having gone out of fashion
with horse drawn wagons & poke bonnets, so we should go back to Little House days when
people cared about each other. I don't see it that way. I think people were as bad then, &
as good now. I think we're mostly all the same really, except for the details.
I'm sorry if this gets people's dander up.

We're here for teddy bears & there's nothing more nostalgic than a teddy, but was
there ever really a perfect time? I think the same problems that plague us now have
been with us all along. That's the point I was trying to make. If it came across like I
was trying to pee in your cheerios, I'm sorry. But Daphne, it seems like you're cheering
for the apocalypse to hit before memorial day, & that's fine if you're into that I suppose,
but you'd miss out on a lot of the fun of being an old broad if you ascend into heaven first,
& I'm kind of looking forward to that stuff myself. But then again I get sad enough when good
books end, let alone the world.

As for children & video games etc - I know plenty of folks who've grown up on violent
video games, loud music, role playing games, horror comic books, scary movies,
& all the other bugaboos which get blamed for antisocial behavior. These are perfectly
fine people, as are the vast majority of folks who partake of these things.
(that's not to say I am happy to see little kids at R rated movies)

I think the only common thing among violent children & people in general is a lack of
empathy, & a sense of entitlement - entitlement to whatever they like, at anyone else's
expense. Parents can tell me, I'm sure, how old children are when they learn to understand
empathy - if it is taught. Well before the child develops an interest in violent video games or
scary movies, I should think. & I think we can agree that a sense of entitlement is a
taught thing too, isn't it? There's plenty of books on what goes into making a sociopath.
I've only read a few of them, but the above two bits seem pretty important.

I don't really think non-psychotic people get confused about things in a game vs. things
in real life. (Unless you join a cult maybe, but those brainwashing sessions venture pretty
close to induced psychosis anyhow, what with all the sleep deprivation.)

Anyhow I needed to do the real important stuff - chill with the husband, sew on a bear, dig
in the yard, & syringe feed a dying pet rat - before I came back to this thread. I hope I've
responded with good grace. & by the way, a friend suggested I check out this book, & I
thought I might pass it along here - it looks interesting & seems relevant & it got decent reviews:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/046501 … e&n=283155

Have a good weekend & get into the sun if you can,
-kim, remembering to sign a post for once

thanks!
I am a visual learner, lol. I go to the site you list  - & I see this:
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/glance/cv2.htm

& can't figure how the info it provides jibes with your statistics.
Lookit that huge ski-slope of diminished crimes!

& then here is the graphs page for juvenile crime:
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/glance/offage.htm

it says "The proportion of serious violent crimes committed by juveniles has generally declined since 1993."
& "According to the victim's perception of the age of the offender, the number of serious violent offenses committed by persons ages 12 to 17 declined 69% from 1993 to 2004, while those committed by persons older than 17 fell 58%."

The graph shows a HUGE dramatic drop in crime rates since 1993. & has been lower than the previous 20 years
since ~1996!

So I guess there's cites & references for whichever point of view we seek to defend!  LOL

Of course as you suggest, all this is moot in the face of the stuff that traumatizes us in our own
lives. I think part of "the good old days syndrome" is that "the good old days" is back when, as
teenagers & younger, many of us felt quite immortal. As we grow older, we learn about all the
things in the world that CAN go wrong - many of us have children, & protectiveness makes these
dangers seem even more menacing.

I guess it's just a bummer for me to see all these artists bemoaning that the world is at its worst.
I mean, every generation starts its youth by thinking their parents screwed up, but they'll fix it. Then
a couple decades later, the same bunch thinks that the following crop of kids is sending humanity to
hell in a handbasket. I guess that despite the references to biblical values, I find the lack of faith
here stunningly dispiriting. I've seen acts of extraordinary kindness from people of all faiths & beliefs,
& I've seen horrible things done in the name of 'biblical values' by the prominent christians of the
world. I think most everyone is doing the best they can. I think anyone who practices a faith has been
called to it by a force as strong as what called me to mine, & I think that the world is in more danger
by human apathy & greed than human malice. I think that people who are frightened are easier to
boss around, & I am disturbed by the fact that sociopathic behavior is often rewarded by corporate
success. I think I am less likely to be a good samaritan if I am afraid of my fellow man.

The daffodils are blooming, my transplanted lilacs are leafing out, I finished a bunch of big
projects last week, & I finally got a bear to sew & the time to do it. catch y'all later.

I am googling while eating my afternoon snacky....forgive if I am slapdash with cites...!

from http://www.cjcj.org/pubs/myth/myth.html - website of the Criminal Justice Statistics Center:
"In sum, crime by children today is less frequent and less serious than 20 years ago. Of the 68,200 children arrested for an offense in 1978-80, 34.9% were for felonies. Of the 56,700 children arrested in 1996-98 in a much larger child population, 30.6% were for felonies."

from http://www.scienceblog.com/community/ol … 00520.html :

"Since 1980, arrest rates for juveniles age 13-17 accused of rape and robbery show no identifiable trend either up or down, and in fact have declined over the past 5 years. "

"Most of the increase in the arrest rate for aggravated assault for juveniles age 13-17 between 1984 and 1992 was not the result of increased numbers of assaults, but of a change in the way police report and classify arrests. Supporting this is the fact that even though there were more arrests for simple and aggravated assault during this period, the assault rate--measured through victim surveys--did not change during the same period. Further, assault arrests reported by police increased substantially even for age groups in which homicide rates were declining."

It might be different in Australia, but if Aus has more youth violence than CA or the US, I'll be astonished.

when it's warm enough, I'm lookin forward to going swimming without worrying about catching polio. w00t!

wow you guys
the world is by no means more violent - we just HEAR about everything that happens due to global
media, whereas years ago we only heard about things that happened locally, in our own communities.
I think most violent crime rates are down. How can we be desensitized to violence when we don't have
to slaughter every piece of meat we eat, can change a tire instead of shooting the horse when it gets a
broken leg, we can get our cat neutered instead of drowning a bag of kittens a couple times a year, & can
get the dog his shots instead of getting him SHOT when he comes down with rabies, distemper, etc?

We live longer, are healthier, safer, our children survive much more often, & our old people are older &
livelier by far than in previous generations. We have access to more food, more variety, & more luxury
than ever in the history of the world.

We hear about these violent offenses because they are shocking & wrong. If they were commonplace,
& no one took them as a big deal, they would not be news. It is news because it horrifies us & we want
to fix it.

Think back to "the old days" when no one heard about spousal abuse or child abuse because it was
family business, private, & a man's own concern if his wife needs a little (or a lot of) physical
'correction' now & then.  It's not that it happened less - we just never HEARD about it!

You sure didn't hear about it on the news & those people sure didn't go to jail for how much damage they
did to innocents. & no victims got therapy about it, & no one thought it was something to talk about, & it was
shameful. Probably the wife's own fault if she was mouthing off smart or not getting supper on time eh!

& if she wanted to get a DIVORCE to get her or the kids away from abuse, oh my goodness well people
would talk wouldn't they. What would she do, get a JOB -what, a woman? A divorced woman? People
would talk. So you can't do that I guess.  Oh & you'd better not get cancer in the good old days. I still am
not sure why, buy cancer is embarrassing & you don't mention the word. Let alone get much in the way
of useful treatment for it!

As for kids in schools doing violent stuff - isn't it generally the picked on outcasts who lash out?
You never hear about the bullies getting in trouble for picking on kids like that. Kids who have a hard
enough time cause they're awkward, shy, & get harrassed to the brink of not knowing what to do - the
ones who snap, that's who you hear about. It's never about people picking on the kid, the people pushing
him into lockers, dunking his head in the toilet, holding him down in the locker room & slapping him naked
til he cries, taking his lunch & stepping on it every day, etc. it's about what's wrong with the kid cause 'out
of nowhere he went crazy'. No parent wants to believe their own kid is a bully, or mean, or joining in with
the crowd. Even if he 'only' commits suicide, it's something wrong with him, no thought given to why he had
to feel so desperate & alone, & the bullies get to think "one less freak to stink up the hallways".

In the old days having "christian principles" didn't keep people from legally persecuting Jews & others. Nowadays
people can't get away with that sort of discrimination anymore. I don't know that "the good old days" exists very
much for people who aren't white. Heck even the Irish used to be discriminated against in America. Can you imagine? How awesome that I live in a time where I can be horrified by that sort of foolishness.

Now people are more accountable for the damage they do - ecologically & otherwise. I think we are just overwhelmed
with information from all over the world, & we are not really "wired" for dealing with more than a village-sized notion
of "our people" - ya know? So the bad stuff seems overwhelming. We hear about crimes on TV etc but it is because we
do so love to see the bad guy get caught. Imagine how much science has advanced in this area! Imagine how much science
has improved our lives even in terms of health! More babies survive, people who don't want children don't have to get pregnant
(& nothing is more sad than an unwanted child) & people with infertility problems have the best chances EVER of conceiving.

Also I can live far out in the woods but still have internet, order obscure art & craft supplies, & talk to people from all
over the world. I don't have to feel alone & I can still get my wide open woods, learn art techniques from bear artists
all over creation - & enjoy the best of both worlds!

I think this is pretty much the best time to be alive. I don't really believe in "the good old days", except
in terms of when I could fit on a Big Wheel, & climb a tree without thinking first does my insurance cover
emergency room!

I get into lots of trouble here:

http://www.joggles.com

I had this same bear! & loved him much as well. The company
seemed to have started with bears like him in different sizes
but I seem to recall they branched out to other sorts of animals
like pot belly pigs, mice, bunnies, etc. But my bear was the same as yours
- 15" tall - & his muzzle & paw pads were the velvetiest soft stuff 

ok, this is the most hilarious post I have read on this board    :clap:

Hey, as long as you didn't dab spit on the napkin to wash the child's face you are still safe!    

oooh. & they take PAYPAL!
It's so much easier to spend Paypal money....
I mean if it never made it into the bank account in the
FIRST place, there's less guilt   

uhoh! They are discontinuing them!
they are already out of the 1" plain ones.
Order while ya can!

I've seen so many styles of bunnies I don't know if you can really go wrong!

I make mine with pretty much just an egg-shaped head, the pointy end of the
egg is the nose. It's really much simpler than a bear's muzzle.

Lop bunnies have even rounder heads:

to me, the V-shaped nose is so distinctive & important to 'bunny-ness':

& the eyes being pretty deeply set adds a lot, too.

But that's just me & you may not want to do a realistic style of bun!
Just thought I'd share some jumping off point thoughts 

luann, you are a goddess & I am building an altar to you right now.

I will light candles & leave godiva chocolate on it!!!

Better to keep him & try again, than to let him go for far less than his worth!

I have art prints & stuff in my ebay store all the time, & every so often I have
a guy who has so much work put into him, I cannot trust that he would meet
the auction price I'd feel is fair - whether I set a reserve or not. Stuff like that, I stick
in my store with a Buy It Now price & it costs only cents to list, & automagically relists every
month if it doesn't sell. & eventually they do - I don't have any originals listed now!

I have found that with the mailing list sign-up on my About Me page & website, I
have all these people who want to know every time I list new bears or other art.
It's a good way to let people keep track of your work, to send out a little notice
when you list something new for sale.

Ory is a dear little guy, nothing wrong with him. Any criticisms one could make would
be purely matters of taste. He's lovely in proportion, style, expression, color. His trousers
look a mite crisp & tidy, but that's just a matter of taste too - my stuff gets bashed 'n' battered,
tea-dyed, sandpapered, dragged through mudpuddles, & thrown at the wall to look aged & broken-in,
lol - so that's not really a valid concern coming from me! He just hasn't found his Person yet, that's all.
He will!

Does anyone know? I saw them on ebay & elsewhere online a while ago -
like over a year - but didn't buy. Of course I am kicking myself now but heck
I hadn't even made a bear then! They seemed like a basic toy part that
would always be available, but no combination of search words is leading
me to them anywhere. See this guy, he has wheels like I want (except I would
paint them red, personally):

http://cgi.ebay.com/Red-Elephant-on-Met … dZViewItem
& here are some vintage ones from real toys, very expensive:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Lot-of-ANTIQUE-Cast … dZViewItem

All I want to do is make some pull-toy critters I have seen
wooden wheels, heck even Michaels has those, but they don't give the
nice turn of the century look that I want, & the real metal spoke wheels
would look soooo handsome against a nice mohair... *sigh*

Please, can anyone help?
--toadbriar kim, can't sleep at night for wanting WHEELS!!!

This is the reference I used when doing it:

http://www.knitty.com/issuefall02/FEATdyedwool.html

to keep it tidy I put the solution & mohair into a big plastic food storage bag &
then into a mixing bowl (in case of leaks) & microwave it for 2 minute intervals
until all the dye is driven into the wool & the water is colorless & clear.

I have heard that if you add salt, the cotton backing will take some of the color
too, but I have not tried this. Also you can add multiple packages of kool aid
or some drops of food coloring for more intense color. I do add a splash of vinegar
if I add food coloring, just cause I figure it can't hurt to have it more acidic!

have fun :-)

it's fun to find the thing that fits just right.
& I love seeing what other artists use to accent
their bears. IMO it really gives each bear a 'story'
I love bears with little 'treasures' - you can really
get creative & it is an excuse to try something fun
& different.

Plus it is an excuse to poke around antique & junk shops
& flea markets - like I need an excuse lol

wow timely! I just posted my coffee-stained bear in Showcase (Celie)
my first attempt at staining in this manner - REALLY pleased with the
results!
Am looking forward to reading this article, thanks!!

Thanks so much!

I changed her bow this morning when it hit me that *I* am the one who likes the
wispy pink shabby chic sorts of antique pinks & creams...MOM likes more country
folk art colors, & the faded floral stuff wouldn't really fit.

Now she's been mailed off & I have to WAIT! lol

Thanks again - I am glad you like her! I like her too....but my bears
still don't end up matching the pictures in my head. That will come with
experience I know! It is comforting that even if they don't turn out as
planned, they still end up cute 

My latest attempt :)
Next time - smaller eyes, ears more forward, & shorter arms.
But I love the longer, non-sparse mohair. This was a yellow
with a orangey-gold back mohair, but I soaked the pieces
in strong coffee & I am REALLY happy with the resulting color.

Next time I will throw caution to the wind & tint with oil paint, too.
It really won't degrade the natural fibers? I had that drilled into
my head in painting class, that oil paint will EAT the cotton, which
is why we prime canvases...but I know how careful you guys are,
& would NEVER use a material that would degrade your bears.
Someone pat my hand please & tell me it will be OK, lol 
surely it is because the relatively tiny AMOUNT of paint used for
tinting means it will be stable?

PS Celie is going to be mom's birthday present...she hasn't got one
of my bears....so I hope she likes her!

thanks!!
-Toadbriar Kim

exquisite expressions on her guys!
does anyone know what is 'doll maker's resin' she uses for sculpting noses?
it's resin that's sculptable & paintable I guess - I only know urethane
resin which you mix & cast in a mold.

I am loving this thread, hearing about the outdoor kitty guys who find homes!
That's how we got two of our three Feline Overlords.

I did just want to comment on the above tho - while there sure are kitties who have
issues about peeing, a lot of times, inappropriate peeing, esp. in males, is
be a symptom of a urinary tract infection or crystals - & really this stuff ought
to be ruled out @ the vet before it's assumed to be a behavioral issue. Cause
really, how else can they let us know that something is wrong?

& that great big white fluffy guy is gorgeous. The local animal control & shelters
quite often will let you borrow cage traps if you wanted to catch those guys &
get em vetted, adopted, neutered, whatever. They are both stunning kitties.

lol I wish I was adept enough to make a bear look like someone else's bear!
I still haven't figured out how to make the sort of head I like yet! lol

Aleta don't worry about your pincushions. (I wanna see them, now!)
you might start off from a jumping off point similar to Jennifer Murphy's -
I love her guys - but by the time you're finished, your creations will be entirely
their own uniqueness. Sure the idea is similar - but no more than the Mona
Lisa & one of Rembrandt's self portraits - after all they're both oil paintings of
people from the Renaissance, right? But no one thinks one copies the other.
& the world would certainly be the poorer if either one did not exist.

lol!
I gave someone a bit of a hard time once.  :twisted:

She sews the most gorgeous opulent fancy dog collars, made with velvets
& rich jacquard trims & other pretty details. & has quite a lot of buyers among
people who have adopted greyhounds. So I did see her gorgeous table at an annual
greyhound adoption picnic a few years ago. There were a bunch of folks clustered
around her table, ooh-ing & aah-ing over her exquisite collars & leashes. She was a
regular vendor at this picnic, & I had gotten a collar from her the year before. I had my
greyhound with me, of course, wearing his still-fabulous collar that I'd gotten last time.
So I did plant myself front & center of her display & said

"Are you (Artist X) who makes (Business Name) Collars??"

she looks a little dubious at me..."yes," she says.

"I Have A Complaint!" I declare in the voice I learned from the most obnoxious &
entitlement-drunk patrons of my min-wage customer service career.

"..Yes?" she says. She is giving me The Eyebrow. Other people are glancing at me.

"I purchased this collar from you last year," I say, gesturing at my dog, who is
used to me by now, "& I WOULD like to get a new one, but I can't justify it, because
THIS collar has held up too well, hasn't worn out AT ALL,  & is still perfectly good!!"

Thank goodness she laughed  & I made sure that the GOOD STUFF was just as
clear as the 'complaint' part, lol. & I did end up getting the spoiled hound a pretty
beaded necklace thingie & he was, of course, fabulous   

I    LOVE    ordering from Intercal, but it is not something I will
do if I am pressed for time; I enjoy savoring looking at everything as I decide,
& I end up with a dozen browser windows open so I can look at several furs &
colors at once. There is so much variety. Especially pleasing is to see the example
bears, in nice good-sized photos & in several different colors, with the size of the
bear included so I can see the 'scale' of the fabric. I know it must have been an awful
lot of work to put the site together with so much reference & cross-reference, but it really
is most pleasing to see exactly what you're going to get, in well-lit photos with such attention
given to true representation of the color.

The only problem I ever encounter is sometimes there are selections  - like in small
& irregular pieces - which do not have a link for reference/description. If it's a color I
like, I'll order it anyway & be surprised, lol - those cuts are cheap & I can be creative!
But the ample photos & descriptions DO spoil me, when I come across a quality of mohair
that has not got that info.

ordering is way too fun...lol