Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

Karen

That's too bad. Maybe in the next issue you should explain the situation and ask if someone finds something wrong if they can let you know.  Most people will just ignore links that don't work, but you will get someone that if asked to will be nice enough to let you know all isn't right.

Amber

I found this on the bearycheap website, it is a maltese/ shihtzu Pattern.

http://www.bearycheap.com/ezimerchant/prod48.htm

hopefully this helps.  In case the link dosen't work.  go to www.bearcheap.com, Patterns, Oz Artists and it is Kou the first one on the page in the top left corner.

Good luck.

Amber

Hi Linda

I love her.  Her face is sweet.  I'm just waiting for her to get here.  And as promised I will keep mine a suprise for you.  I'll let you post her when you get her.  Or I'll post pictures after she gets to you.  I'll keep you posted when she is on her way.  I want her to be special for you.

Amber

Linda

I love her already can't wait to get to cuddle her.  Your bear is almost done, should have her off to you later this week or next at the latest.  Hiding her from my husband he's already tried to claim her. *laugh*  Told him firmly "NO" she's going to live her life in Australia with Linda. *laugh*

I'll send you photos soon.  Just have a couple of seems and some shading and a flower or two and then she will be done.

I love love love sparkles.

Amber

I love it.  I giggled when I saw him.  Adorable

Emma

I like the idea of kill her with kindness.  To make it a little easier for you to take when it is rough though, make yourself up a score card somewhere, everytime she is nasty to you and you thank her or say something nice to her give yourself a point.  When you don't mark it off in another row, that is the score you are trying to make sure you beat.  Maybe you can turn this into a game that at least makes you a little happier and you'll have a score card to remind you that you are taking the higher road in this and you've got to beat her somehow.

I don't know that you will really find any pictures.  Let me see if I can discribe it for you.  I tend to be a very visual person too and I had trouble understanding it at first.  Better still send me a PM with your email address and I will try to draw pictures out for you and scan and email them to you.  I might have something at home if I don't give me a few days and I'll see what I can come up with for you.

Really should look at the dates. *lol*

Count me in.  I've just started cutting one out, perfect timing.

I haven't had a chance to see it yet. It hasn't come in to our bookstore yet. I keep going back to try it get one but still not arrived should be soon though.

I should have worded my earlier statements more carefully.  All workshops are great stepping stones to building your skills up.  I started off only do needle felted bears, self taught.  I looked up how to do it online, bought the supplies and went at it. But being an artist already with drawing and sculpting I found this very easy and came up with a bear I loved in the first couple of tries, I found it wasn't so much technique, but the quality of the wool that made the bear professional.  I kept my first bear that I consider professional.  However when I wanted to start to look into sewing bears, I didn't know where to start.  I was okay with the sewing the pieces together idea I thought I could figure out that.  It was how do I make the bear look like a bear after he sewn and stuffed.  How do I give him character.  Needle scuplting was something I just couldn't wrap my brain around.  The Bear Guys pointed me in the direction of Needle felt the features, use the skill that I already had.  It just so happened that Sue McKay was having a workshop on puppies and what do you know I learned needle scuplting.  Totally worth it.

Oh my he's so sweet.  Almost as sweet as my real holland lop.  I just love him

This one I'm going to have to pass on maybe if there is a Christmas one.  But I'm one of the ones that isn't done yet.  *laugh*

Karen

As always a masterpiece.  He is lifelike. One of your best so far I think from what I've seen.  Simply Amazing.  The detail is stunning.  Can I think of anymore words to discribe him... fabulous, beautiful.... ahh there has to be more.

Janet

Ask other artists for tips, you'll find most are more than will to share.  Workshops are a good starting point, but it is hard to make a bear your own when you are working with others to create a bear or critter from the same pattern and following someone elses directions. Come up with something you want to add to your bears ask around about how to achieve it.  Then it may take a few tries to get there but you'll come up with something that is your style of doing it.  And along the way you may make some new discoveries to share with others.  It's amazing what you can learn just from hear alone, new ideas, and people that are willing to help you get the results that you want to get.  You won't always succeed, but it's a good place to start.  Some things are just beyond our personal skill sets, some always be something that we have problems with.  But you'll find a way to achieve a result you are happy with.

Amber

Emma

This sucks.  I was in a similar situation a few years ago.  The store I work at was taken over by a new owner.  He used to yell at me when he forgot to do things through things at me when he forgot to do things that I reminded him to do over and over but still he didn't do.  He did this infront of our clients.  I got lucky though I called another store that had an opening and left, but I put up with months of his abuse before I could find another place to go to.  The fallout from the move wasn't much better.  I basically run the business for him and when it dropped dramatically after I left, head office was then on me about that.  My new boss took a lot of pressure from it too.  Only good thing there was I told my new boss exactly what was happening before I left, I was upfront with him.  Usually they will tell you it is bad to say anything negative about a previous employer, but this was an exception, my new boss put his neck out for me, I had to let him know why and what to expect.  It's worked out great since then.  Even the bad days are nowhere near what they used to be.

It isn't an easy situation, try to stay positive and document everything.  People like your boss are bitter and unhappy people.  Eventually they will get back every mean and nasty thing they've done to others.  Stay strong, out of everything bad something good will happen, and you will be that much happier for it.  Maybe it will be a new job with better pay.  Maybe it will be a new boss that treats you with respect and kindness in the near future. 

Hugs

Edie

I wouldn't have been suprised.  I looked at the winners last night and saw that you had first place for your Jungle animals.  I wasn't suprised at all.  Well earned and deserved.  They were simply amazing. There was a discussion on how many bears did you have to make in order to be considered a professional, it seems that many people believe once you sell bears you are a professional.  A true artist I think is another thing all together.  I sell bears but do not consider myself an artist yet.  When I can make a teddy bear or animal and feel that I can put it next to yours and not feel like a novice, then I will consider myself an artist.  You've set a bar that I strive to meet with your detail and character, and I'm a long way off.

You do amazing work, and deserve the awards.

Hugs

Amber

Congratulations Melisa.  You too Edie.  Great work.

I agree with Sue Ann as well.  Somethings just come to people naturally, you shouldn't be defined as a professional for how long you've been making bears, but the quality of your bears.  If you can sell them then you are a professional.  It may take a while to build yourself up to what you would consider, a real business.  I remember the first bear I sold, it wasn't my favourite, infact about half of the bears I've sold haven't been what I would consider to be my best work.  I took them to shows because I was short on bears, and suprise they were the bears that people fell in love with.  If I went by my own standards, I would have sold no bears in the beginning.  I sell a few, now and then, but it is only my third year and fourth show so all things considered I don't feel I'm doing too badly. I've sold a couple outside of shows as well.  So I would consider myself a professional, but an actuall artist?  I'm a novice at best.  It takes years to learn the skills, and it is always a learning thing.  I work as a graphic designer, and with over 500 projects under my belt and only one client that I just couldn't seem to make happy, I feel I have a long way to go in order to consider myself a Real Teddy Bear artist.  When I can go to a show and sell most of my bears and the sales support making new ones completely, then I will start looking at things differently.  But I think as soon as you sell your first bear you are offically a Teddy Bear Professional.

I think a lot of his creations are jointed with a ball and socket idea.  So the arm fits into the body and part of the body covers the joint.  If you look at his bunnies in production I believe it will show you the openings left in the bodies.  I haven't looked in a while but I think there is an example there.  How he makes them work I have no idea, but they are great.

I would be careful with scents incase people are allergic to it.  If you stuff a bear with it you could be limiting your market.  Enough people are allergic to some of the materials we use, but adding scents to it could really be a problem for some people.

Just something to consider

Do you only have them for 18th birthdays?

She's Beautiful.  What are her wings made out of?  Did you paint them?

It's funny the smallest dogs can take up the most room on any piece of furniture.  My mom's pom-yorkie can take up an entire queen size bed.

Hi Clare

I do two shows a year, and haven't done horrible.  I've sold at least one bear at each show.  Which for me is okay, a little disappointing but I'm still new at this and developing my skills.  I notice for a lot of the other artists sales were down last year and picked up a bit this year.  One artist I know from the shows did really well at the last one, but her stuff is amazing and she does it full time.  Artists that do it as a living I like to see do well at a show. 

Amber