Edie Barlishen’s Elenora and Wee Ean are fully jointed one-of-a-kind pieces. At just 4½ inches tall, Elenora’s trunk is wired so she can hold her baby.
Edie Barlishen has been in the business of bear making for more than 20 years, but it was a doll that pointed her back in this direction years ago.
As a child Edie loved stuffed animals. “I used to clip patterns for soft toys out of my mother’s women’s magazines and make them from whatever scraps I could find in her sewing remnants box,” she says. “I made many different animals, including dogs, elephants, a penguin, and finally my first teddy bear when I was 13 years old.” That bear went on to win first prize at a local fair.
As Edie grew older, she developed a stronger interest in collecting antique dolls. Someone from her local doll club gave her a pattern to make a bear for her doll and as luck would have it, this was just the incentive Edie needed to return to her childhood passion for soft-sculpture animals.
Edie soon branched out from making just bears and created bunnies, elephants, dogs, cats, and penguins. “I think branching out had a lot to do with trying to keep things fresh and being able to try new ideas and experiment with new things,” she says. “Collectors expected my bears to look a certain way, right down to the eyebrows, and by making say, a bunny instead, I could try something totally different and leave off the eyebrows if I wanted to.”
Edie is not afraid to take risks with her work and try new things. Amalia, as seen on the cover of this issue, is an example of just this. This bear was an experiment that integrated a vintage style with an anime style, and the antique fabric and lace dress worn by the bear hints at the sweetness of a doll, no doubt incorporating the artist’s interest in antique dolls. “I had been doing a classic vintage look and mini animes for a while and wanted to try something that combined elements of both, adding a lot of sweetness and appeal,” says Edie.
According to Edie, continually trying different things and striving for new ideas has its challenges, but it’s that feeling of satisfaction and even amazement that keeps the artist coming back for more. For her, it is a continual learning process. “The more you do, the better you get, and the more ideas you come up with,” says Edie. “I am always excited about what I will create next, and that is a large part of the appeal.”
Sumo, the 4½-inch elephant, and Mosi, the 1-inch mouse, are each one-of-a-kinds. Mosi has a tiny magnet inside and there is a matching one
placed in Sumo‘s trunk and head for positioning.
Clover is a 5-inch one-of-a-kind bunny made of hand-dyed vintage rayon fabric.
All too often, bugs get a bum wrap. But Glenda Rolle (pronounced rall-ee) is able to show the friendlier side of bugs through her work.
Her hand-sculpted cotton ants in blue and red, spiders, roaches, beetles, and worms practically speak. Their faces and legs are made of resin and splashed with acrylic paint and gloss for the eyes. They range in size from a 3-inch beetle to a 5-inch worm. Large eyes, slight smiles, and individual facial expressions take the edge off of an otherwise intimidating creature. Glenda maintains the realism of each creature while adding her signature artistic flair.
Glenda’s hand-sculpted cotton beetles, ants, and spiders gather for a group picture
“Before creating my bugs, I did a lot of research at the library,” says Glenda. “I took out as many books as they would allow. I was fascinated by the shapes of the bugs’ bodies, all the different parts and details involved.”
Glenda feels that her soft-sculpture bugs deserve a habitat, so comes with its own rusty glass container with “air holes” in the lid. . “Sometimes my bugs are a little nervous about their new homes. They feel safe in their jar,” she says.
Glenda grew up in the Midwest, and some of her best memories were catching fireflies in the summer. “My dream to be an artist has been with me for as long as I remember,” she says. “I love everything that comes with the title. I have always been labeled as the ‘different one’ or ‘she’s weird, no, no, just artistic.’”
Glenda made her first doll while taking courses in visual communications at the University of Kansas. “I found that my illustration skills were becoming more and more sculptural. Before I knew it I was making ‘minis’ for my assignments,” she explains. “After graduation, I moved to the city of ‘Lost Angeles,’ where I strived to survive. The difficult times have given me strength while my determination and imagination have brought me happiness. I just keep on going, I just keep creating.” Ironically, Glenda possesses some of the same positive characteristics of bugs: she is strong, hard-working, determined, and sometimes misunderstood.
In April 2008 Glenda began “the bug process.” She had a solo show at the Hyaena Gallery in Burbank, Calif., entitled “Bottles & Bugs” in July 2008, and by November her bugs had taken off, and she began a collaborative project with writer Molly Herridge on a book, “Crawling Curiosities.” It is the story of how the lonely main character, Maple Manning, discovers bugs in the city, and together Maple and these bugs share compassion, generosity, and faith. Glenda is already hard at work on her next book about bugs. “The next story will have a whole new set of bugs (probably something with wings), and Maple and her friends will have even more fun.”
Although many of Glenda’s creations can be viewed as dark, her bugs offer a glimpse of whimsy to her portfolio. With every design, she maintains her sense of humor. “I have put a little of myself into my pieces, and I love to share knowing that others can relate indirectly and emotionally,” says Glenda. “Art is my passion, and I truly have a blast creating.”
Even if they can’t visit the San Diego Zoo in person, now animal lovers can enjoy the most popular zoo critters in plush form—thanks to a new partnership between the zoo and soft toy manufacturer Gund.
Early this year Gund became the exclusive distributor of plush animals in the likeness of the zoo’s collection. “The zoo people knew which of their animals were the most popular, and the Gund people knew which animals were the most cuddly, so we joined forces to pick the animals for this line,” says Gund director of marketing Jennifer Monson of how animals were chosen for the collection. “We were looking to choose animals with natural appeal, and that translates well into plush.”
The six animals in the collection, each 8 inches tall, are Kuball the cheetah cub, Zhen Zhen the black-and-white panda, Orson the black jaguar, Kalluk the white polar bear, MekDegong the wild tiger, and Silver the giraffe.
Although the company was concerned the collection would appeal only to people in the West who had visited the zoo, Jennifer says the zoo animals have been very popular in gift and specialty stores all over the country since their introduction in January. “The key here is that when an animal is on the shelf, someone wants to pick it up, and then they discover it’s from the San Diego Zoo,” says Jennifer. “People trust the name Gund, the oldest plush company in the world. They know anything we put our name on is the highest quality possible.”
That the San Diego Zoo, founded in 1916, is the most-visited zoo in the country is also a plus. Floor displays for the collection have signage from the zoo, and each animal in the collection has a hangtag with information about that animal. Gund also donates a portion of their proceeds to the zoo to support global conservation programs. “That’s an added incentive to purchase an animal,” says Jennifer, “plus there’s an aura of collectibility about the animals. All ages buy. They appeal to people from 2 to 92.”
According to Jennifer, what’s selling the most in the collection is the panda. The retail cost for each animal is $15. Gund plans to keep adding to the collection. The next six plush animals will be an Asian elephant, a tortoise, a flamingo, a grizzly bear, a snow leopard, and a macaw.
