Workshops in Boronia

Last week I taught two workshops at Bear Essence in Boronia. They went very smoothly and we had some very happy bearmakers with some lovely creations. The majority were making Jiao Jiao the panda, but I also had some bears being made from older workshops which kept me on my toes.

On Sunday we had the Sydney Teddy Bear Fair, which, though quiet sales wise gave me some new contacts for more workshops. Of course, one has to have bears to sell, and things have been going so well from my website (http://www.bensonbears.com/) I didn't have all that many bears with me! This weekend we have our little Doll and Bear show here in Launceston, so again I will have a busy week preparing for that. I wonder sometimes, if it's worth still doing shows. Their success can be so sporadic, but I do know there are collectors out there who will never buy a bear online. These are people who like to feel the quality of what they're buying and you just don't get that from a photos, no matter how good they are. Having said that, I'll be participating in my first online show in June and I'm very eager to see how well that goes. You can find information about it at, http://www.teddybearsandcritters.com/. It 's called The Black and White Ball, and I guess there are going to be lots of pandas and other black and white critters on show. It should be interesting to say the least. Of course I'll be flat chat getting everything ready on time so all of next month I'm going to be really busy!

I have a new large bear finished, and if the weather clears a bit today I should be able to get some photos taken of him. Bart was picked up at Sydney on the weekend, a surprise birthday present, and very surprised Lyn was too! I have also had an email from Matilda's new Mum, she travelled very well and her ears popped out of the box in perfect order. I was a little concerned that the bilby's delicate ears would be squashed in transit, but all was well thanks to the wonders of bubble wrap!

And the winner is...

Good news! My Bilby has been voted unanimously by three judges, as the best critter in the TBACA Easter challenge. I also have a nomination in the Australian Bear Creations Awards, with Kumo. It's quite a number of years since I've entered any kind of competition, so this is all a little exhilarating! The ABC awards are a public's choice award and can be voted on via the magazine or the Woodlands Publishing website in May, so check out the entries and cast your votes.

The next challenge for TBACA is "Spring has Sprung", I have a few months to think about this one. It will be interesting to see what interpretations there are for this challenge.

I've just had an interesting two days teaching three different bears in a workshop at Bear Essence, in Melbourne. Tomorrow and Tuesday will be similar days, quite exhausting for all concered. It's good to kick back with a glass of wine at the end of the day! All the ladies this weekend were very happy with their creations, which is always such a thrill for me.

A New Home

Matilda has found a new home and will be fiying off to Cairns later in the week! It's wonderful when a new design is well received. You never really know how things are going until you get them out in public and get some reactions. I've had some lovely compliments on Matilda, and now I'm inspired to try some other Australian native animals. So keep your eyes peeled for some new and unusual critters!

Matilda

The trouble with Blogging is that it marks the passage of time. I can't believe that over a week has passed since my last entry. I've been busy though, this time with a creature other than a bear. This was my contibution to the TBACA (http://www.teddybearsandcritters.com/) Easter challenge. I decided Australia's answer to the Easter Bunny, the Bilby, was appropriate, as well as being quite a challenge. Matilda is the result, and I'm very pleased with how she turned out. I think I have managed to capture Matilda's "Bilbyness" quite well. She is made in alpaca fur fabric, with stiffened and painted cloth ears (thanks to my sister, Susie McMahon, and her cloth doll expertise for the ears http://www.susiemcmahondolls.blogspot.com/). Matilda's little hands and feet are ultra suede, and her fur has been extensively hand tinted to recreate true Bilby colouring.

Now, it's back to making bears for the Sydney Teddy Bear Fair, in two weeks!(http://www.sydneyteddybearfair.com/)

Road Kill?

The bear I'm working on, is looking like road kill, according to my daughter! Oh dear, the poor thing has all his limbs attached and I've added a locline *spine*, which is protruding from his body as the epoxy glue dries. I suppose Laurel is right, it really does look like it's been hit by a car! She must be almost in Hong Kong now, she flew out of Melbourne late last night, heading back to England. There were tears at the airport again, I thought it would be easier this time, (been there, done that), but no. I wonder how long it will be before she comes back again? I think it will depend on how well she can save her money, as she wants to travel Australia when she returns. How wonderful to be so free! She seems to be able to find work whenever she needs it, and then travels where she wants!

I'll be seeing Laurel in September, I'm flying over for Hugglets, Teddies 2009 and then I'll be teaching two workshops, one in Scotland and the other in Somerset. I really must get onto making a sample and sending it off to Bear Basics. Susan Davies is organising both workshops, she did such a wonderful job last year, at very short notice. No doubt this year with plenty of time, they will be even better! I'm planning a Polar Bear for these workshops, at the request of last year's ladies :) I bought some lovely alpaca from Susan, which I made Yuki in, so this bear will have the same coat. It's a lovely *dirty* white, I don't like a really stark white for my bears, I think this is just perfect.

It's an overcast morning today, I wonder if we are in for any rain? We could really do with a nice, big downpour, we're in drought, and have been for a number of years. Our dam hasn't filled to overflowing for a few Winters now, things are looking so very dry. I feel for those in Victoria, again, this weekend they're in for another horror time, with high winds, and temperatures and a crisp, crisp countryside already burning!

Old Is New Again

Today I cleared the junk off the top of my old Singer treadle sewing machine, vacuumed away the cobwebs in the workings and gave the whole thing a good sponge down. I wanted to see how this wonderful old machine sewed, after years doing service as a telephone table! Oh my! I'd forgotten just how beautifully she worked, after very little adjusting she was sewing like a dream, and had no difficulty at all handling the very thick, alpaca, fur fabric I was using. She makes a lovely gentle sound as she works, no electric motor, just the rythmic sound of the sewing mechanisms, such a wonderful way to sew a bear, and a little light exercise while you're doing it. I bought this machine a long time ago when we were living with no electicity, it cost all of eleven dollars! I don't think it had been used all that much, the booklet was immaculate, and all the accessories were present, in fact it looked like it was fresh from the Singer factory!

A New Bear in the Bush

At last I have him finished! This is Bart, so named because he looks a bit mischievous. His coat is gloriously shaggy, English mohair, which has been hanging around in my stash for a while, waiting for the right bear........ and here he is! You'd have to agree, he has a bit of a wild look in his eyes and a little bit of cheek. There are more details available on my website: http://www.bensonbears.com/

The weekend was spent sewing another bear, which is shaping up nicely, I'm still tweeking this pattern, so it's another large bear from the design. I go through phases in my bear making, no doubt soon, I'll be back in miniature mode. It's a good thing to mix things up, better for my body. When the big bears become too physically strenuous, I return to making small and miniature bears, but they have their own challenges, they are extremely fiddly, and at times they drive me nuts, trying to get my big hands to work with such small pieces!

Sunday afternoon was spent doing a bit more building, eventually we may even finish this house! Everything takes so long!

Getting There

I have almost finished another large bear, the pattern is the same as Yuki, but the bear is entirely different. I love giving each of the bears I create, their own character, so, even when I use the same pattern, each bear is unique. I haven't named this one yet, I'm hoping inspiration will hit before I've finished him. I'm working on bears for The Sydney Teddy Bear Show, next month, which is looming fast! I've also just submitted a project to Australian Bear Creations magazine, something a little different to what I usually make, who wants to be in a box? But you will have to wait til the magazine comes out, to see it, as I forgot to get a photo before I sent it off. If I get this new bear finished today, his photos will be up tomorrow, hopefully.

Delicious!

I've just picked and eaten my first apple of the season! What a relief! The apples available from the stores have been so awful, all soft and pulpy. The "Akane" apple I had today, was crisp and fresh tasting, with that beautiful, new apple twang. We're lucky we got any apples at all this year, as early on in the season we had a possum getting into the orchard. He was nipping off all the flower buds on some of the trees and the rose buds too. We did manage to catch him before he'd eaten everything and he was relocated a long way away. We had a possum living with us for a while, we rescued him from the road after his mother was killed. He was such a sweet thing, they are so undeservedly maligned here in Australia, especially in rural areas. If only people took the time to actually know them they would realise that they are intelligent animals with heaps of character.

Inspiration!

I thought you might like to see a photo of Ralph, he's a very inspiring companion for a bear maker! He's like a big shaggy bear himself. He looks alot like the Sloth bears in India, these days, with the long whispy hair on his ears ( he never used to have that ). Even old man dogs get hairy ears! :D