Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

Oh wow that's heavy...I think you would have to weight the limbs too. But I have no idea..I have never made such a  big bear!

Thanks sooooo much everyone. I just loved making this one...he kinda just happened but I do like him!!!

Thanks so much Melisa!!!

Thanks so much!!!

Chester Bear is available for adoption !! He's on my website!

This was a technique people used in the 60s with fringes ( bangs) and kiss curls , napes etc instead of using clips. In fact I think you can still get the special pink tape for sticking to hair from salon suppliers.

I have on occasion used this type of method ...along with wetting the woke pile then blow drying it into place!
Great blog post!

I have masses of stuff I bought then realised I had bought the wrong one...but there is no reason not to use it...!

Joanne that would be a perfect solution for me too. I love to go but I detest the pressure...and yes the investment is huge. I also like to take a friend along for company...usually Steve my husband...he will also drive which is helpful as while I don't mind driving its nice not to have to...but all that adds to the investment. If I could  go along with say 3 bears and a slide show of previous works I would think I would attend more often ...but I always feel I have to have a stand full of bears.
Maybe I need to rethink.
Peter I hear exactly what you are saying and had I not attended those initial shows I doubt I would have the following I now have...so I am eternally grateful for the custom of those people who saw my potential in those early days. So Paeoniadrop...sorry don't know our name..I would not be too afraid to book a stand .. I think that new artists are essential.
Thanks to everyone who joined in this thread!

I use the translucent ones....

Acrylic paint does 'soak in ' but you need to use a wetting agent on the fabric. Like a detergent or other surfactant. You can also buy a textile medium from Folkart or Createx...or one of the other companies that make the paint. You can then mix it with the paint..or use it on the fabric before you paint. I use a bit of detergent...and I use soap on felting...but I also have the Createx Fabric medium. You do have to be careful with oil as it eventually will damage to cotton backing of the fabric. Using a fabric medium with acrylics helps to keep the pile supple.

What a lovely bear...!

Yaay...well done and I just love the photos you have shown here...they are all superb!

I use a little lozenge of apoxie resin which I stitch over . It's easy and means I don't get hairs poking up through the stitching. The only trouble is you do need to wait ill the apoxie goes off and is hard enough to stitch over . I have been playing with various other things and I have used poly-form pellets which are plastic pellets that melt in hot water ...that goes off really fast and you can just create the shape with your fingers and sew over it ...it's hard in half a minute. I am thinking the possibilites for this are endless since you can add pigment to colour it...so i am thinking eyelids...claws.....ooooohhh ! i am not the first to use this method but it does work and the nice thing is if you make a little mold to press your clay/plastic forms into each nose could be the same. I dont do that as I  am not into my bears  all looking identical like in a production line..I just do each one to fit the muzzle.
I have also used a type of dental clay that also melts in hot water...that was less successful as it takes too long to harden off.

It certainly isn't !

Haha...that's the funny thing ...you need your glasses to find your glasses!
Here's a poem by Ogden Nash called 'Peekaboo, I almost see you'

Middle-aged life is merry, and I love to lead it,
But there comes a day when your eyes are all right but your arm
isn't long enough to hold the telephone book where you can read it,
And your friends get jocular, so you go to the oculist,
And of all your friends he is the joculist,
So over his facetiousness let us skim,
Only noting that he has been waiting for you ever since you said
Good evening to his grandfather clock under the impression
that it was him,
And you look at his chart and it says SHRDLU QWERTYOP, and
you say Well, why SHRDNTLU QWERTYOP? and he says one
set of glasses won't do.
You need two.
One for reading Erle Stanley Gardner's Perry Mason and Keats's
"Endymion" with,
And the other for walking around without saying Hello to strange
wymion with.
So you spend your time taking off your seeing glasses to put on
your reading glasses, and then remembering that your reading
glasses are upstairs or in the car,
And then you can't find your seeing glasses again because without
them on you can't see where they are.
Enough of such misshaps, they would try the patience of an ox,
I prefer to forget both pairs of glasses and pass my declining
years saluting strange women and grandfather clocks.

I just watched the video...wow..I can see a whole world of possibilities!! I need this thing!!!

It looks like a great tool...and I have written to them to order one.....can't wait!!!!

Another fantastic piece of art. So clever, creative and skillful

I wasn't sure what Zap gel was..I just saw that taxidermists use it to stick skins to the armature...so I thought it might be good for this...I have used the carpet adhesive at times.....for specific times when sewing isn't possible.

I just had a quick look at taxidermy adhesives and apparently one called ZAP GEL is ideal as it will stick anything to anything !!!

Well I would use a glue that's designed to stick both fabric and ceramics. Maybe a super glue type of thing. There are some seriously strong adhesives that stick carpets to floors and I think that would work very well. I am definitely not a bear maker that frowns upon the use of glue...it really does depend on what you are glueing and why ....but I don't want to open up that whole glue debate again!

Have a look at taxidermy supplies...they have glues that would be just the ticket.

Persevere with the varifocals...it takes about a week to become accustomed to them then your brain starts to automatically switch between the different areas on the lens with ease and you dont even notice you are doing it. I forget I have mine in now. I even get in the shower without realising  I am wearing them!

Well I have found that the off the shelf ones are fine for emergencies...I have a pair that I use in the sunshine which are tinted ...but because I need a varifocal lens you can't get those off the shelf. The optician I go to told me there is no difference in a plain reading lens and that off the shelf ones are totally fine. So if I idn't need a lens that does for both close up and middle distance I wouldn't bother with prescription lenses. I think the opticians rip you off. But I don't know how I would manage without my varifocals as now ...they are wonderful and have changed my life for the better. Before that I had 3 pairs which I had to keep swapping so I could see my sewing, reading and shopping. Drove me nuts.

Well I thought that the Show at the Motorcycle Museum was, from a buyers viewpoint very very good. I came away loaded to the gunwales with stuff...spent out and happy.
I think that the mix is perfect of dolls and bears and its full of magic. Its a very popular well run fair with such a love air of nostalgia built in because the very experienced organiser does pick a great mix of stands . Having dolls to pick from too does widen her net somewhat though. Great fair and worth a shot for artists hoping to dip a tie in the water.
Lisa it was lovely to meet you yesterday and great to see your bears selling like hot cakes !

Glad you found it again!!