Philadelphia Artist Doll and Teddy Bear Convention

I can't believe it has been nearly three weeks since the Quinlan Artist Doll and Teddy Bear Convention in Philadelphia and I still have not posted a review. This is partly because I have been quite busy with school (teaching) and with my sons' school and sporting events, but mostly because it was so wonderful that I am sure mere words--and certainly not my crappy cell phone pictures---will do it justice!

I was working right up until the moment we left, as usual, and took the following photos of my six pieces just before getting them packed to travel. And then I forgot to pack my camera!!! I nearly cried when I realized it. Well, honestly, I did cry a little, but hey, it was late, I was really tired and I had a massive headache. One day I will get it together, and I will be able to attend shows (one of my favorite things about the Teddy Bear business) without winding myself into a big ball of stress beforehand. It wasn't this day though.

Here are the photos of my show bears (the doll is in the previous post) which I am pleased to report all very quickly found new homes.

Coraline

Ferdinand and His Puppet



Remi and His Puppet




Harpo




Jumping Jack!

As I said, the convention was amazing. It was even better than last year. The Artist's Signature Gallery was so full of incredible dolls, sculptures, and bears, and it was standing room only for the gallery visitors! It was really difficult to vote for my favorites, however the winners were no surprise as their pieces were so spectacular! Wish I had photos...

The workshops available all looked fun and I even did a presentation of my paw pad techniques. I took "Sculpting a Child's Head" taught by Diane Keeler. I wanted to share a photo here of my classwork. I went to take one today and... well, as scattered as I have been lately I suppose this is not a complete surprise... but I've completely lost my head!!! It was a fantastic workshop with a great teacher, and it was a pretty good head, too. I guess I'll show you when I find it.

I took some cell phone photos of other people's workshop creations though. Sue Van Natten taught a jewelry making class when students made these delightful charm necklaces!

Sharon Barron taught a workshop on finishing a lovely red mohair sailor bear!

I fell in love with this bear from his photo and really wanted to take this workshop as well, but it was at the same time as Diane Keeler's so Sharon very sweetly made up a kit for me and I finished it when I got home! Here is my finished bear with a little friend I purchased from Sharon as well!

Here are a couple of pictures of my table...I've GOT to bring my camera next time!

The challenge galleries were a lot of fun too--Dolls by Bear Artists, Bears by Doll Artists, and Funk and Junk--I just didn't get any good pictures of them.

If you ever have a chance to attend this show I highly recommend it!!!

Adventures in Dollmaking! (Rotkäppchen)

 

Rotkäppchen






































I have been wanting to post about this project for a while, but I had been too busy actually finishing her for the Artist Doll and Teddy Bear Convention in Philadelphia to have any time to write! I made her for a special challenge gallery which was part of the show; bear artists were challenged to create a doll, and doll artists were challenged to create a bear. She is not my first doll, though. I have been sculpting whenever time allows since 2003. Unfortunately, "whenever time allows" = "almost never", and I rarely finish anything I begin because when you wait more than a year for time to finish something, it can lose it's enchantment. I am so glad this little girl, who I started in September (click here and here to see  posts about the sculpting of her head), did not share the fate of the other disembodied heads in my studio!

I loved every minute of making her and I loved how she turned out. The most enjoyable thing about making her was that I had no idea what I was doing!!! Well, that is not entirely accurate, I suppose. I have gained some skills over the years that fit nicely with what I was trying to do. I have been blessed enough to take sculpting classes from several world reknown doll artists. I can sew, and I have been honing my pattern designing skills since I was about ten...

The portrait painting classes I took last year really helped me with the painting...

I also took a class on wig-making, and learning to tame my own frizzy hair was useful as well!~

I guess I don't mean that I had no idea what I was doing, but it felt so different from making the bears because I don't yet have a "way of doing things" with the dolls. I have chosen to concentrate my artistic efforts for the last 20 years on designing and making Teddy Bears, and by now I have certain things that I always do, and I am pretty confident each bear will come out pretty close to the picture I have in my head. Who knew how the doll might turn out--and that is what was so exciting!

It brought to mind how I worked when I made things as a child. I recall one of my first doll making adventures. I had seen a picture of a cloth baby doll in a magazine and wanted to make one. My mom supplied my brother (often my partner in creative adventures) and I with an old sheet, needles and thread and stuffing --and when she saw what we'd come up with, she even bought us some yarn for the hair! We drew our pieces right on the sheet with markers and cut them out and sewed them. We didn't worry about mistakes, because we weren't afraid to try again if it didn't work.

That was just the way it was with this doll. The first pair of legs were too thin, so I made some more. I thought the bamboo skewer I put in the leg as an armature might be too flimsy, so I looked around for something and found a large knitting needle. I hate using elastic, but found that thin ribbin works and adds a sweet detail to the sleeves and drawers! She was going to be a brunette, but I loved the pale blond with the burgundy fabric for the cape. I began with a picture in my head to guide me, but I also followed where the doll lead me. I'm glad I did! I wanted her to look like a storybook illustration in 3-D and I think I have achieved that.

I was pleased and flattered that she was "adopted" very quickly at the show gallery, but I must admit I would not have been sad in the least to have had to bring her home to my studio to stay. Sometimes people ask me how I can let the bears go when I make them. I can because I know I will always make more. She was harder to let go, but I suppose I'll just have to make more dolls!

Funk and Junk!

Artists are notorious collectors of junk! (Teachers are too, so I suppose I have a double dose of the junk collecting urge!) We love to stash away fabric scraps left over from bigger projects, old jewelry, jelly jars, buttons, bobbins, bits of wire, boxes, bottle caps, backs of notebooks (one can always use a bit of cardboard!), and even broken kitchen utensils! We hate to throw things away. There is always that feeling someday we will need that broken bottle opener! I'm sure that this fact was at least part of the inspiration behind the "Funk and Junk Challenge Gallery" sponsored by the promoters of the Quinlan Artist Doll and Teddy Bear Convention which will take place next month in Philadelphia!

The pack rat urge is so strong in me that when I redesigned and organized my studio several years ago, I decided I needed a place for all these things, so among the boxes neatly labeled things like "Acrylic Craft Paint", "Adhesives and Glue", and "Armature Wires and Tape", I have a box which bears this label; " I Can Use That For Something!"

I imagine that I am not the only artist with such a box, and I also imagine that we all have a similar box in our brains, because we compulsively collect something else as well--ideas and inspiration! We can't help it! Colors, textures, shapes, sounds, smells, movement, bits of songs and poetry--we stash all these things away, sometimes consciously, sometimes not, into that special "I Can Use That For Something" part of our brains. Then, periodically we rummage through our boxes, both the physical one and the metaphorical one, and a creation-- sometimes one many years in the making-- comes into being!

My piece for the "Funk and Junk Challenge Gallery" happened just like that. When I read the announcement of the challenge, I knew exactly what I wanted to do. I rummaged through my junk box and pulled out a broken wine bottle opener I had been saving for at least ten years. When the corkscrew part broke off, I told my husband not to throw it away because I was going to make something with it. I knew even then what I wanted to make because stashed in the I-Can-Use-That-for-Something part of my brain there was a memory of playing with my parents' wine bottle opener when I was a child. I loved the way it's "arms" moved up when you pressed down on it's "head". It reminded me of a Jumping Jack toy my baby brother had.

So now, many years after playing with a wine bottle opener, and many years after saving the broken one, I have made my Jumping Jack (in the Box) toy! In addition to the broken wine bottle opener, I used other junk from my stash: hanger wire, electrical wire, a recycled gift box, bits of pencil erasers, a bobbin from a sewing machine I no longer own, and mohair and fabric scraps and trims left over from other projects.  He is a combination of  two classic toys, a Jack in the Box and a Jumping Jack. When the handle is turned his head and arms go up and down.

I am nearly finished. I have to attach the bottom of his box and I will be adding a bit more air brush shading to his face and hands, but I thought you might enjoy some work in progress photos:

Click on any photo to see it larger.

I didn't end up using the old sweater and the cork...



This shows the basic idea for the movement.



Wire wrapped around the middle shaft and taped in place.



Head and arms added. the wire is to keep the batting (added later) out of the inner workings.




The trimmings!



Working on the movement involved a LOT of trial and error!

A hole in the bottom allowed me to make adjustments.

Nearly there! Trim pinned while the glue dries.



The square to the left will be the bottom cover.



Memory Magic

Memory is such a strange thing. The older I get the more mystified I am by it! Often, I am frustrated by my forgetfulness. I can forget things in an instant. I go upstairs for something, and in the time it takes to walk up the stairs, I cannot recall what I have come for.  I ask Sean if he will be going out of town for work next week, and ten minutes later I can recall asking him...and I know he answered...but what did he say? Where is he going?

Other times, I am amazed by the clarity with which a long forgotten memory comes to mind. Where did it come from? Why am I recalling it now? I sew on my sewing machine nearly every day. I have done for many years now. So why is it that tonight, as I was sewing a pink and green collar for a bear, I recalled watching my Aunt Dottie sewing a nightie for me on her sewing machine. I don't remember how old I was, but I was pretty young as my cousin Katie, five years younger than me, was standing in her crib in the next room flicking the lights off and on. The sewing machine was in the dining room. I had come to spend the night without pajamas and Aunt Dottie was using her sewing machine to shorten one of her own night shirts for me. I watched with fascination and I asked her if she could sew a picture of Snoopy on it for me. I loved Snoopy and love to draw him too.  Aunt Dottie said if I drew it, she would sew it. Since it was a sleeping shirt, I drew a sleeping Snoopy, lying flat on his back on top of his doghouse, and she sewed over my lines with a zigzag stitch. I was so pleased, I hope I remembered to say thank you. If I didn't, I will now...Thanks for my Snoopy nightie, Aunt Dottie, and for the lovely memory!

Getting Ready- Getting Excited!

The Artist Doll and Teddy Bear Convention  presented by the Susan Quinlan Doll and Teddy Bear Museum is about a month away and I could not be more excited! I am excited about the show bears I am creating, about the special gallery pieces I am making, and the presentation that I will be doing! I am excited about taking a sculpting workshop from one of my favorite doll artists, attending the many presentations, and viewing the special galleries! I am excited about seeing artist and collector friends and meeting new people! Did I mention I am excited?

I have been working on some special pieces for this show and I still have a lot to do, but I wanted to give a bit of a sneak peak here since I have not posted in a while. Some of these are much farther along now than these photos, but I need to make this post quick so I can get back to work in my studio, besides, this is meant to be a teaser!

One of the special galleries at the show is a gallery of dolls by bear artists and bears by doll artists. I have been looking forward to making something for this since I first heard about it at the end of last year's show! One of these heads will be finished for the show (I hope-- I still have lots of bears to finish, too.)

A second special gallery is the Funk and Junk Gallery. I have already made something fun with this stuff, but he deserves his own post so I will share him later!

Finally, here are a few of the bears I have in progress for the show. Some are getting close and some have far to go.

If you are interested in artist made dolls and Teddy Bears this is a show thatt should not be missed! Visit the website to find out more. I hope to see some of you  there!

Thank you!

The Teddies Worldwide Teddy Bear Extravaganza online show was loads of fun once again! I am pleased to report that all my bears found new homes and flattered to have my preview bear Otto chosen as Best in Show! Thank you to all who voted and visited the show, thank you to the lovely collectors who chose to bring my work home, and many thanks to Daphne Towle for organizing another wonderful show! I'm looking forward to the next one!

Teddy Bear Extravaganza!

Since the main purpose of this blog is to share what I am creating in my studio, it is always challenging to resist the temptation to share on it some preview of the bears I am working on for Teddies Worldwide shows. But part of the fun of these shows is the big unveiling of hundreds of new designs from artists all over the globe.

Now the show is open so I can show you what I have been doing for the last few months! Visit my bears and many more at www.teddiesworldwide.com !

First up are Clyde, Grover and Harry, three classic fellows made from short dense mohair. I typically save fur this short for much smaller, bears but wanted to try it out on something bigger. They are 13" tall. They are quite a departure from my chubby aand thick furred contemporary fellows, but I loved them from the start. The short fur complements the classic lines of this pattern perfectly I think. I hope you like them too.

 

Next, I have two 17" alpaca cuties, Otto and Otis! Otto was introduced in my last post as my preview bear for the show. I love to use alpaca because it is so dense and cuddly. Don't those pleading faces just beg for hugs?






Otto and Otis

   



















Otto

  








Otis

   

And here is Beatrix! I have used the same Tissavel luxury synthetic fur and and the same pattern for her as Celeste. (Holly is the same pattern in a different fur.) I love this new size and I will make more finishing each one with unique paw and nose colors as well as accessories. This cute button trim has been waiting for a while to find just the right bear to wear it!





Beatrix

  

Now for the smallest bear on my page! Here is Orville! a sweet chubby little fellow made from soft mohair and adorned with a vintage silk ribbon bow.





Orville

  

Showtime in five...four...three...two...one!