Sunday, March 18, 2012

Ah, Spring!

With the Teddy Bear's Tea Party online show fast approaching, I have been spending much of the last few of weeks in my studio, but I managed to steal just a little bit of time today to soak in the beautiful spring weather we are having. I justified this self indulgence by photographing a bear. (See, I'm still working!)



I am so happy to live in a part of the world which has all four distinct seasons. There are, to be sure, times during some of the longer, grayer winters in Ohio, when I wish I lived in some sunny-year-round place, but mostly I love all the seasons. Each comes with its own particular sensory indulgences, and they feed my soul! The wonderful white blossoms on the pear trees which line our street, the powder pink ones which are right outside our bedroom window, the bright green of the new grass and the lovely yellow shades of the daffodils are a feast for the eyes.
The warmth of the sun, the gentle touch of the breezes, and the sounds of the birds all delight me. And then there are the smells! I love the smell of the new grass, and the perfume of the hyacinths, but my favorite is rich earthy smell of the ground from all the rain we had the last couple of days. Neither my words or my photographs can begin to describe the pleasure this gives me. Ah, Spring!!!

Monday, March 12, 2012

Moving at the speed of life! (or trying to at least)

Hello! It has been such a long time since I have updated my blog and website. I think, it is the longest time since I started this blog....Life is full and busy, but still so very good. Every year I marvel at how much faster it goes by than the last! I can't believe we are already halfway through March, and I have not taken any time to post. So, I thought I would get a few things caught up today.

First, I have updated my show schedule for this year, finally. Please be sure to click the link above to check it out. I'm doing a new show this year, and my first show is less than two weeks away! I have also added  a few bears from the end of last year to the Bear Gallery page.

I do not have any new work for the Available page, however, I will have work available for my online collectors at the Teddy Bear's Tea Party online show in a couple of weeks.

This brings me to the main point of this post--to invite you to attend Teddy Bear's Tea Party, an online show at http://www.teddiesworldwide.com/ . The show is March 23-25, but you may visit right now to see a preview. All 100 artists were asked to create a tea party themed bear for the preview and I think you will be impressed with the creativity shown in this endeavor! When you visit, you may vote for your favorite bears in two catagories by clicking on the name of the artist. Good luck choosing--there are some really nice bears!

I struggled with the theme a bit at first. Of course, I thought right away of sweet little girl bears with dresses, but there are so many people who do this sort of bear better than I do. Then I thought a tiny bear sitting in a teacup would be pretty, but there are artists who specialize in miniatures who could take this idea to greater heights than I ever could. I pondered without inspiration for a while longer until I thought of the Mad Hatter. Here is my preview bear "Hatta".



It was challenging to figure out how to make a hat and clothes pattterns, but I enjoyed the challenge and I am so pleased with how he has turned out! He will be available along with other new pieces made just for the show (I'm not allowed to show any of the others yet, but it's only a couple of weeks now.)