Category Archives: New Bears

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.

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.

Meet Stuart

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Another Classic design teddy bear, Stuart is a little different than the previous bear. I made a new pattern, based on the other but adjusted some of the shapes and added a few tweaks in size and shape of the snout.  The material he is made from has so much character. It’s an alpaca and mohair blend in two colors of gray on a cream backgound.
I did a lot of shading on his face. It adds a lot of depth and character and as a painter, I feel drawn to do it on most of my bears. The first photo, taken by natural light, shows the truer colors. I still believe that even though I make a lot of modern bears with fancy details, there is something about classic teddies that is always so appealing.
Sorry, I forgot to take ‘in progress’ photos.

Meet Stuart

He’s on Ebay now until Sunday January 29

Stuart has been sold on Ebay using “Buy It Now”
 Meet Little Stuart. He is a Classic design, one of a kind Artist Bear. This photo shows the true color of his pretty fur. It’s an alpaca/mohair blend two soft gray colors on a cream colored backing. It is short and semi-sparse and lends lot of character to Stuart’s personality.
  Stuart  is 16″ tall standing and 13″ sitting. He is fully jointed with hardboard disks and stainless steel hardware. His paw pads are heavy weight felt. I’ve added extra lighting to this and the following photos to show details. Please refer to the first photo for truer colors.
 Stuart has  glass eyes that are soft gray. His nose is needle felted in gray/brown wool and coated with a clear sealant to make it hard to the touch and prevent fraying. I’ve shaded his face in several soft colors to add depth and character. His paw pads are also shaded to soften the edges and give dimension.
 Stuart is wearing a hand knit scarf. He is stuffed with polyfil, not too firmly, so he can give ( and receive) cozy hugs.
 

Maybe Stuart is daydreaming about the new home he will go to soon. 


This classically designed bear would be a wonderful first collectible bear for a new collector*

I’ll include a signed certificate of authenticity that he is a one of a kind artist bear designed by me, Mary Lou Foley of Bayside Bears. If the buyer wishes, I can also sign the foot pad.

*This bear is a collectible not intended for children under 3 years old

Arctic Pals

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The Reveal…

Here is the latest finished project!  

If you saw my previous “In the Studio” post, you saw how this bear looked a couple of days ago. I added teeth and claws to the bear and shaded his face and tongue (  polar bears have black skin and tongues) and I had decided to needle felt him a little friend. This little Emperor Penguin chick is the result!

(First, let me say that I do know that polar bears and penguins live  on opposite Arctic poles…but let’s assume these little guys met in the Arctic nursery at your local Zoo.)

I think the little penguin took more hours than the bear! I felt like I was “painting” with wool to get the shadings the way I wanted….which was why I probably took so long. Being a painter, I was thoroughly enjoying myself.
I’ll be putting this set up on Ebay tomorrow…unless one of you want to adopt them directly from me first. Just email me, mloufoley@gmail.com.