Workshops

Here are a few photos of my recent workshops in Bremen, Germany.


I had Iris as an interpreter when my explainations foundered in technicalities

On Friday we made Christams ornaments. This was quite a nice one day project, the mohair balls were made before the workshop so that we had all day to concentrate on making the miniature polar bear to go on top.

Here's a better shot (thanks Heike!)

I was a little anxious to teach this tiny bear, as I haven't taught anything this small before and miniatures demand a different set of skills. (Sorry about the quality of the image, I cropped it from the larger photo below, but you get the idea....)

A couple of the ornaments, snuggled with some "Sierras"

At the end of the day I was extremely pleased with the results each of the ladies achieved on this challenging little bear, one day I might even make one of these for myself. Every year I think I'll get one done for our tree.........hasn't happened yet!
On Saturday and Sunday we made "Sierra", again a bear with lots of different techniques to learn. I love seeing group shots of bears made in workshops, they all have their own characters and as you can see, choosing a different fur changes the bear's character completely!

The sample head I took along for the "Sierra" workshop

These workshops were held in the home of Holger and Claudia Schlue, near Bremen. While we all enjoyed our bear making, Holger put his skills at work in the kitchen and cooked up some wonderful luncheons. Claudia makes lovely little bears which you can find here

Ralphie on Wooly Mamouth ivory!

And now I must show you this special pendant made by Iris Heerdes of Spirit Bear Scrimshaw. Iris used a photo of Ralph from my blog to create this scrimshaw portrait of him, she really has captured him very well. The piece measures 2cm x 4.5cm, I am amazed at the detail Iris has managed to get into such a small piece. She works through a microscope in order to get the detail needed and uses Wooly Mamouth ivory! Now isn't that something? This ivory is being unearthed in the Tundra and sent all over the world for use where, in the past, elephant ivory was used.
That's about it, I started sewing again but I think I have to ease myself into it again, my hands have had a two month break and I can feel that if I push it I will end up in strife with them again. Today we have had some glimpses of the sun, I'm impatient for Spring.

What Have You Been Up To Mrs. B?

Well now, what have I been up to?

I have just spent a busy ten days in Victoria, teaching two wonderful groups of ladies how to make Sierra. At the end of it all we had 18 "Sierras" in various stages of completion. I have to say that these workshops, which lasted three days each, were jammed full of techniques and I think all of the girls who participated were exhausted, but extremely happy at the end of the third day.

On day one we made feet! This was an optional extra workshop to create trapunto leather foot pads which were then sewn into the legs ready for the following two days. I was really pleased with how well this day went, and we had some beautiful feet at the end of it. Such a simple technique for absolutely stunning results!

On one of my free days, I designed and made "Mr Jingles" after requests for something small for my next workshop at Bear Essence (in May). These  workshops are already filling fast! After some consultation with the girls in one of the workshops and the addition of his accessories this little fellow was named after the mouse in "The Green Mile"

Well that's about it, apart from a mountain of housework and weeding in the garden and of course more bears, that's what I've been up to. I also need to find some pickle recipes for our abundance of cucumbers, the plants are at peak production right now and don't look like they're going to be giving up any time soon, so it would be nice to put some up for use later in the year. And I promise, my giveaway will be coming real soon!

Back To My Roots

While I was overseas in September I had an email inviting me to teach a workshop at Tarraleah Resort in the highlands of Tasmania. Tarraleah is one of Tasmania's old "Hydro" villages, which were built last century to house the workers and their families when Tasmania's hydro-electric schemes were being built.
My father was one of these workers, and in the 1950's and 60's our family lived in Tarraleah village, my first five years were spent there! I haven't been back to Tarraleah since childhood and this invitation came out of the blue, and of course I was intrigued. The development of Tarraleah as a resort  saved the village from becoming a victim of time and derelection. The workers cottages have been restored as accommodation, though my sister tells me that "our" house no longer exists. There is a range of different accomodations to suit all budgets from luxury through to a caravan park. If you would like to learn more about Tarraleah here is the link.
The workshop will be a basic bear for beginners, this entailed me making a sample "teddy" suitable for teaching novice bear makers. It is quite some time since I've made a teddy bear, and it was rather lovely to return to my bear making roots (though embroidering that nose was a challenge!) I'm rather excited about these weekend retreats, there is one next month (17th and 18th) and another in January (21st and 22nd), I really am looking forward to seeing "what they've done with the place"! Take a look at the website and check out the events callendar, there is a range of different weekends on offer over the Summer.
Perhaps some of my Tasmanian readers might be interested in a beary nice weekend retreat?

Decking the Halls

At last I have something to write about! Well actually I have lots to write about but I simply haven't had time to sit down and compose.
This will be a quickie to let you know that in a week I will be participating in a Mini Christmas online show.
The theme of the show is "Deck The Halls" and participating artists have been working hard for some months to bring you pieces in keeping with the theme.

So, if you want to treat yourself to something a little special this Christmas be sure to come along to the show. It runs from the 11th to the 14th of November. I'm sure you will be delighted with what you will find when you visit.
I'm off to NSW tomorrow, on Sunday I have my final "in the fur" show at Mittagong followed by a two day workshop at Teddy's Bits I'm home again on Wednesday ready to do some catching up.......I really do need some home time!

It Won't Last, I Tell You.

From time to time my pincushion ends up looking like this.....

And when it does, I seem to waste an awful lot of

time trying to locate the right needle for a particular task. Rummaging around in the tangle, trying to get at my applique pins which seem to bury themselves deep in the nest of mess.......it all takes up valuable bearmaking time.

The last straw came recently, when I was in Victoria at Bear Essence teaching some workshops. My dear friend and owner of the shop (Kim) had a dig at me and my pincushion! Then this morning when the dog swept it to the floor with her over enthusiastic tail wagging, and sent a miscellany of bits and pieces flying, I decided it was time for a pincushion clean-up!

And this is the result..........

                    ...........but It won't last, I tell you!

Baby It's Cold Outside

The weather has certainly turned and we are heading into Winter after a rather disappointing Summer. Though, of course, I can look at it in a positive way and say that we never had that feeling of imminent danger this past Summer. No scanning the skies for puffs of smoke hoping that they weren't in our neck of the woods. The countryside has stayed remarkably green and now, with the Autumn colour in the deciduous trees, it's looking very pretty.

Nanou will be my next workshop at Bear Essence

I have just returned home after spending a few days teaching a couple of workshops at Bear Essence in Victoria. These were mixed classes of Teo the sunbear and a large polar/grizzly bear from a few years back. I must say that the girls all did beautiful work and some lovely bears were birthed. I'll be heading back over at the end of April for two one day classes, making Nanou in beautiful Japanese alpaca fur. Followed by a bear fair in Berwick which has been organised by Melissa Kemp, on 1st of May.

Just some of the girls and their bears

I managed to complete all my entries for the ACDAs before I left for Victoria. When Sandi told us that the challenge was for critters inspired by Beatrix Potter, I thought that it would be a breeze. However, this didn't prove to be the case! It was HARD! I can't go into what I made, but I can say that it was difficult not to end up making Jeremy Fisher, Jemima Puddleduck, Hunca Munca, Peter Rabbit, Tom Kitten, Mrs Tiggywinkle etc,etc....... Remember we had to find ispiration from her work, not recreate her characters which are protected by copyright. I leave you with these tantalisng thoughts, you can ponder what inspired me and where it took me. On June 1st all will be revealed! So be sure to note that date in your diary, and head over to the ACDA site where you will be able to view all the entrants in this year's challenge.

A Workshop In Sydney

Back in November, at the Mittagong Doll And Bear Fair Melissa Kemp from The Art Of Teddy Bears gave me a couple of pieces of Belgian plush to try out. I have just finished this gorgeous little polar bear (Nanou)and he's the sample for my two, one-day workshops which will be held on Friday and Saturday before the Sydney Teddy Bear Fair. It was quite different working with this plush, it trims beautifully and the bear looks really chubby because it's extremely dense and oh so soft! If you're in Sydney or are planning to be there for the show, perhaps you'd like to join me for a little workshop fun? If you're interested contact Melissa, I'm sure she'd love to hear from you :o)

OUT OF THE LOOP

I have spent some time on the computer today, doing a little catching up. I feel like I have really been out of the loop for too long! DID YOU MISS ME?

I've been away for the best part of eight weeks, some of which was business. I taught three workshops, (one in Germany and two in England) and traded at the Hugglets show in London.

With business out of the way, I was joined by my husband and daughter for some down time in southern Spain and Morocco. Now, if you want a relaxing holiday I suggest you don't try Morocco! What an assualt on the senses our visit there was. Eventful, colourful, smelly, dirty, astonishing, overwhelming, amazing, beautiful, bountiful and completely stunning, but definitely not relaxing! I thought I'd share some photos with you and let you know I'm still on the planet. When I'm feeling a little less jetlagged I'll share some tales.

This is the entry to Casa Perleta, our accomodation in Chefchaouen (Ville Bleu)

One of the less crowded markets in the Medina in Marrakech, yep that's my back view :)

Teo, the Sunbear

Hi everybody, I have finally finished the sunbear sample for my UK workshops. This is Teo, named with the help of my dear friend Ruth.



Teo has a wired jaw and a long tongue. Sunbears are also known for their claws, so I have made quite a feature of these using a natural leather which contrasts nicely with his black mohair. He also has a locline spine and jointed wrists which make him very poseable. Of course he has my trademark leather nose and appliqued, sculpted leather feet. Now all I need to do is email his photo to Susan at Bear Basics and send her the list of ingredients, the pre-sewing instructions and the pattern.



I can't believe how quickly this trip has come around, I'll be off in a few short weeks! I'm not sure if I'll reach my 100th post before I go, I've been quite slack with my Blogging lately. I promise I will let you all know when the time comes, so keep an eye open for a giveaway in the not too distant future :)

A Beautiful Gift

I recently donated some mini T pins and discs to a doll maker friend, who was making a bear companion for one of her dolls, and this beautiful watercolour painting was a surprise gift to me in return. I was so overwhelmed when I saw it, she has captured Ralph so perfectly. Linda's other work can be found here

I have almost completed making a sunbear which is the sample for my workshops in the UK in September. I ended up making two heads for this bear, I was wanting to put more and more into it but had to restrain myself, remembering what is achievable in the two days of a workshop. Still, there will be plenty to learn and I have to say the bear is looking pretty cute :) I just need to think of a name for him, suggestions?

Signing Off

Tomorrow morning I'm off to the Gold Coast in Queensland, so I'm signing off for a week. I'll update when I get back next week, with hopefully some photos. I'm hoping the house will still be in one piece when I get back, with my ramapaging two year old grandson here without me to keep an extra eye on him :)

I Thought You Might Like To See

In a couple of weeks I'm flying off to the Queensland for the International Bear and Doll Show at Jupiter's, on the Gold Coast. This is a two day event, held over the Queen's Birthday weekend, and it will give me a welcome break from our wintery weather here in Tasmania. After the show, I am giving two workshops, each one runs for one day, and deals only with the head of the bear. This is a bear I've been teaching for some years now, but I have added some new techniques to it , so the workshops should have plenty of interest for those who are participating.

Included in this workshop are an open mouth with trapunto tongue, leather nose, leather eyelids, shading and detailing and also leather claws for those who wish to add them. It will be a very full on workshop. The kits have been sent out in advance so that the bodies can be prepared, and hopefully by the end of each day we will have all the bears completed.

Meantime, I've got bears to make for the show; so it's a good thing this cold weather we've been having lately, makes me want to huddle up inside by the heater with my sewing!

I know this photo looks weird, I took it when I'd finished the head so that Patti and Graham could use it for promotional purposes, and it does show what the workshops will entail. I have since finished the bear and sent him off to play with the other bears at the Kympatti Studio, I'm sure he's having fun in the Queenland sun :)

Fab Flynn Fun

I have returned from Bear Essence in Victoria, after two very full Flynn workshops. It was a very tiring, but also very fulfilling four days of intense bear teaching. The girls all went home well pleased with their achievements, while in the evenings, despite my exhaustion, I was able to make progress on my pieces for the Fantasy Ball.

Off To Melbourne

I'm off to Melbourne later today, for four days of workshopping. We're making Flynn, a lovely brown, alpaca bear with a gorgeous face and wrist joints.

As usual I will have my work cut out for me, with lots of new techniques covered over the two days of each workshop. I will hopefully have some photos of the completed bears when I get back next week. I had better go get myself packed, I need to take plenty of sewing to do in the evenings with the TBACA Fantasy Ball photo deadline looming large. I have had lots of trouble with the fantasy themeof this show, my feet are just too firmly planted on the ground! Still, it will do me good to get out of my comfort zone and try something a little different, which is Sandi's intention.

Final Workshop For The Year

Saturday and Sunday were spent workshopping with a wonderful group of girls overlooking the marina at Belrieve, on Hobart's Eastern shore. Another little hug of Kiko's were all but completed by the end of Sunday and all went home pleased with their accomplishments.

On Friday I dove down a very damaged midland Highway. The road surface was appalling in places having suffered the ravages of Tasmania's wetter than usual winter. It was good to see the farms through the midlands with a green cover, full dams and well fed sheep grazing on grass rather than rocks!

I headed straight through Hobart on Friday evening and down into the Huon Valley to visit an old friend from my art school days. We spent the evening reminiscing and catching up, and I got to view some of the beautiful work Ian Clare is producing after a break of a couple of years. A wonderfully talented potter, I'm so pleased he is back at work.

Another one down, one to go.

A hug of new little "Kikos" came into the world after four busy days of workshop fun in Tooradin at Bear Essence. There were some familiar old faces as well as quite a few new ones, and it was lovely to catch up with the girls at the shop. The new premises are wonderful with a great workshop space, and a bakery around the corner when we were peckish, (that could be dangerous).

I have just one more trip this year, I'll be driving down to Hobart on Friday for another Kiko workshop over the weekend. How nice it will be not to have to fly, I think I've seen enough of airports for a while.

I'm actually looking forward to the drive in our "new" car (new for us anyway). It seems to have an awful lot of bells and whistles, and I know it's going to take a while to familiarise myself with them all :)

"Lindsey"

Look who Chris brought home from the P.O after work yesterday! This is Lindsey who was made by Sandi Smith from http://www.bearlysaneteddies.com/ for our TBACA Christmas swap. He's a sweet little alpaca bear with the cutest handpainted sleigh, he'll fit very nicely into my hug of small bears. It's pure coincidence that we both made cream coloured bears and dressed them alike in green felt! Perhaps Sandi and I share some deeper connection which caused us to be on a similar wave length when we were creating these bears. Whatever it is, I'm extremely pleased to add Lindsey to my collection, thank you so much Sandi :) A new album has been created on the TBACA website and this is where the swap bears will be displayed as they come in, you might like to have a peep at them (just click on available bears in the navigation bar at the top of the TBACA page and you'll find it)

I have a couple of pleasing new designs to take with me when I fly to Sydney on Friday. I have a one day workshop in Newcastle on Saturday, the Mittagong Doll and Bear Fair on Sunday and then a two day workshop in Castle Hill on Monday and Tuesday. So a busy few days are ahead for me. This is the last show of the year, after which I will be able to catch up with a few orders before Christmas, which will be a good thing!

I really must find some time in the next few weeks to reorganise my work space and materials, I seem to have spread myself from one end of the house to the other. I find this disorganised state of things very frustrating and wasteful of time, especially when a particular something I need eludes me. I do seem to spend an awful lot of my time rummaging through "stuff"!

We've been having some very warm weather here in Tasmania, the garden is going gangbusters as are the weeds and I suspect there will be rather a lot to catch up on in the garden when I get back from Sydney. With this warm weather the snakes are on the move too, so I will have to keep an eye on Lily while we're out on our walks.

Featured Artist

This month yours truly is the featured artist on the TBACA website. So, if you're a little curious and would like a little insight into what makes this ol' girl's mind tick, pop over to http://www.teddybearsandcritters.com and click on the link in the navigation bar at the top of the page. It's amazing, really, trying to write about yourself. Even with a set of questions as a guide, I found it quite difficult. I think Blogging has made things a little easier, it has helped me to sort my thoughts and to restrain my waffle. I know how I feel about things but I find it hard to write my thoughts, and there is always the nagging feeling........ "who wants to know anyway"!

Here are a couple of photos taken at the workshop in Somerset, I'm deep in coversation with Susan's five month old Spaniel, Harry. He's such a lovely little fellow with the most amazing eyes, which are almost green! He was alot of fun to have around, though he did prove to be a distraction, particularly for those of us who have an overwhelming love of dogs, which I must say were the majority of those in the room! :)

The current issue of Australian Bear Creations magazine has a nice little article on bear artists' pandas, and my panda Yi Min is featured along with some other great pandas. The article is also a bit of a tribute to Pauline Wong (Wee Paws) who lost her battle against cancer a while back. Pauline was a master at creating beautiful little pandas and I'm lucky enough to own one of her gorgeous little masterpieces, a very treasured member of my small collection of little bears. That's it folks, I have to go get sewing as I have a show to go to in three weeks.

At Work Again, And An Anniversary

At last I have started working on my bears again, the new glasses are stronger than my last ones so this means my eyes have got older :0( But at least I can now see the eyes in my tiny needles for threading!

Yesterday marked the 26th anniversary of our marriage.....WOW! I'm amazed that we even remembered, actually. Usually November rolls around and we look at each other and remark that we've missed it again! Last year was something special and Chris surprised me with a weekend away. We went to Bruny Island, right down at the Southern tip of Tasmania. We had a night in a lovely cabin with sweeping views overlooking the Channel and the next day we had a thrilling boat ride heading south and around the bottom of Bruny...... with nothing between us and Antarctica! Our special weekend was completed when we were priviledged with some whale sightings! These two were heading to Antarctica for the Summer. It was such athrill for me to see them, it has been a long held wish of mine.

I'm working on bears for my next show which will be held in Mittagong, NSW on Sunday 15th November. I will also be teaching two workshops while I'm in NSW, one in Newcastle and the other at Teddy's Bits in Castle Hill.

I also have to get on with a special little bear for Sandi, who is my partner in the TBACA Christmas swap. I'm mulling over a few ideas at the moment, but I'll have to get cracking if I'm going to have it ready for the November 1st mailing day! There's going to be a Christmas party on the TBACA website, so everyone can see all the swap bears/critters, so stay tuned. I can't believe that Christmas is just around the corner, the year has flown past in a flash!

Home

I'm home again after a successful trip to England. Hugglets was a wonderful show for me with some good sales and new contacts. I spent some lovely days with family, especially my daughter and yes, I got to go a brambling in the hedgerows. The berries we picked are bubbling away in demi-johns to become wine. I sat listening to the brews one day and it sounded like they were having a good conversation. Perhaps this is a foretaste of the amiable conversations to come over dinner, fuelled by Doug's palatable but potent brews!

The workshop went well, Lockerbie was cancelled when some ladies withdrew. This was just as well really, as the hotel proved to be impossible to contact and it transpired that it had closed, with no notification! (Visions of me arriving and balefully knocking on the door....let me in.) At least I had a full class in Wincanton and all the girls enjoyed a workshop packed with lots of new techniques and some lovely bears resulted. You can see from this photo, that Susan has an absolutely fabulous space for workshops with light streaming in to make sewing a dream. If you look closely you will see a few headless bodies sitting on the table. For this workshop the ladies needed to have the body assembled and ready for the head if they were to have any chance of getting the bear anywhere near completed, and I'm glad to say they all had their homework done. I must say, though, it did look very strange to see all these bodies on the table awaiting their heads.

The trip ended on a somewhat sour note when my ipod, glasses and sunglasses were stolen from my bag in Melbourne's Tullamarine airport. In fact, an accumulation of little disasters brought me down to earth with a resounding bump! After an extended flight delay into Tasmania, I arrived home late on Sunday and after sharing a bottle of red wine, I slept soundly..... only to be woken by the alarm and the realisation normal life had returned and housework was beckoning. Ho Hum!