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Mindy Kinsey |
I'm a scrapbooker—have been since I was a kid. I have shelf upon
shelf of albums full of fuzzy snapshots, mimeographed awards, yellowed
newspaper clippings, and birthday cards. When I first learned of the archival
scrapbook movement about 11 years ago, I jumped on the bandwagon in a big way.
I now have further shelves of acid-free albums filled with carefully designed
and decorated pages with titles, journaling, and photo-safe embellishments. I
read scrapbooking magazines, attend "crops," and collect cutting systems and
handmade paper the way some bear artists hoard mohair.
So when I saw Karen O'Brien's framed teddy bear collages, they struck a
nerve with me. I liked them. A lot. Karen not only makes collage frames and
embellishments for her small bears and backdrops for her table, but she also
uses paper clay to create multimedia limbs for the bears themselves. In a
"been there, done that" world, it's a fresh approach I know you'll like.
I don't know if I should refer to the next article as a "fresh approach" or
a "blast from the past." If you've been to a teddy bear show in the past year,
I'm sure you've seen bears with big heads, large, low-set eyes, and
disproportionate bodies. (In fact, you saw them on the cover of our
January/February issue.) This unusual but endearing look is based on Japanese
anime—those dramatic cartoons featuring people with big eyes, skinny,
angular bodies, and mouths out of synch with the dialog. You might have
watched "Speed Racer" as a kid, and your children or grandchildren are
probably familiar with "Pokemon" and "Yu-Gi-Oh," to name but a few examples.
Anime has been around since the 1960s and Japanese companies have been making
animestyle stuffed animals at least since Hello Kitty was developed in 1974,
but the look is new to the United States and, as far as I can tell, growing
like gangbusters. Felicia Hymer found ten artists working in the anime style
for our overview, and we're both sure there are many more. Take a look and
tell me what you think
This is, of course, the annual Tribute to Tiny Teddies issue as well. In
addition to the overview, featuring 46 bearsmiths and their miniature bears,
we have articles about two miniaturists, Michaelyn Page and Calvina Walsh. I
was particularly intrigued by Calvina's work, as she uses craft-store type
felt to make her minis. Frankly, I was skeptical when a friend told me about
her work, but then pleasantly surprised when I actually saw them—so much
so that I asked Calvina to design a pattern for us so we could all try
crafting in felt. Send me a photo if you try the pattern.
Like flowers in spring, there are many bright spots in these pages: Darlene
Allen's storybook bears, bride bears, and an invitation to a teddy bear
reunion, among other things. Enjoy!
Mindy Kinsey
Editor in Chief
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