Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

Oh wow, these are all gorgeous!  My favorite is the cheerful little kitty, definitely 

Cheers,
Kelly

Good for you, Laurie!  It's not the easiest thing in the world, that's really great that you're taking on the challenge and it sounds like you're doing a good job of it!  I hope you'll post a photo of your bear when it's all done so we can all enjoy him (her?)!

Hugs,
Kelly

I thought it would be a really interesting conversation to find where people get their bear-making inspiration from.  For me, inspiration can come from anywhere.  I've been known to be talking about something else entirely, and suddenly have to stop to write down an entirely new idea about a bear (it happened twice yesterday).  The world around me is inspirational, too.  My mother's endless creative talents are ALWAYS an inspiration to me.  Even my dog's expressive amber eyes are an inspiration, if I could ever capture those in a bear I know the result would be exquisite.  Other artists also influence us.  One of my favorites is Sue Yale, whose creative approach to mini bears makes me smile!  This is my favorite bear that she's done, a happy little fellow called Hot Fudge Sundae:

http://sueyale.com/HOTFUDGESUNDAEWEBPAGE.htm

I know in the last month or so, my mother and I have been tickled with the thought that we may be inspirational to some degree.  We introduced the concept of a 'heart panda' back in 2004, a bear where the panda patch of fur on their belly was in the shape of a heart.  Recently in November, one of our heart pandas was listed successfully on eBay, this little mink bear:

A month later, we started to see other bears with heart patches on their belly.  And now in January, they seem to be absolutely everywhere!  This must be what is feels like to start a trend, LOL!    But it really has been interesting to see each person's interpretation of a single idea, and with the exponential amount of bears with a heart on their tummy that we've been seeing lately, we're thinking we'll be seeing them for a long time to come!  Well, more power to anyone who wants to try their hand at an idea because it appeals to them, so bring 'em on and we'd love to see your unique 'heart bear', too   

So that brings the question (after a long-winded introduction)... who or what in the world inspires your bears?

Bear hugs,
Kelly

I'm with you and the others on this board on this one!  Entering bears in the competitions does not make you a nominee, being nominated does.  Entering only makes you an entrant.  In the case of the TOBYs, anyone who enters is judged by an industry-represented panel for the Industry Choice awards.   The winners of those are also the nominees for the awards voted on by Joe Q. Public.  This reminds me very much of the argument that buying ad space in a magazine counts as "being published".

My $0.02 anyway,
Kelly

What a neat little bear, I can see why your daughter fell in love with him!  You know, it's a good thing my mother wasn't doing artist bears when I was a little girl.  I would have claimed all the best ones and she knows it.

Cheers,
Kelly

Hi Clare,

Your listings are very nice as our your bear and bunny, so no problems there!  My one suggestion would be to not use all capital letters in your descriptions... many people find it difficult to read all caps and others consider all caps to be 'yelling'.  Wish I could be of more assistance!

Hugs,
Kelly

Nancy Tillberg would be the best person to ask, but I always thought of it like this.  An artist designed bear could include, under this definition, an artist designing a bear for a manufacturer to produce.  I don't think that would make a manufacturer a crafter, though.  A crafter would be someone who makes bears from patterns in books, purchased patterns, and so on.  I think the point she's getting at is that, by her definition, you are a 'bear artist' when you both create an original design and create the bear from that design.  As with all definitions, I know everyone has different interpretations though!

Yes, I would think that would be the case.  If you really needed to be sure of course, check with your friendly local lawyer

Cheers,
Kelly

What a great post!  It's wonderful to see everyone's diverse talents!  I wouldn't know where to begin complementing everyone, so maybe I can just get away with saying that you are all amazingly talented.

I never seem to have much extra time for 'additional' hobbies, but I have been getting back into making handmade ornaments.  It is something that my mother did when I was very young, and I liked to help her from time to time.  Somehow I got back into it recently.  I don't have photos of any of the ornaments that we made to decorate our Christmas tree, I just have photos of these three that have been paired with some of our bears.  I think I have shown the blue one on this board previously.  I've got another four in the works, so I must be on a beading spree.  The easter egg ornament is the newest and wound up being a very elaborate affair!

Well, if I can include my mother in this conversation (who is with us in spirit and browses through from time to time, but doesn't post!), she is a life-long traditional artist.  I made her a web site years ago to showcase a small sample of her work, you can find it here:

http://www.naturalpalette.com/

I am, of course, trying to convince her to do more TEDDY art!

Hugs,
Kelly

Major congratulations, Judi!  If you're still looking for copies when that issue is released in the US, I can get you some at my local Barnes & Noble.  Just let me know if they're needed!

Hugs,
Kelly

Hmmm, where to start. 

Shantell and others are correct, the answer here is that you may NOT sell a bear made from someone else's pattern, regardless of how you refer to it.  In rare cases, the artist may be willing to give permission if you ask.  However, I think you will find that the vast majority of the patterns out there are for 'personal use' or 'recreational use', and sales of bears made from that pattern are strictly prohibited.

That's a common misconception.  An altered pattern is a derivative work by my understanding, and still protected by the original artist's copyright.  It's a slippery topic!  The only truly safe (and honest) way to do this is to make each creation entirely your own, from concept and design through to the finished product.

Hope this helps!
Kelly

Marion is correct, Search and Browse (or maybe just browse) have been having problems for several days now.  I don't have anything running right now (whew!), but in trying to find other people's auctions, they seem to come and go or entire pages are missing.  Just when I was thinking of putting something new on eBay, too... guess I'll wait!

Hugs,
Kelly

I'd hate to try to list people, I just know I'd leave some out.  So, how about everybody!!!!  That would be great, I just have to wait for my first few million to come rolling in so I can take that leisurely trip around the world, right?

Oh DEB!  If you're 45 minutes away from there, you HAVE to visit that show and I won't take no for an answer!  I'll come over to your house and drag you out of bed if I must 
 

Here's a serious answer to your question, it's the TBAI show (Teddy Bear Artist Invitational) and it's one of the most well-respected shows in the country (and is probably up on the list for best in the world, as well).  I couldn't believe something like that was in Binghamton when I found out, I must admit I've never been partial to that area.  Who knew???  This show was really a labor of love for Millie Gage and those who helped start it years ago, you can really get a sense for all the caring and hard work that went into it year after year.  You've got to come see the artists' gallery if nothing else, over 55 artists make big, elaborate creations on a specific theme and their sales benefit the Ross Park Zoo.  Walking around the gallery last year was amazing, those pieces just have to be seen to be believed.  This year's theme is Sleuths and Detectives, and we've given ourselves a major challenge with the movie my mother and I chose to take on.  You (and anyone else who can make the trip!) have got to come see it, it's in August and there's more information here:

http://www.tbai.org/

Sorry for the hijack, you may now resume normal programming.

Hugs,
Kelly

I am so sorry, Julia!  I saw the news footage on this first thing in the morning, and it looked absolutely terrible.  My thoughts are with you and all those affected by this great tragedy!
:hug:

Hugs,
Kelly

Thank you everyone for your kind words, I get such a warm, fuzzy feeling from the support here!  :hug:

I think she's 13 1/2" tall, but I don't have the numbers in front of me and my brains are scrambled today.  I entered her in both the TOBYs and Golden Teddies, though I think I posted my sob story earlier about using the wrong film in my camera when taking the Golden Teddy shots.  So the photos I submitted to the Golden Teddies were not exactly first-rate, and I'm worried how that will affect her.  At least I had time to retake them for the TOBYs so I could submit something that made her look nicer!  (Hey, think the Golden Teddies would let me substitute in the nicer photos before they do the judging?  Probably not I think, dream on!)

Shelli, I love the barnyard photo!  Looks like Freja is considering eliminating some of her competition, though!  Bad horse, bad horse, leave that mouse alone!  Nah, she's very nice, she'd probably be willing to give Nancy's mouse a ride sometime.  I'm not so sure she'd be interested in making friends with the tiger though, I've never known a horse that appreciates giant carnivores.  What a lovely photo of all of them together though!  My mother submitted something to this category as well, and I think that competing with my mother's gorgeous creation is the most difficult of all!

Hugs,
Kelly

I got my information second-hand, so it's totally a possibility that I'm wrong 

Cheers,
Kelly

Nancy, PLEASE don't take eBay as an indicator of your talent or your creations' appeal, it is way too odd and unreliable a venue for that sort of thing.  I think there have been quite a few bear artists that wound up disappointed when they dabbled in eBay.  Probably the long-haul solution is to hang in there and assume a following will develop over time.  That having been said, I think that *used* to happen, but in today's economy, I wouldn't count on it.  There is obviously a LOT of money people are willing to fork over for bears on eBay, but only for a handful of artists.  I have sold anything and everything successfully on eBay over 7 or 8 years now, and bears are absolutely 100% the HARDEST sales to make.  It probably doesn't help that I am emotionally invested in them.  I wish I knew the formula for consistently wonderful (or consistently adequate) bear sales on eBay, but I don't... if I did, I'd be using it myself.

About reserves... I hate them, too.  But I think if you have a reasonable expectation that the price could reach that value (and want to make sure the bear sells for nothing less), then go for it.  But reserves scare some bidders away.  There just is no perfect answer on that either.  I don't know quite what to do about eBay for my bears.  Right now I'm off it completely, but I have some lovely little bears that I think might stand a chance (and as they are smaller bears, the values are lower than, say, bigger bears, so no scary price tags!).  I don't know whether to try them or not.  It's not easy for us to get to shows, I have a lot of other responsibilities tied to one area and my mother is pushing 60 and has life-threatening food allergies that make travel difficult... but we're looking at doing perhaps 10 shows this year, because we seem to sell most reliably in-person.  We all do what we have to do, and we all need to find what works best for us.  Maybe the shows will be a bust, but at least we tried something else, and the thought of relying on eBay sales this year seems a very poor idea indeed.

Hugs,
Kelly

The Malamute, I think?

Cheers,
Kelly

Nancy, she is a darling wee little mousy!  What a personality you've been able to capture in such a tiny little girl!  Now I'm very glad I didn't enter a cat, any cat of mine wouldn't have been able to stand losing to an itty bitty mousey     Best of luck with her, she is outstanding!

Hugs,
Kelly

Jenny, all of your entries are so wonderful, I don't know where to begin!  I think Jim here is my favorite, he is such a dapper fellow with such an innocent little face.  Please send him my way so I can give him a big HUG, he looks like he would accept 10 or 20 of them!  Best of luck to you with all your beauties!

Hugs,
Kelly

I adore the little settings you make and what a cutie you've made with this little fellow!  He is an absolute charmer, best of luck with him!  And I realize that only a raccoon would try to make off with a piece of Christmas candy as big as he is 

Hugs,
Kelly

Outstanding creativity and a LOT of hard work went into this one, and what a fine swine she is (I don't get to say that as a compliment very often!).  All of your entries are just beautiful, Shelli, but I think my favorite is the piggy.  She has STYLE and a look that says, you better believe it!!!  I love the friends category, this makes me wish I could see ALL the submissions, it must be one glorious menagerie.

Hugs,
Kelly

What a sweetheart of a bear, she definitely does have the 'pick me up' quality!  Best of luck to you with her, she is absolutely adorable!

Hugs,
Kelly

Really outstanding work, Judi!  I remember being blown away by these beauties when you were gracious enough to share their photos earlier in the year.  Best of luck to you (but I don't think you need it!)

Hugs,
Kelly

I seem to be a bit late in joining the 'look what I entered!' showcase, but here's one from me 

Well, I started off with all sorts of ideas that I wanted to do for the Friends category.  I even had a pattern all ready to go for another idea, and was all set to start him before I got the idea to take on this project instead.  I figured, when was the last time they had a flying horse submitted?  And like the fool that I am, I went for it.  She fought me every inch of the way (I felt like I was being mule-kicked on several occasions!).  Her wings are fully armatured and poseable in any conceivable position.  She is a subtle blend of cream and snow white tones, made from a mix of Sassy Bear's long cashmere, ultrasuede, super-long Schulte mohair, lots of feathers and a little decorative beaded trim on her wings.  I also decided that I could have made an entire bear in the time it took me to figure out the wings.

Like my other rearing horses, she is built over a fixed armature.  A series of magnets attach her to her wooden pedestal base.  I was worried the added weight of her wings would overload the magnets, until I realized I could flatten the base of her tail and add MORE than 1 magnet under there.  So she's got a (strong) magnet under each hoof that slaps onto matching magnets on the base, and a set of three magnets running under the length of her tail again with matches on the base.  If any of you are considering trying to position strong magnets near each other into fixed positions, while they are alternately trying to either repel or snap onto the magnet next to it, I don't recommend it.  I went through a lot of magnets that got, uh, accidentally epoxyed to each other or to other metal items that were in the area. 

But I'm infinitely pleased to say that Freja is *extremely* secure when she's on her base, and yet can very easily be removed for ease in transportation as needed.  Boy, was I relieved to discover that!  I figured I was doing pretty well when I could take her armature and slap it onto the refrigerator at a 90-degree angle and it stayed frozen in mid-air.  (And I left it stuck to the refrigerator, 5 minutes later I walked through the kitchen and walked right into the stupid thing and sent it flying.)  Well, it seemed only appropriate that the flying horse took flight at some point.  Anyway.  Here is Freja.

Hugs,
Kelly

Yup, that's a neat trick, isn't it?  Google also does this, just select 'Images' from the line of text about the box you type your search text into.  Image searches aren't perfect technology, sometimes you get very odd things returned, but they are getting better all the time!

Cheers,
Kelly