Hunt Valley Teddy Bear Show

November has been a very busy month with two holiday bear shows one weekend after another. I had hoped to do a preview of my show pieces before the shows but the day before we left for Hunt Valley Maryland, our computer crashed fatally! We had already purchased a new one and were going to transfer data when we had the time, but it had to wait until we got back.

So, instead of a preview I have for you a review! First up, Hunt Valley Christmas Holiday Teddy Bear Show and Sale which took place on November 10. It was a great show and after having missed it last year I was glad to be back. It went very quickly and I really enjoyed seeing artist and collector friends again. I took 9 bears with me and they all found their new homes. I will post a photo of my table once I figure out how! (I'm still learning the new computer!) Here are individual photos of the bears:

First up are Haiyan and Little Song. I named my big panda Haiyan after a collector of my work, because I thought it was a beautiful name. I was a bit alarmed to find out that it was also the name of the deadly typhoon in the news the day of the show. I wanted to keep the name though, and was rewarded by meeting, at the show another Haiyan who was pleased to meet a sweet panda who shared her name, rather than a devastating storm! ( I took her picture but it's still on the camera too!) Haiyan and Little Song were adopted first thing and I am happy to say they went home together!

Haiyan 

Little Song

Next up are three classic fellows! I really enjoy making traditional Teddy Bears. Their faces just speak to me! These are Simon, Silas and Samuel.

Simon , Silas, and Samuel

I also made three bears using lovely dense Tissavel synthetics. These are luxury fabrics- as soft as they look. The scissor sculpting on their faces takes quite a long time but they are worth it!

Meet Frasier, Nigel, and Linus.

Frasier

Nigel

Linus

And finally a sweet faced mohair fellow wearing a cozy wool scarf named Luke! 

Luke

And that's all for now. In the interest of keeping my blog post from growing too long and in getting me down to my studio to work on bears, I'll close now and review the online show tomorrow!

Panda-monium and November Show Previews

What is black and white and spread all over my studio? Pandas! I have been wanted to do some more black and white pandas for a long time (in fact one of these fellows has been in progress since July).  I had three different lengths of the dense alpaca fur, I made three pandas in different sizes for my upcoming shows.
Let me introduce them to you. First up is Peppermint Pandy. This festive fellow is my preview piece for the Holiday Treats online show November 15-17, 2013 at www.teddiesworldwide.com . The preview has started so please visit the site to see many other lovely holiday themed bears and vote for your favorites. Then be sure to return in two weeks to attend the show. Each artist is allowed to preview only one bear, so Peppermint Pandy is the only bear for the online show I can share with you now.

Peppermint Pandy

The next two pandas are as of yet un-named. They will both be going with me to the Holiday Treasures Teddy Bear Show  hosted by Teddy Bears on Vacation and Collins Gifts to be held Sunday November 10, 2013 from 10am-3:30pm in Hunt Valley, MD.

Large panda- approximately 18"

Wee panda- 9"

"It's friendlier with two"~ Winnie the Pooh

I didn't intend to make them a pair, but don't they look sweet together?

I have quite a few more bears, but I won't be sharing the rest until I have decided which bears I am taking to which show, since I cannot preview any of the online show bears. It won't be long though, so watch this space!

Happy Halloween!

This post is a day late I suppose, but my brother and his wife will be hosting their Halloween party tomorrow and I wanted to share the costume accessories I embellished. A hand-me-down witch hat and a pair of  emerald green bridal party shoes from the thrift store will make the perfect complement for my black dress-especially now that I have given them a make over! I had so much fun with these.

And here is a Halloween bear I created from one of my "classic bear" patterns! His name is Boo. I had just as much fun decorating his hat as I did my own!

Asleep in my studio?

I don't think I have ever neglected my blog this long. Sorry, Friends! It has been so long since I have posted anything here that you might think I have been asleep in my studio, but I have not! (The kitties do occasionally though.) I have just been very, very busy. After the July online show, I did manage to get a few of my orders finished, but there are still more to go. I took an online class for school, and school started for both my sons and myself (I teach art at an elementary school) and that takes a large chunk of my time. I have been working, though. Recently, I have been busy creating for two shows coming up fast.  Previews coming soon!