Wistful Moments

Yesterday I was peering down the telescope of time , encountering the wistful memories familiar to so many mothers . An indulgent contemplation you may think - with the busy pace of life we seldom have the time to notice time itself slipping past. How is it that our lives and families change so gradually , imperceptibly , and yet I always feel as though I'm positively hurtling toward something . As I picked my sketchbook out of the drawer ( a sentimental memory on its own as I've done no new drawing for several years ! ) and flicked through the pages , there was my oldest son , now 17 , looking so different ( see first post ! ) So little ; so vulnerable . I remembered how he actually needed me once ! A tiny hand on my sleeve imploring me to stop talking , a face full of delight when I was spotted amongst the parent audience at assemblies ! Little nostalgic snippets once sifted rising to the surface .
I have hardly dared to share my drawings with anyone really . It's very exposed ; much more naked than showing the fruits of your labours in a bear . Pictorial art can reveal as much about the artist as the subject somehow .It's uncomfortably personal ....






Well I've gone and stuck 2 of my efforts on the blog ; no turning back now !


I might have actually drawn both with a similar sense of meditation on things past. Both were done from photographs . As a pinchable toddler Max pulled back his pyjama top on his head , turban style , looking like an adorable Indian princeling .The second , where he is older , is also retrospective ; the photo having been taken a couple of years before I did the sketch .
I would like to learn to draw ; to capture the emotion of a set moment on paper . For now I hope to convey something through the faces of little bears ! Giving them expression is my constant intention ; as though they may just have little thoughts and memories of their own ....

T.T.F.N
Ruth xx

A Teaser and a Taster .

And so back to some serious bear making....... I've kept my fingers busy for the last couple of days , and switched my eyes to hyper-critical vision ; the better to minutely perfect the tiniest detail of the wee bear I've just finished . I'm afraid I can't possibly divulge any details about him/her/it for a few months ,but here is a teasing picture of a mystery shroud !



















Is it a bird ? Is it a plane ? Is there anything actually under there ?!

Could it possibly be something to do with a competition run by a well known magazine ??? Perhaps you will check back with this space to find out ...



I have also decided to introduce bears from my own little Hug , hopefully at the beginning of each month . They will be appearing in truly cosseted style on "The Pretty Chair". In fact I have made quite a few bears in the past who have never left me or their friends , and seem to have no intention of doing so ! The Pretty Chair is a Christmas ornament that I've always had in mind as a photographic prop but never used . So here it is ; a taste of things to come , in all its gaudy glory .



The May Pretty Chair Bear is Hugh - a very shy , Vintage Long Pile 2.5 incher with Ultrasuede paw pads.

By the way I have been having a few phone lessons with my 11 year old son recently . He stands over me with an expression on his face which is a mixture of exasperation , (at old people obviously) and that freaked out look new mothers get when clumsy relatives first start picking up their beloved baby , and you can just see them itching to snatch it back !
Ho Hum - he doesn't need a manual you see , because he is a) male ("let's just chuck this pointless set of instructions away/under my dirty socks /to the back of the wardrobe/ in the box of things marked invisible ") and b) too young to have properly formed any gadget conspiracy theories .Let's just say progress is slow , and I hope I'm not that impatient when I'm trying to teach him something !!

Ta Ta For Now , Ruth xx