This week in the Studio

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I had a piece of beautiful faux fur, similar to the fur I used for Walter, but in a beautiful cream and tan color. I had just enough to make a large bear like Walter, but I changed it up a bit. I wanted to make a ‘girl’ bear. At least that was my intention, I’m never sure what I will end up with, sometimes my best laid plans take on a life of their own and the bear ends up being totally different than what I thought it would.This fur reminded me of the coloring of a Kermode bear, also known as a “Spirit” or “Ghost” bear.
Here is the head after some clipping around the muzzle. I had to decide how I was going to make this look more feminine. I knew I would be adding needle felting to the face to give it more shape and character.

I always love to show you the before, in the previous picture, and then the finished face. It only seems like magic. In reality, it took me a couple of days to get the look I wanted. Lots of layers of needle felting here and there, I changed the glass eyes out, added a lower jaw so her mouth is just slightly open and then had a bit of fun with the shading of her face. I initially used just browns but when I added the touch of pink, she just came alive with personality. I’m very pleased with the result. Her name is Kady, the Kermode Bear. You can click on the photo to see it larger.

I’ll be putting her on Ebay tonight or tomorrow.

Meet Walter…

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I named this bear after my husband ( his middle name), because he was just so impressed and enthusiastic about this bear! But, deservedly so. Walter is indeed spectacular. My husband has seen lots and lots of bears coming out of my studio over the years and the fact that one of them elicits such a reaction tells me that this bear is pretty special.

Walter has been sold with Ebay “Buy It Now”!

Meet Walter

Walter is a big, beautiful bear who loves to give hugs with his big, bendable arms. He is about 23″ tall and sits at 17″. He is made from a luxurious, premium faux fur. It is incredibly soft and silky. The coloring is so lovely with a dark gray undercoat, an overcoat of lighter grays and silver and guard hairs that make this faux fur look and feel so real.

 

Walter’s kind, soulful eyes are amber blown glass, surrounded by needle felted lids. His snout has been meticulously scissor sculpted with some needle felting added to add shape and character. His nose is firmly needle felted in many layers of wool and is firm to touch. He is stuffed with polyfil, not too firmly, just right for huggability.

Walter is fully jointed with stainless steel hardware and hardboard discs. He has two joints in his neck so you can pose his head in any direction.His big arms are built for hugging, wired for bending and have big furry paws.

Walter loves to hug! He is giving Little Bear * big, cozy hugs to say goodbye. Little Bear has been adopted and is getting ready to leave for his new home.
Imagine Walter bringing his big hugs to your bear collection!

* Little Bear is not included in this auction

Walter looks wistfully out the window and waves goodbye
to Little Bear as the UPS truck drives away.
I think Walter needs a hug…

Don’t worry Walter, there will be lots more bears in your new home when you are adopted. Wherever that will be, I know you will get lots and lots of hugs!

This is a close up of the fur. I’m hoping you can see the depth and luxurious finish. Walter has received lots of attention here at our house for his gorgeous coat (everyone really does want to hug him!) and his soulful expression.
Walter is a very special one of a kind design who would add a lot of personality to anyone’s collection. A signed Certificate is included.

 

In the studio

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The bear I’m working on will be a big bear. The material I’m using is recycled from an elegant designer faux fur jacket. I think it may be faux silver fox. It is so soft and silky and the coloring is just lovely. I’m finishing up the face today and as usual, I didn’t really have a plan for what I wanted it to look like. I find it  works much better to make decisions as I go about whether to needle felt or needle sculpt the face or how much to clip the fur. Each step sort of informs me  on what the next step should be. So, it’s sometimes a nice surprise for me to see how it ends up. It was an all day process, but I’m pleased with the result. In the pictures below, you can see what a difference a day of intense face work can do! You can click on the photos to enlarge them.This bear should be ready by tomorrow, I hope.

Just starting to work on the face

Almost finished face

I also worked on a new paw and foot design for this bear. I’m very pleased with the look of it and I think I’ll be using it more. I’m deciding  if he needs some accessories to hold in his big, bendable arms. The photo at left shows him almost finished. He needs  the paw pads worked on and to be sewed up the back. He also needs to spend a few minutes with a brush to get that pretty fur all smooth again. Stay tuned for the final photos!

 

 

 

The latest Bear….and friend

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I didn’t get a chance to take any behind the scenes photos. I think I was so excited to be working in my newly organized and cleaned studio that I hardly came up for air. This latest set is called Forever Friends.


And, of course, this  scene has a little story too…

Forever Friends

SOLD

Little Mouse has found a new forever friend
Hello Little Mouse, what do you have there?
I made something for you Little Bear. It’s Valentine’s Day and
I wanted to give this to you.
 I want to give you this heart and ask you if we can be friends.
 Little Mouse scampered  away to hide, while Little Bear thought it over
Why, Little Mouse, I can’t think of anything I would like better than to
be friends with you. We’ll be Forever Friends!
 The Details

Little Bear stands 15 inches tall and sits at 12″ He is made from imported curly,
semi sparse mohair. He is 5 way jointed with stainless steel hardware and
hardboard joints. His face is extensively needle felted and shaded for depth and
character. His eyes are amber blown glass. His paw pads are felt and he wears
a hand crocheted scarf. Little Bear is stuffed with polyfil for huggability and
he has glass beads in his bottom for weight.
 Little Mouse is 4″ from nose to rump. He is firmly needle felted in many, many
layers of wool. I used several shades of tan and brown to give his coat depth.
His eyes are glass and his feet are sculpted from polymer clay. His tail is partly wired
faux leather. Little Mouse carries a firmly needle felted red heart.

A new studio…

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I had been thinking that I really needed to get the workroom organized. Because I use my studio for bear making, pastel painting and other art, as well as sculpting in polymer clay, it is important to stay organized so I can find what I need. And I need separate work stations so I don’t get bear hair stuck in my clay or pastel dust all over a bear. So today as I was planning to finish up the next bear, I decided instead to tackle the mess. And it was a mess. I have to admit, at times if I needed something, I would just go buy it instead of trying harder to find the one I knew I had somewhere. I should have taken before pictures, but let’s just say it was in total disarray with  the tables piled  high with a mishmash of things. When it gets to that point, I can’t be creative like I want to be…..really bad Feng Shui and all that.

I took every storage container, every box, emptied every drawer and went through everything, throwing out  failed paintings and  used cardboard ( I am a saver), organizing everything by purpose and size in a way that made sense so that I would know what I had and where to find it. I added a new table for my painting/craft area with the easel by the window for the great light. I am almost finished and even though all my physical energy is depleted after doing this all day, I can feel the creative energy surging and look forward to  creating in my new organized space.

Here is my neat  new space…it will be easier to keep it this way now.

Every box is labeled The cow and pig paintings are a commission.
That’s my new painting/art area.		 My sewing table and bearmaking area and my
computer/office space