Bearly Sane ®

After years of being a commercial artist and working to other people's briefs, the freedom of self-expression is something I find difficult to put in to simple words. To me, being able to create teddy bears and critters purely because I want to and not because I have to, is like a bird being released in the air to fly.

With all the concerns of everyday life, I find adding a touch of humour of my art a great escape and if what I do can bring a smile, giggle or even the hint of a grin to an otherwise mundane day, it makes me happy. Working with mohair and other fabrics, my whimsical characters sometimes blossom from within. At times, with very little conscious planning, my creations evolve as if their form was pre-existing with their personalities already developed.

The journey into soft sculpture in 1996 was both hypnotic and equally surprising, I'd even go so far as to say addictive. However, I can’t imagine any other craft that would make me as happy as designing and sewing teddy bears and critters, it seems to be not only what I do, but who I am.

I have been lucky enough to make friends with arctophiles worldwide, discuss my interest in bears and teddies with other like minded people and share my knowledge and skills by teaching and writing for teddy bear magazines.

In April, 2008 I began Teddy Bears and Critters Australasia, with the hope of furthering the careers of fellow Australian and New Zealand artists.

TBACA then sponsored "Bobo" a Cambodian Sun Bear and organised the first Be My Valentine show with a special booth of donated bears for Bobo with all the profits going to Free the Bears Fund Inc.

Later that same year, I introduced The Australasian Creative Design Awards to encourage soft sculpture artists to use their imagination and skill to create either a teddy bear or critter "outside the square" and develop something completely unique.

I love what I do and I'm proud to say my concern for the survival of bears in the wild, my love for teddies and career as a designer, artist, freelance writer, teacher and mentor, all follow the same path.

Bear Hugs,

Sizes of my teddies and critters can range in size from 18 cm (7") to 61 cm (24") and can be anything from traditional to completely wacky! They can be fully dressed, partially dressed or naked ... apart from an occasional bow!

My creations are all made from the highest quality mohair and the finest materials, faithfully following the traditional teddy bear making techniques.

I love colour and the warmth it adds to our daily lives and I find it a wonderful inspiration. Colour often the sparks the long process of illustration, design, template making, choosing a suitable fabric and pattern laying.

After cutting, the pieces are pinned together, then seams are whip stitched (overcast) by hand for accurate pattern matching, before being carefully backstitched with extra strong Gutermann thread.

My bears are very firmly stuffed with 'A' Grade polyfibre, especially around the joints, as many are designed to stand on their own. More often than not, glass beads are added to either the tummy for a squishy feel, or feet for balance.

Some bears require facial needle sculpting to achieve a certain look, prior to the hand blown German glass eyes being inserted firmly in place with sinew.

Bear noses are hand embroidered a stitch at a time, generally with perle or hand painted pima cotton, or needle felted depending on the design of the bear and look I'm trying to achieve at the time. However, just lately, I have also been experimenting with some unusual metalic and satin threads which give exceptional effects and add a special touch to the finished bears.

The critters have my uniquely designed stuffed Ultrasuede noses and several of the companions have an inverted Ultrasuede nose making the nose look more realistic.

Paw pads are mostly Ultrasuede but I do, on rare occasions, use wool felt.

Many different features are added to form each individual bear's character ... hand painted glass eyes, sleepy eyelids, pulled toes, trapunto feet, hand colouring and airbrushing, polymer clay faces, needle felted faces ... and the list just keeps growing, as I continue challenging myself and exploring new techniques.