Thursday, July 19, 2012

Batty....baby!!!!!

Years ago, when I was into bear making big time....I used to create Prims....muslin/cotton stuffed animals that were then painted with paint and embellished. I am bringing some of my creations back into circuit for a show coming up this September. I tend to have a love-hate relationship with my sewing machine. I love how fast I can create an inspiration, but also enjoy the therapy of hand sewing. Mini-bears are completely hand sewn, bigger bears and rabbits are machine sewn...but Prims are both....AND I get to break out the paints and brushes! This next show will feature bats for Halloween, rabbits, bears and birds for year round and Reindeer for the Christmas season. Creating my own patterns has been fun....a process that I really enjoy. It begins with an inspiration. For the bats, it came in the form of a field trip to Paxton Gate in San Francisco. Scott nearly bought me this adorable tiny fruit bat that was taxidermed (is that a word?).....the thought of the little guy haunted my imagination and images began to be with me all the time. The challenge was to get the image that was in my imagination., on paper, into a pattern and bring it to fruition....So,.here you have it:

 the Bat at Paxton Gate

My Bat, Esmerelda