Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

Hi Clare ! Glad you found us, we have a lot of fun around here besides sharing and learning new things ...Winney

OK,  you were right, she does have it on a page ..Very funny...Winney

That's what I thought so I went to her web site and didn't see any...maybe I need to take another bettter  look or drop her a line.... Winney

Does anyone remember what artist it is that makes rats ? ..she also makes a  Rat's Ass on a plaque or a pin ...I saw her at the Lincoln City show...is it Martha Burch ?...Winney

Oh what cute Gollies you all make. Hey,  does anyone take the Soft Dolls and Animals magazine ? IN there is a regular colume by a black lady, she makes black dolls...not gollies but on some of the rag type dolls there is not much difference. The dolls are dark brown.... Winney

Oh Louise...feeling bad ?  Take all your bears and line them up then hugs each one 2 times...now, that will help you to start feeling  better.
Oh, I have an idea for you...you have heard the old saying " If you can't beat them join them "? Hmmmm, maybe it would be fun to make a bear and grunge him up on purpose...kind of an antique style, or a hobo bum bear ? I just can't feature me making a darnit bear and drop kicking him across the room ..hmmmmm, maybe I could make a husband doll ! LOL...now, that's a thought. For those of you who don't have a husband ...make a boss darn it doll.

I get into those slumps too sometimes, I can't create when I am angry or feeling very  negative about a situation or about  someone.  I can't afford to "Shop til I drop" ....what works for me is to buy a new bear book and escape to dream...I can also escape for awhile to shop and dream on Ebay...dang it ! I'll find somnething to cheer me up ! LOL

Then sometimes it is just time to take a walk and reflect and try and turn that negative around into something positive...I talk to the Lord while I am walking and tell Him how and why I am hurt or angry... I ALWAYS feel better  later on...if I don't then I take another walk !

If my husband notices he will say " what's wrong " I just tell him the truth, " I need to get away from you for awhile .... and while I am at it, I talk it over with the LOrd because I can't get anywhere talking it over with you ".
Is that ever bold or what ?
Then sometimes I don't say anything but take a walk then I just wait...for the LOrd to do His work on the situation...I just wait and know it will get better, at least I no longer have my heart destroyed  in the process.
Life does get in the way to mess things up a bit when you want to be a happy  positive person. Hope this helps...and heres a big bear hug ((((( U ))))) ...Winney

Rita..I took a quick look at your bears and I am amazed that you think they are plain ? They are anything  but plain...and you have made 3000 so far !!! That's alot ! I love your little Bullies and the bears are very cute indeed.
Your work does have a very destintive style...but you say your bears are lacking that " special extra  "?

So..I am wondering , perhaps you are just  sort of feeling like you have run out of ideas and need some NEW  direction ? Designing some new critters or learning some new techniques may be just what you need to get your creative juices flowing ?If that's it , you have come to the right place !   Happy you found us , welcome ! ....Winney

Is chutzpah a jewish word ? It sounds like a baked pretzel...he, he... I use to have stage fright so bad I'd develope larengitius over night or would loose my voice right after the performance, nervousness. I also felt  my knees were knocking  and would have a ver bad case of butterflys..It interfered with  my performance so much and undemined my confidence ...I felt like a bowel of jello.

So...Determined to break that hold it had on me I decided to join a local theater group and somehow got casted as a supporting role to the lead...and the play would be done in " theater in the round" this ment that you would not be on a seperate stage but instead the audiance is seated all around you....you simply cannot make any eye contact with anyone in the audiance or you break character.... oh horrers, I agreed to do this ? YES... and it worked.
They say for whatever fear you have there is a remedy...face the fear straight  on...and it will not be able to reduce you to trembles any more...
Since then I have been in many different types of productions, even wrote a few myself  and had so much fun!                                                                                                                 ..............Winney

I tend to like the light colors ...in fact just about 90% of the bears I have made has been off white. I wonder if bear artists have periods of color and expressions like the old  painting masters did....like is this my white period later it will be my blue period or my dark bear period.....Winney

Oh yes..I think I"d call that experience a " Teddy Bear Rush "..a bit foamy up in the old head like champagne, he, he.
I have been known to do things like this before...

When I was just five I use to sing a lot, I already knew what I would be when I grew up...a singer, because I was already a singer. ( actually this did come true) OK... so after church I would skip ahead of my G. grandparents then dance on down the sidewalk...I was pretending I was  Miss Shirly Temple in my black patent leather shoes. Well, someone saw me that had connections...in Holly wood and contacted my grandparents for a screen test for a picture with Bob Hope .. but my mother said " NO".
Way later on I learned of this and was very upset at my mom...how dare she do this to me ? I missed my golden opportunity.. I went to see the picture when it came out and then got this idea I was going to call Bob Hope and tell him about it. Maybe he'd give me another chance?....so I did.
I  used a pay phone with my quarter, got the  operater and actually got Bob Hope's phone number...called it but he did not answer the phone, someone else did ...who?  Who ever, but I learned there are some people in the world that other people won't let you talk to..how unfair ! He, he ...end of this part of the story...

Later on I would have  a beautiful colortura voice, I sang light opera , musical comedy and ballads ,chaior ( spelling?)  music .People thought I sounded a lot like Barbara Strisand....another story....

My daughter in law says I am" gutsey "...On a beautiful sunny day in Anaheim she is driving , I am the only passenger ...we come to a stop at a main intersection. We  have the windows open ...up pulls a cop car to our left, he also has his windows open ... I can see him clearly, he's looking at us..I couldn't tell if he is wearing his seat belt or not so I blurted out " HI officer ! Are you wearing you seat belt "? He said " yes"...I said "that's good "   he just smiled and my daughter in law I think died of embarrasment in her seat... She said " MOm...I can't believe you just did that "? She was cracking up too....He. He. ...Winney

Yes...I got this idea one day to ask a pro. about this subject ..and Ted's an old pro...so ,I found his phone number somewhere in an old ted magazine...New York !!!LOng Distance !!!  Oh, well, what the heck, give it a try, he probably won't be there anyway....ring, ring, ringey dingy ding went the phone ...then a pick up and a nice  male voice said " Hello " ?I said...Hello, is this Ted Menten ? He said ; yes.... I said; Well I'll be darn it is Ted Menten ! ....you don't know me but I know you...I live in Anaheim and I make teddy bears..do you  have a minute to chat?.....it went on from there..What a nice man he is , he was so relaxed and not hurried at all...and he was very helpful..... Winney

Danni..there's my RAT fur I am looking for !!!! wonder if INtercal has  any fur like this ? ......Winney

HI Kirsten...love your nicely stuffed huggie bear, and yes ..my eye went right for that paw print, nice touch to carry out the theme...Welcome....Winney

I love all those Gollies ..Laura, my heart breaks for you, what a awful experience. I do think that some black people may not even know about the history of Gollies but do know about Al Jolsen and being that the blacks have been so supressed even after Lincoln ( 200 years ago) I can sympathize with the older  black lady too.

Sometime ago I made a black sherpa fur bear and dressed her like Mamie, in a red print long dress with white and pink hearts all over it , the white organdy bertha type apron ,and of course her head kerchief and gold loop  earrings. She did not have white lips but she has white muslin behind the eye and  she has that side glance look . In her arms is a little black baby with dangely limbs dressed in a white very long gown , bonnet and the same eye treatment. They both smile and are looking googlie eyed happily at each other. I called it " Mommie Love and her Suger Babe " .

The story behind this piece is , during the plantation days selected black female slaves were used as wet nurses for the plantation owners babies...often they were not allowed to care for their own in this way if they were use for the white owners baby...how awful. So...my Mamie is actually a " celebration of black freedom tribute " piece to the black mommie as she now cares for her OWN baby, they show the normal love relationship  any mommie has towards her  baby and no one should take this away from anyone.

I use to keep her in a box in the car trunk....I would pre select black ladies at resterants or where ever and ask them if they would please give me some honest  feed back after seeing the piece...I wanted to know if it offended them and if not, what message did they get out of it ? Not one said it offended them...but thinking back all my test people were fairly young, a generation who may not know about Al Jolsen or about plantation wet nurses.
 
I went so far as to call Ted Menten in New York and asked him about it.YOu see what I wanted to do was to create a whole line of black Historical pieces to commerate the black race in their accomplishments but I did not want to get sued either...I said maybe I chould get the black organization to promote me in this ? His advice was to " not go out of my way as it could open a can of worms " instead.
Another tip he advised me to be careful with " names " of my pieces. The North American Bear Co. got into hot water over this when they made a bear and named him after some famous black basket ball star, it went to court and they lost... NOw, they are careful too when it comes to the name....

He informed me that if you make your bear black, use white lips and he wears white gloves..it reads Al Jolsen. Reason that is not acceptable is because the blacks were protrayed as minstral singers but the singer was white ( a mockery) so that was why it is very offensive to the blacks, its like mocking the black race.

Ted told me he did an ethnic piece for an auction to raise monies because of the earthquake in Jacobie Japan . It was  a larger ( size ?)  Japanese bear, in yellow mohair, she had slant eyes and was dressed in full kimona Japanese regalia. NO one was offended..... The piece went for a very high price and I think it now sits in the Jacobi bear .
museum. 

THe original glooywog had red lips didn't he? I remember getting a past issue of one of the  bear magazines , the whole issue was about Golliwogs. I think it would be special and helpful  if you did do a lot of Golliwogs to do some research. Write up a brief educational  story about the history of the  Golliwog ( he is NOT Al Jolsen ?)  pass it out at your booth to help educate the public,.This may help if you get some customers who seem to be offended ?..Winney

Ooooo, I have a great tool I use ! !!!

I don't know what its called, but I got it at an office supply store in the drafting tools dept. It is a green  square plastic templete sheet...at the top section is small holes with their  measurements beside it in mm's and inches ...then below are the larger holes way up to 3" I think.
Let me tell you this thing I use all the time ...the smaller holes I can fit glass eyes  by placing it right thru  the hole ..will give me thier exact size which is great especially if you have  a spare eye floating around your area.

I use the larger holes to check disc sizes that age lost around my sewing area.......and what is very useful is after you have dreafted you bear pattern you can choose your disc /joint size and place the circle right onto you pattern ..trace inside the hole ....so accurate and fuss free !LOVE IT !....Winney

Ohhhh you all are so on the spot ! Wonderful tips...yes, I will have to experiment . I have some left over easter egg dye , each color is in a small jar...think I can use the green up today to darken a tiny amount of green cotton I have , I need for leaves on a 30's teddy quilt.
I have been saving brown onion skins for quit awhile now...but I have no idea how many in measurements /cups/ handfulls ???  I need for let's say 1/2 yard of mohair ?Anyone who  has tried this? .....Winney

I have been using " linin type thread " for along time...Actually what I have is " artificial sinue " , it's waxed , has 5 strand twisted together  and is great to work with. I split the strands, use 2 for tying the eyes in on 12 ish " size bears.
It is also wonderful to needle sculpt with. It NEVER slips and is easy on the hands when pulling....no frustration , no cut fingers or hand or callouses....
When I finish the eyes at the back bottom of the head just outside the disc, I go one step further , I  go back inside the hole I just came out of and...then take the thread to UNDER that disc and out....Pull the 2 threads there and tie off ...I do 3 knots  which really stick together ,then bury the thread...I leave a long enough threads inside the head...just in case I need to remove the eyes for some unknown reason....
Tying under the disc means there is NO DIMPLE at the back bottom of the head ...Yeah ! That drove me nuts... I bought my white, black, brown  artificial sinue at HUff's Leather Supply , it comes on a roll ,I believe it was only about $2. 98 ...so worth it ! If you do not have a Huff's or a Tandy ( which is now online ) look around in your area  for a leather supplier or a taxidermist supplier.....Winney

Walnut Ink Dye Crystals.....hmmmm, never heard of it, where can you buy it?

Notice what time it is?...I have been having some nights where I simply cannot get to sleep at all, I layed in bed for over 4 hours, that's it..must get up cause just laying there was making me a nervous wreck. I feel like I have attention deficit disorder...you know where you mind keeps flipping the channel constantly ? Weird.... I also made several bears while laying there...trying to focus...So, I am up drinking a cup of Sweet Dreams Tea and reading the posts.. Winney

That tea dyed pink sounds very interesting.... I'd love to try that...I once got a catalog of antique type fabrics and trim for the antique dolls and there was a color in there called "Ashes of Roses"..this was a grayed pink. Can't you just see it? Neat name... I am working on some vintage type baby bears, you know tea dyed , I must try coffe too, I hear it dyes a different shade than tea.... what fun ! ....Winney

Hey, Pomeroy is cute..maybe he took a flying leap from that tree and flew away? I am sure his new owner has a true friend in him now....Winney

I must ask...how big are these scraps ?...Winney

Laura , the one with the fur face IS much cuter... About the cursed coat...do you think it needs an exocist ? I have never heard of a evil teddy bear, even when they dress up for Halloween they are just playing ..and are cute.

When I first started designing my long bodied fashion bear I think I must have made a dozen or so protypes...I knew what I wanted but boy did I ever vasilate a lot in trying to decide what shape did I want ! I have a few that look like the pink panther, LOL...then I have some that are way too skinny , malnurished bears.
When I first started emb. noses I did it too low...then I thought " What's the matter with this ..it dosn't look right " My kids still have those first bears, ever time I see them I laugh...
The first bear I ever made I got the pattern out of a magazine...He is made from dark brown fake plush, has real short legs and he is very fat. Definately a bed sitter bear, how could he ever go anywhere with those short legs...so In named him Scooter. I never did emb. a mouth on him as at the time I got busy with something else and my older boys kept swiping him to sit on their bed wearing their hat or sun glasses , this was suppose to hide him from being detected by mom. I still have Scooter....Winney

I also made the Gooseberry pattern a loooong time ago ha, ha...
My designing  new bears takes me along time to do, I usually  use fake fur because of the costs and often waste of good mohair. Right  now I am trying to design a fairly thin vintage type bear that has a 2 piece front head and 2 peice back head...you would think this would simplify things a lot ...I am on my 4th head.

Now that I think I have got that head shape like I want it ...the top of the body/ neck is too weak ...this morn . I noticed the legs don't sit right, may need to joint them higher onto the body...oh, and fatten up the body too...see what I mean ?  I will eventually get it right...all it take is a keen eye and  more adjustments .......... Winney

That's funny Laura, I just love animals ....Winney

I too get my shoulder/ neck in a bind if I work too long at making bears...it's mainly from looking down at what's in my hands...the other task that gets ,me into trouble is stuffing...So... We all know you must change taks often when making anything so you use different muscle groups... somehow we get so ingrosed in our work or under a deadline so we push it too hard.
I too think sometimes it is because of the way I sit or what I sit on , how my feet are crossed  under my chair ? or not..I do cross them tho ,so now I am aware of that and switch often..I notice when I do switch that it releives....guess what..... my back !
We do strange things to our bodies with out even noticing it til we get a constant pain...so pay attention to your own little quirks and  what it causes then maybe you can alleivate some of the pains by figuring out what you can do to compensate or change your little quirk..he, he....Winney