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BlondheartI am sure all of you are familiar with the Great Sphinx that sits on the Giza Plateau in Egypt. Over the decades historians, archaeologists, anthropologists, and a plethora of scientists have studied and conducted tests on it trying to discern it's secrets and it's origins. Many of them have come up with their own theories. I find myself wondering how many artists have studied it with nothing more than the artistic eye as their tool? I have studied it a bit and came up with several conclusions of my own. So here is my challenge, study it and see what you come up with. Post your findings here and after a few days I will edit this post and tell you what I figured out. Here is a link to a site that shows some nice pics of it:
http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/sphinx1.htm
Tip: Search for other pics of egyptian art for comparison.
So what on earth does this have to go with bearmaking you ask? PLENTY! When I teach classes I always try to get people to really think about what they are doing. There are several very good applicable lessons to bearmaking to be learned from this type of thing.......lets see if you can discern what those are as well!
Don't forget to post your findings!
*Grins mischeviously* Good luck!
Kelly
EDIT: Findings posted in the next post!
BlondheartThe Sphinx has long been a source of intrigue for me. I have studied it over the years but always knew something wasn't quite right with it. Why would the builders botch the proportion so badly? Well one theory is perhaps they weren't that accomplished with large sculptures? But yet if you look at the art of the time period they were making gigantic sculptures to near perfect scale and proportion. Also before the Sphinx no other piece of egyptian art was done in those proportions. So if one looks at the details of the Sphinx we start to see that the lionesque body of the piece is very different in detail from the head, as if they were sculpted by different artists. So if we do just a little history on the Giza plateau we learn that 50,000-30,000 years ago it was a jungle. Jungles often have lions. We can pretty safely deduce that the Sphinx started out as a whole lion built by a long forgotten civilization that came before the egyptians. Somewhere along the line a pharoh with a big ego and a small budget most likely had the lions head recarved into his own image. So now the question remains......what does this teach us in relation to bearmaking?
1. Proportion. Even if you are doing a character or chibi style bear there still has to be a certain standard of proportion you adhere to in order for the piece to work. The Sphinx looks odd and ungainly due to it's proportions.
2. Detail, detail, DETAIL! Paying attention to all the small details of your work can make such a huge difference in the outcome.
3. The most important lesson I like to impart on anyone who has taken a class from me is CONTINUITY! The Sphinx is lacking that all important quality that is required for a piece of art that was the vision of one or even a group of artists of the same time period. All too often bear artists get caught up in the latest fad. A certain jointing method, aging/distressing, an armature, needle sculpting, a color technique....whatever it is. While there is certainly nothing wrong with trying these things, I have noticed that so often the person will take the fad technique and apply it to their same old style of bear without changing any other thing and it won't make sense for the piece. Then when it doesn't easily sell they don't understand why not. Floppy joints don't make sense on a brand new looking hard stuffed bear. Needle sculpting a fun face wouldn't make sense on a vintage reproduction piece. Whatever you choose to do, think about every aspect of what you want it to be, right down to the ribbons. You couldn't reconcile the Mona Lisa in a modern lucite frame. It's a small detail but it wouldn't make sense with the overall feeling of the piece and would detract from the sense of timelessness that Leonardo was trying to convey.
4. Mystique, part of the fascination of the Sphinx is the mysterious quality of not knowing all the details of how it came to be. That too is an important lesson when selling a bear. I read something on ebay recently where the artist says she threw the piece in the trash for several hours, then dug it out to sell. Do you want to buy something that has been in the trash for a few hours? That seems rather insulting to the work and the buyer. We have all had our frustrating moments while working on something but that doesn't mean we need to tell all. This is the real world of commerce, not the teddy bear version of Sally Jessie.
Good luck with all your endeavors.......I hope you all take something away from this little exercise in how we view the world, our art and ourselves. :dance:
Hugs, Kelly
LutonOK Kelly - I'll have a go though I may be wrong.
I think the lessons that can be learnt and apply to bear making are:
Always take your time and plan your creation.
A combination of good quality and lesser quality materials can still provide stunning results.
If you follow these rules your creation will stand the test of time !!!
Probably complete rubbish but I had a go !!!
Hugs
Claire 
Baird'sBears
I'm totally stumped . . .
Except for a weirdo suspicion that the Sphinx might be a bear . . . 
Eileen
Posts: 3,177Nah - it don't mean a damn thing to me Kelly
Sorry, but as i recently said to someone here earlier this week - i'm as shallow as a puddle on the sidewalk and if something aint obvious i don't go looking for it
i would'nt know thought if it came up and bit me on the behind 
maybe this reflects in my bears - who knows?
Penny - the idiot
Kim-Bee BearsI loved learning about Egypt... I am still a little lost on the "assignment"
I just thought of something, so I will share -
Even though the nose is now gone and the Sphinx is not as beautiful as it once was, people still consider it a piece of art and it still holds its beauty.
so that can be applied to a bear as well... even though the nose is gone, the mohair is missing in spots, it still is a thing of beauty and still something to be treasured.
LOL... I had a guess LOL
Deedle BearsHi Kelli, When I read it I think the only thing I got out of if was that it is all about interpretation. Other then it was an intersting article. It appears over time that as they created more sphinx they managed to get the proprotions right... So If we all keeping working at it we'll improve and the "next" bear will be even more wonderful?
I am really curious to get your take on it.
Duff
I'll let you know what I think on Thursday...there's a programme called 'The Secrets of the Sphinx Revealed' on telly...I shall watch it and get back to you!!!!!
Posts: 3,177Sorry Kelly 
I've been wrinkling my forehead all afternoon and nothing springs to mind...........i'd probably be really good at meditating as it's no great feat for me to be able to empty my mind........
Maybe the sphinx is just laying around in the sun, catching some rays and just chillin?
I like that idea - i'll stick with that Kelly 
Penny - thicko extrordinaire
Fuzzbutt BearsGah! I'm now overcome with the urge to try to reproduce the sphinx as a teddy bear! I might have to leave the nose on though. . . . Getting the right texture would be hard -- too furry and it wouldn't look like a sphinx. Ultrasuede would be too smooth . . . Needle-felting might be closer . . . Or maybe I could make my own felt and try for a brick like texture. Or applicay bricks on the sides. Or make the critter out of muslin and then paint it (sand in paint would make for a nice stone texture) . . .
Sheesh. Bad enough I've spent a month planning out my (unfinished) mermaid bear, this will take ages to work out!
BlondheartI am going to do the update with my own findings on this in a couple hours, not to worry.......I haven't forgotten!
Posts: 8,574Hmmm
Well, the people who built it are long gone, we don't know them individually, but we think of them collectively and marvel at what they accomplished with the tools they had.
All of life is ephemeral, and truly great works of art are timeless. Most of us are tiny little specks of nobodies who will 'strut and fret' our time here. What can we do that is timeless?
Our own art is not going to be timeless-and I am not sure timelessness is what we should strive for.
But
the kindness with which we treat one another can be passed along. What we teach our children and grandchildren will flow through them and to their own children and grandchildren.
And the timeless things are still here to strike us with awe and wonder. Gotta hang on to the wonder, or what is the point of any of it?
PS Pen Pen, you are about as empty headed as a Rhodes scholar.... 
BlondheartMy own personal findings have been posted in post two! Thanks for taking the challenge!
Bumpkin BearsThis is an interesting topic Kelly. Brings back some happy memories for me, I was lucky enough to visit Egypt back in 1995. I had a good Egyptian friend at University and so had a wonderful guide for Cairo and the amazing pyramids and Sphinx at Giza as well as some time at Alexandria on the coast (you would think you were in the caribbean!).. I had the most amazing experience of horse riding in the desert around the pyramids and Sphinx. I can remember being surprised at the size of the Sphinx, I had always thought it was far far larger, but obviously compared to the pyramids it seemed dwarfed! Cairo was a crazy busstling city, with two lanes of traffic turned into ten!! Cars EVERYWHERE and horns hooting - seemed like a contest of "those that beep the loudest get through the quickest!"... But I feel so lucky to have seen such an extraordinary and historical place. My Granny actually lived in Egypt when my Mum and Aunt were very little, before being sent to the safety of South Africa during the War. My Grandfather was in the RAF at the time and was helping to instruct the Egyptian air force. I have some wonderful old black and white photos of Egypt taken back in the 1940s by my Grandfather (who was sadly killed in World War II). so it was special for me to go there having heard so much about it growing up. Anyway now I'm rambling!
Thanks for raising this topic Kelly :)
Catherine
BlondheartWow Catherine, how lucky you are to have experienced that, and what a treasure with the old photos! I would love to see the great pyramids, and some day I will! My husband who has a terror of overseas travel has to go to Germany for work next year for a whole month, so I am hoping he will see there is nothin to be afraid of in traveling over the ocean or to another country and we can start traveling more for fun. I have a wonderful old pic from about 1921 of my two great great uncles taken in Egypt and they had that typical outfit of khaki's and pith helmets. The pic is wonderful. I am so glad you shared that experience with us!
Edit: Isn't it funny how so many bear collectors love travel and travel memorabilia.......makes ya go hmmm.......*winks*
Kiprie BearsHi Kelly,
Thanks for the lesson of The Sphinx .
I felt like taking art class (E-lerning class) at TT forum. (ps. and this is not the first one. )
I've never been Egypt before but I was
always curious about the Pyramid and Sphinx .
How do they build them ? Where the all
different stones came from ? Who designed it ?? etc....
I read books, watch Videos but still wonder about it.
Ok, then how do you relate the Sphinx
to bear making !? I think I'm lost !
I understand what you mean about
how proportion & Detail of bears are important.
I feel that I need more experience as
bear creator and I'll keep continuing my work because
this is what I love to do for life time.
That is why TT is so important for me,
We have many of great artists, bear creator, bear collector and bear friends in here and they all
help each other and we are trying to support
our Teddy Bear World.
Ok now, who want to make the Sphinx from mohair?
he he.
PS. I wonder why the Artist through the bear in trash ??? even if you are not happy with it,
if you are an Artist or a Bear creator, I'm sure they can
fix it before they complete the bear. I just feel so sorry
for the bear and I wonder if he was sold ? or if he was
back in the trash ?? 
she threw the piece in the trash for several hours, then dug it out to sell.
Hugs/Marie
Baird'sBears Very interesting, Kelly!
It never occurred to me to think of the Sphinx as a negative model, but I see what you mean. Still, people love her. Oedipus maybe not, but most people. She's not as cuddly as an old bear, but lots of things--old houses, furniture, vintage pieces--are still appealing, even with their flaws, because of the life they've seen.
There's a story that Leo Tolstoy tossed the ms of War and Peace into the fire. His wife rescued it. When I read about the artist and her trashed bear, I imagined a workroom container full of mohair and thread scraps, not banana peels and coffee grounds. I'm wondering if the bear ever sold . . . ?
Like many of the assembled TTers, I can't get the idea of a Sphinx Bear out of my head. I guess we're not the best students you've ever come across!
Eileen
Wild Thyme OriginalsEileen.... the little guy in question was actually a fabulously realistic mousie!!!!!
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi … 5664079207
I'll tell you... from the point of view of someone who has had her entire kitchen torn apart and remodeled with three kids running around... I can TRULY feel for the creator of this lovely little mouse!
Kim Basta
Wild Thyme Originals
Baird'sBears
Double Gasp.
That little mousy is incredible Thanks for sharing, Kim. Judging from the bidding, I guess a lot of people thought so too.
Ah, renovating with ankle-biters. I redid my kitchen myself, and it's a wonder one of my kiddies didn't end up in the trash. They learned to keep their distance from mommy's router.
Actually, I would have dug through a mountain of banana skins and coffee grounds for that little sweet-thang rodent. It's all organic . . .
Eileen
