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We do owe each other to look out for each other. I was on a ferry dock in BC Canada, where artists of all sorts (a 'French Market') operates in the warmer months. Right smack dab in the middle of a landscape artist's booth (good watercolors) was a water color of Anne Cranshaw's Hugging Bear: the back of her head and shoulder with one of her large bears peeking around and 'hugging' her shoulder. It's very distinctive and if you've seen it you remember it.
I just happened to be visiting her home state (across the continent in Maine) took pictures of it and gave her the man's card. I don't know the outcome other than she'd consulted her attorney.
Copyrights exist the moment any artistic endeavor is put into a tangible form: Anne's many-times-over-trade name logo is copyright protected. And the water colorist had the nerve to sign the back and put © on it!
It's such a small world; whoever would have imagined that a friend from in between these two edges of No. America would see one's artwork and happen to know that person. Beware if you wish to copy.
My mind immediately thought about the Bear lkit we saw recently. I have a very suspicious nature.
Another plain-speaking artist privately sent me this link, hope it was OK to share it:
http://www.officeplayground.com/zooanimals.html
You can Believe that I'll be looking out for shapes like these; they're perfect for fitting into the miniature category! Please LMK if anyone else sees items that look like a quick, thin layer of wool needled on...
"full" needlefelting and "foam cut base" needle felting.
Excellent phrases Sandra, I'll adopt something similar in the auctions I have coming up soon.
There will probably come a day when their work is even self-described as "very-firmly needled over a foam base", an ultimate oxymoron.
LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
Ohhhh, Charlotte!!! You'll get into trouble following me! Didn't Mom ever tell you about guilty-by-association and "The company you keep...." ?
Debby, yes, I guess I'm a purist but think that a NFed pc should be pure fiber through & through. But, as in sculpture (polymer & regular clay) or parade float-building, sometimes it's more efficatious to sometimes build over a frameworK or underneath structure to bulk out the initial shape. But I feel that using the shape design by someone else cannot be called the Needle Felted work of an artist - especially in this case where the lines of the original are followed so closely.
In sculpture and folats, the bare bones are there for support and to minimuze the weight/cost of materials. But creating a statue is all surface application, where the Art in artist is individualized and shines forth.
Ppl apply a pre-worked piece (I call them Patches) to build up their work and some apply the fiber right to the piece and needle it in. Pre-forming makes the amount applied and where it stays much more assured with less work. Noses and muzzles are still called needle felted, the mohair base being like the substructures described above. It's actually much easier to get MUCH more detail into an expression than if you had tpo preplan every curve while designing your pattern template. Not very many could create in fabric, on the first shot, what Judi and Wendy bring to their work by sculpting in wool afterwards.
Thx for asking!
Great new shots! I thought you were re-posting the originals as they still had the blue background!
I only noticed it after accessing the (Waldorf-style, tho not worded that way) poodle that's supposed to be 3" x 2" and looks at least twice that big. As the wording was something to the effect of, 'not felted over a carved foam base' I looked at this other auction, to see that it was.
It sure could use a few more hours on surface treatment. It must've taken all of an afternoon to churn out (Naughty Bobbie, stop that!)
This hits me in two areas: the copy of another's work and the Art-Foam-for-Needle-Felting base.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi … Track=true
Pandas are pandas are pandas, yes. This isn't the first but I see the basis of my NFing standing Panda pattern and photo angle is replicated a lot.
And moving on (or back) into the foam base for needle felting - perhaps this should be advertised as foam sculpting and they should specialize in different animal forms.
See? I knew it was going to blossom. That's what I was so upset about!
LMK how much more relaxing this hold is, Wendy. And if your wrist is getting a good rest.
For the life of me I couldn't support the camera in my left hand and take the pix, so that is my left hand!
Righty works better ....
Absolutely - a smoother finisher comes from longer hours with the needle. Most sheep breeds will be contained this way though some are bristly no matter what you do and some will felt themselves just in over-handling.
Find a few breeds that work well for your style of creating (soft, medium or very firm) and stay with those. Always keep your ears open for someone suggesting another breed. A pinch to sample tells you so much about the type of fiber, the producer and how it needles.
And ALWAYS demand to know what breed you're buying! We have to train the suppliers to KNOW what they're selling (enough already of the Jump-On-The-Current-Bandwagon-And-Become-A-Distributor!!) and pass on that information. Spinners, weavers, knitters all know, so should Needle (and Wet) Felters!!
Amelis, how small are your small noses? I need realistic looking ones (Polar, grizzly & panda are all different shapes) but I have to make them 1/8th inch to 1/4" at the LARGEST as the bears are 2" - 4".
I've never wired them in - I was afraid that they're not thick enough to be able to put pressure on them of sucking the wire ends into the face/muzzle completely.
And while baking them - not to rest on the fronts w/the wire ends sticking up (they're so small they change shape in the oven).
I could build a sort of 2 sided rack for the wire ends to extend down into... just musing out loud here....
Me, too. It almost looked like fabric already!
I love the fact that ppl can take natural shots like this anywhere in the world and be informative. It's probably crossong several Patent, Trademark and Copyright laws but I love them.
This is something I find just as frustrating, I have got someone doing my site, and also sit and sit. Unless I get him on the phone at his pc, I can pull my hair out.
I thought of doing a course in web design, but to do it 100% is going to take time, then practice and that is not what I am about, so I pay someone and pay and pay.
Amen! It's most frustrating that we're half a world apart; he's 18 hours ahead of me. Talk about a time warp - It's difficult to think in terms of the future ("What time is it where he is?")
Thx for your input, girls. I'm on fast broadband too.
Sabine, you have no idea the number of times I must email my webbie, reminding him about my list of 'needs'. He fights me on a lot of them but I've had the courage of my own convictions after you all chimed in that "the one who pays should play."
I'm sorry that the changing banners are unsettling - Don and his cousin took them in different parts of the world and I wanted real bears to reflect the realistic feel of my current work. I thought that there was enough continuity of the style, text and layout that it would all co-ordinate. Not that you thought negatively about their formatting but I thought Shelli did a brilliant job with the textures, colors and bear images I sent her.
On that Order page - this is one that he insists on keeping. He says that to use his commerce software the 'buttons' must be along the top and arranged like that, not along the right side as I want.
It's EXTREMELY JARRING to me.
I hate it but don't know the veracity of his statements.
It's been a year now in progress with him, my 7th or 8th webbie, in about 10 years. I've never, in all of that time, had a completed, functional site. Several of them were also bear arists and were learning web design along with building mine - which I didn't know at the time. They've all left the bear world.
That's why I chose him: because he's well-known, knows how to write code and his wife is a bear artist so I figured he had a good handle on this work. Well, live and learn. Some day, the many thousands of dollars I've spent on web work will pay off....
Totally agree with Karen & Cheryl!
I've seen the same thing happen - when I started putting custom pads on my bears' feet and handmade metal claws, I started showing a photo of their feet - I've called it their Upside-Down image. Normally they're not seen when the bear is in its normal position and, as my NFed work starts with a higher price, I want viewers to see all that goes into the pricing.
You have no idea how many pix I have saved in a Folder - every one that I now see on eBay & websites with this pose. And the work of all but one of them are awful! The nerxt time you see a fuzzy pic of a bear/dog/pig/cat/etc... laying on its side with some Magic Markers black spots - you'll know that I'm laughing too.
OK, I'll play.
How do you get the multiple images in one post?
I tried today on another NFing thread: the instructions said to hit Save and then edit to insert more. This meant nothing to me and it did nothing that I intended.
The images are parked on my Desktop and if anyone can funnel some knowledge into my brain, I'll be your slave forever.
This one's only 1 minute - very interesting, in a very non-techy world:
I know when the surface hits my finger that I've pushed in the full working part of the shaft.
This thrust is elbow and shoulder driven - easier on my joints than wrist.
Oh there #1 is, up at the top. It didn't like that I wanted it at the bottom.
That's my soft hold on the needle.
#2 I place the end of my index finger just above the top barb during continuing stages, as the core is already solid and there's no need to penetrate further than the depth of the barb placements to bond My Patch to the work.
I don't want it to sound as if I'm denigrating a product that has nothing inherently wrong with it , nor have it appear that it's in rebuttal or an affront to your product line! Nothing further from the truth!! It's an excellent design for what it is - a soft-yet-firm, flat surface to work 2- on. I just wish they'd put out an even larger one, at least 8" x 8"!
In 2 dimensional, flat needle felting, the idea is to GET the fibers to 'beard' through the fabric or backing. That's what locks the design in place. It's possible to get the back looking almost the same as the front, depending on the time spent needling and the amount of wool added. The more beards that migrate through the fabric background, the less the design is likey to lift off the backing (eliminating the need to hand-sew the edges down.)
It's the opposite in sculptural needle felting: we need all of the fibers to be turned back into the piece, which is why we keep turning and turning the work around.
My ole cramped fingers took up needling when hand-sewin of miniatures becme too hard on the joints. Holding pen-style seemed to be all wrist action (for best control of where the needle entered as well as having a shorter arc and more like;ly to break the tip off in late stages of rock hard wool and a 40 or 42 needle - for me.) I did better with this hold, laying very loosely in against my middle finger, index finger draped across the top and thumb lightly holding it all together. If any spot starts to show an indent from the needle, it tells me to lighten up and that I probably need a (time) break!
Totally forgotten how to upload pix (multiple) from my desktop so here goes with 3 posts.
Save & Edit is not working... or my brain isn't...
I turn to you web designer friends to give me your opinions - Yeah or Nay: is this mumbo-jumbo, which-cup-is-the-ball-under, tap dancing from my webbie?
The set-up: Fair Shelli developed 5 banners for me to use as Headers for my web pages (BeyondBasicBears.com is still grinding slowly forward. When a bit more info is needed from me I go back to the bottom of his writing duties pile.
All of the pix were actually taken by my DH and his cousin, and I proudly display their work!
One of the banners, a striding black bear, was used on 6 of the 12 main pages.
(I treated the catalog pages he refers to as one.) 2 others were used twice and the last 2 used only once. There are two Error pages; I'm going to insist he put one of the lesser used bears on those 2 as headers, but does his explanation make sense, in the current way that the web works and designers accommodate it?
Our email exchange:
Bobbie: "I was scrolling through the headings and noted that the walking Black Bear banner was used on about 7 of the pages, while some of the other polar and panda banners appear only once or twice."
A: This is because I can only use one banner on the catalog pages ... all the same ... the rest of them have been equally distributed amongst all the other pages ... BTW it is not usual to have different banners on your website pages as this only increases download time ... if you look at any of my other websites, you will note that only one banner is used (2 on Flash sites), because once a client's computer has downloaded the first page, all graphics are placed in the user's cache and load much more quickly from there rather than having to re-download from the web each time.
Several replies have used the words hot, cool and temperature. Unless you're 'into' photography, you might not put the right meaning to these words.
A year ago I wrote about these considerations.
I'm not sure how many characters are allowed in a post but I'll attempt to cut 'n paste or put into several posts.
Gizmos & Gadgets - February 2005 - Lamps and Light to Work by
Hello All! Welcome to our new adventures together! My name is Roberta (Bobbie) Ripperger, your Tool Gal. If it’s one thing I have always done, it’s to collect at least one of every single tool, implement & accessory for every new handcraft that’s caught my fancy. This month we’re addressing good lighting. Unless you’re blessed with a cozy warm greenhouse or a conservatory to work in, good lighting will be essential to your comfort and your enjoyment in the work you do.
Lumens, flux and photopic curve, illumination, lux and PAR, PAReff, PUR, CRI & CIE. Very techie and very confusing.
But to rate lighting is to consider all aspects of the available bulbs, including Halogen, Incandescent, Fluorescent, Full Spectrum, Daylight, SADD, True Color and Natural Daylight. Then there are the multitudinous common and name brands available: Ott. Verilux, Ultralux, GE, - the lists go on and on.
What we’d like to identify is functional, well-made and affordable light, which may or may not need to be used in a specialty lamp rather than the one next to your favorite chair. As most manufacturers and distributors maintain an online presence, it is my job to research and collate a large amount of this data, to arm you with options when you start shopping. I have my personal favorites, which I’ll present at the end.
Breaking this down into 2 categories, there are dedicated (single purpose) fixtures – Lamps - and the larger arena of Light ‘Bulbs’. Natural daylight would seem to be the most desirable lighting, yet there are times that a ‘warmer’ or ‘cooler’ color temperature is preferable. This warmth and coolness doesn’t equate to heat from the bulb itself: in that respect Fluorescent is coolest (to be next to), Incandescent is hot and Halogen instantly becomes very intense.
Incandescent: traditional choice with a ‘warm’ (color temperature) effect.
Halogen: a brighter, whiter light for the same or lower wattages. They have a much longer life than incandescent but produce a very high heat.
Fluorescent: The traditional ‘laboratory look’ is still available but they’re now produced in the greatest variety of color temperatures simulating incandescent, while using less energy, producing less heat, are less sensitive to handling, vibration or shock and lasting much longer. Using the bulbs in confined places (enclosed light fixtures), closets and similar spaces make these very safe. Compact fluorescent usually costs more than incandescents but these above advantages outweigh that one point, which is, in fact, offset by needing to change the bulb less often. They also have the common screw-in type bases to fit most fixtures.
A few basic definitions are in order: beginning with Benjamin Franklin’s kite experiments, electrical principles became gradually understood, from the charged carbon of the first arc lighting through the enclosed, oxygen-less glass light bulb of the late 1800s, bringing incandescent electric lighting into our homes. As photography developed in the early 20th century, it became necessary to define how bright something was (amount of emitted light). Several first world countries adopted "the international candle" as the amount of light something generated: how many candles it took to generate a set amount of light. Unfortunately, in the 1940s, someone figured out that different candles produce different amounts of light. The scientific definitions of Lux and Lumen (the Brightness factors) overtook the practical, in being unit measurements of light flow from 1 standardized international candle, as seen within or from a distance of 1 square meter.
Lux versus lumen: The difference between the lux and the lumen is that the lux takes into account the area over which the luminous flux is spread. 1000 lumens, concentrated into an area of one square meter, lights up that square meter with a luminance of 1000 lux. The same 1000 lumens, spread out over ten square meters, produce a dimmer luminance of only 100 lux.
Achieving a luminance of 500 lux might be possible in a home kitchen with a single fluorescent light fixture with an output of 12000 lumens. To light a factory floor with dozens of times the area of the kitchen would require dozens of such fixtures. Thus, lighting a larger area with the same number of lux requires a larger number of lumens.
Natural daylight – the truest color balance – can be expressed in these values:
Direct sunlight - 100,000 Lux
Overcast day - 1,000 Lux
Deep Twilight – 1 Lux
Quarter Moon - .01 Lux
Overcast, Moonless night - .00001 Lux
Artificial light supplies this amount of light:
Average Parking Lot at night – 10 Lux
Factory Assembly Lines – 200 to 3,000Lux
Bank: Lobby 200, Tellers 500 Lux
Offices: General 300, Accounting – 500 Lux
Hospital Operating Room – 18, 000 Lux
Given these statistics, it’s easy to see why our eyes strain to see in low light situations.
Ott, Verilux, Ultralux and GE are large companies that produce specialty lighting, from operating room lighting through indoor gardening lights and automobile interior lighting to deep space exploration lighting needs. Our cozy workroom fits right in there about mid-center. How true the color of our projects will look under different types of light hinges upon 2 more aspects: Color Temperature and Color Rendering Index. Color Temperature is how cool or warm the light source appears and is expressed in Kelvin (K) degrees. Bulbs with lower K color temperatures look red; bulbs with higher K color temperatures look blue. This makes sense if you imagine an iron bar being heated. First it gets ‘red hot’, then, as the temperature increases, it becomes ‘white hot’ and finally, ‘blue white’ hot.
Color Rendering Index (CRI) is a relative measure of the shift in surface color of an object when lit by a particular type of bulb, compared with how the object would appear under a reference light source of similar color temperature. CRI is a numerical system that rates the ‘color rendering’ ability of a source light in comparison with natural daylight, which has a CRI of 100. This means that a bulb with a CRI of 91 shows colors more naturally than a bulb with a CRI of 62. Commonly used as references are incandescent lamps (warm light sources) and natural daylight (a cool light source). Incandescent lamps and daylight have a CRI of 100, the highest possible CRI. The higher the CRI of the light source, the ‘truer’ it renders color. In Kelvin (K) terms, ‘warm white’ is 2700K, more ‘neutral white’ averages 4100K and ‘blue white’ (photo bulbs) are above 6000K.
Enough Science; here’s the nitty-gritty: using an online search engine (e.g., Google) for the above mentioned companies will exhibit most of the bulbs available to retail consumers and/or give distributor sources. These seem to be the most commonly available bulbs. The prices range runs from a dollar or so U.S. to $150+ for some of the specialty bulbs in the higher wattages (larger bulb = more light) that most closely replicate natural daylight.:
http://www.ottlite.com
http://www.verilux.net/truecolors
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=& … tnG=Search
I do macro photography and need bulbs closest to natural daylight. The best bulbs for me have been those in the blue-white, or high K range. Some that I’ve purchased are touted as natural daylight but were anything but; they turned my digital images yellow or red/purple. My camera has White Balance settings, by which I can internally change how the camera ‘reads’ the warmth value of the light source and neutralizes it, but I also spent good money on experimenting with every bulb I could locate that promised ‘Natural’ and ‘Daylight’. GE’s Reveal bulbs are one type that I’ve since donated away. They looked pinkish in the fixture and red in photography. Others have highly recommended them. A little experimenting is needed for photography but for task lighting during your work or relaxation times, a pink or yellow tone is comfortable to be in.
All of that Science background stated above is there to help the techies among us at this point: in reading the package wrapping on the bulb choices before investing. Not all of these factors will be given but enough should be there to tell you if it’s a warm, neutral or blue white. It’s impossible to tell what color temperature will come from an unlit bulb, so what I also do now is take my hand-held fluorescent fixture into the store with me to try the bulbs in my own equipment. And hope that the bulb is not encased in the sealed plastic package or I’ll have to buy at least one! There are plenty of spare outlets in the areas for lamp sales and I plug in to test my choices. The hand held fixture, (with its 15 foot cord) is a rectangle that I hold in different positions to highlight different places on the work I’m photographing. I want 1 bulb that does 2 jobs and if the bulb will work there in the store, I know that it will also give the same blue-white type of light that I prefer for every day use and as well as in photography, rather than a warmer value of yellow. Carrying this info with you and reading the information stated on the package will help you determine if the bulb will suit your purposes.
I’ve found a screw-in bulb with the same blue-white color temperature at Home Depot. In photography it gives a neutral, true color image and I don’t have to reset the camera’s white balance. The model is #772-429, compact florescent spiral bulb, 120 volt, 19 watt, 6500(K), 1100 Lumens (Light output), Use/Life – 10,000 hours. These 19 watts are the equivalent of a 75-watt incandescent bulb and suitable for enclosed spaces.
Commercial Electric Co.
2455 Paces Ferry Road NW
Atlanta GA
800.378.6998
In a phone call to Commercial Electric to find a local distributor I was advised to check my nearest Home Depot. This contact information is given for those outside the USA.
I often had at least one of the 3 regular photo bulbs used during a session go out (and always when up against a deadline) and I’ve learned this lesson: I will admit to buying 10 of these bulbs. Cheap insurance. I’m also a klutz who breaks bulbs.
Let’s see…. 10 bulbs x 10,000 hours each …… I guess I’m adequately covered….
Here at the computer and in the studio, I use a goose-necked Ott lamp. The benefit of the model that I chose is that it effortlessly converts from a table mount to a floor mount, saving me the price of purchasing 2 separate lamps. The bulbs are the push-in rather than screw-in type, but after 3 or 4 years, I have yet to replace a bulb, and they’re in use 8 – 10 hours a day. Many of their models include an attached, moveable magnifying lens.
We’ve barely skimmed the surface of this subject; in a later issue I’ll cover lighting more thoroughly, including the use of studio lighting for Photography. By reading the future editorial feature for Gizmos & Gadgets, you will see the month-by-month listing of topics. I invite you all to give me your product choices, recommendations and opinions, especially those not available in the States that I’ll not have access to. Please email all information to bbbinquiries@comcast.net
Cool temperature ‘white’ daylight bulbs are best for working in.
Warm white is preferred in living spaces, Cool white for task areas.
Online searches identify brands, prices, locations and sales outlets.
If price is a determining factor, purchase multiples of a lower wattage fluorescent bulb.
You’ll still save money over similar watt count incandescent bulbs.
The higher the Kelvin rating the bluer the white light will be.
Higher Lumen counts will give more light per area illuminated.
Higher CRI numbers render light the most similar to daylight.
Lower watts in fluorescent bulbs will duplicate higher incandescent wattage for less cost in use.
I'm on some spinning (fiber) lists; one of the members in TX posted a note about his appearance on HGTV yesterday.
I wasn't home at noon when it was broadcast and Thk goodness - he posted it on You Tube.
He raises his own silkworms, does a very fast run-through of processing the cocoons (something I'd never quite gotten around to Googling yet) and weaves a silk bookmark.
The video last 6 minutes (Michael's 6 minutes of Fame!) - Please watch it!!
You just hold all 4 needles together, Wendy? Or do you tape them together?
As long as they're no farther apart than half a cm or 1/4" they seem to work as a unit in pre-felting. But I don't use this for applying the wool to the sculpture. It sounds as if we work in a similar fashion, except my first 'block of fibre' has the basic shape and size of my finished piece; more like a thick skeleton of bones. I don't cut the pieces - I layer them on where needed, as they all have loose edges that smoothly needle over previous Patches©.
Any cutting I do is to shorten a piece (if you can imagine removing a few vertebrae or inches out of limb's length) or to add a little more length into part of a sculpture. I use a knife or razor blade and slice the whole piece apart, adding or subtracting at this cut-apart spot as needed.
My only thought about imbedding several needles together in a non-removable substance like polymer clays is - what happens if/when one breaks? You could break it off completely up to the shaft transition point but working so closely to others may crack or weaken your hardened clay. Just rambling in my what-if thoughts here....
Do any of you still have a Persian lamb bear that you made more that a decade ago?
In my early days, I bought coats and shawl/wrappers from conscious-stricken friends (Peta supporters) and made mink and lamb bears - about 6", which were whoppers for me. The thinnest of hides, mink about puntured my fingers with permanent holes but the lamb was 'like buttah'. I could even spilt the hide in two and have a furry fabric and a suede one. But with both methods of working the lamb, about 10 years on I handled the bear I gave my sister. It was shedding! Not in noticeable spots but overall.
I rushed to my supply of furs I still had and found them doing the same . Curiously the mink were still rooted as strong as an ox. That thin hide won't let go of its fibers as easily!!
As per another TT thread: I hereby apologize to anyone who may own one of these!
It occurred to me that furs are kept in cold storage for at least 6 months of every year. Bears are on display through all types of weather: dry, humid, very cool hoes to ones that may hit over 100F. Of course the hairs were falling out. I stopped all returning the fur to the animal realm after that and gave away or discarded the rest of my stash.
Just food for thought. I doubt any bear lover would buy storage space for a favorite bear and relinquish ownership for that long.
I have an original S.M.A.L.L. mink bear from Kathy Meyers, about 15 years old and he's fine.
Has this occurred to any other sewers-of-lamb?
Do you give your customers some caution &/or care notes on this?
TIA -
I was thinking that for the members that do not have a laminating machine,
For quickie laminating I've used the pkg sealing tape in my tape gun. It's 2" wide and a strip on each side is usually enough, though I have on occasion taped 2 layers on each side.
I noticed a flurry of new avatars and member photos appearing around the holidays and decided to take my old one down.
I bought new camera (8 mp in the size of a deck of cards!! I'm so afraid of dropping this tiny slippery little guy) this week and have been snapping right & left. I took my own pic on Tues and decided to post it today.
The system just would not switch images and our own Mr Techy Wonderful advised me to empty my Cache and try again. Emptying took 5 minutes, as I've never done that before (4 years of lines out to kajillions of sites visited...) and the new image slipped in immediately.
Did any of you have that type of trouble and am I the last computer owner to know about this? lol
