An Award Honour

I am very honoured , and sincerely flattered , to receive a really special blog award passed on from Tina ; The Bella Sinclair Award . I think Tina herself , was very deserving of it as her blog has the most wonderful and inventive pieces of altered art and her bears to enjoy , and she is one of the most caring , sharing ladies I know :0)

The originator of the award , Ces (Ces and Her Dishes) states that :- " I designed this award to celebrate art in the blogs and to honour the value of friendship , sisterhood , sharing and caring . It is to be awarded to the gifted , accomplished , eloquent and talented blogger whose friendship and influence inspire us to do our best . It is symbolised by the Quercus Lobata , or Valley Oak , a handsome and graceful tree ." A visit to Ces' blog will reveal the moving story behind her creation of the award .

There are no formal rules with this , and I have had a very long think about how I might carefully pass on the commendation . Whilst all my blogging friends are highly worthy I have decided to highlight 3 ladies who totally inspire me on to do my best , and whose friendship and influence I truly value :-

Sandi Smith (Bearly Sane Teddies) - for her innovative art , her invaluable contributions toward promoting bear artistry, and her tireless work behind the scenes of TBACA and beyond . Sandi is a great friend and the best "Mother Hen" ever ; always there , and always sharing .

Paula Carter (All Bear) - Paula's blog is impeccably maintained , and a great place to view the highest bear art , whilst behind the scenes she works so diligently to unite bear artists - The Guild of Master Bear Crafters being one example - fantastic B.F to us all !

Donna Griffin ( Donna and the Bears) - amazing artistry to sigh over , and the kindest , sweetest lady who I am honoured to call a friend ; Donna also promotes the work of bear artists with altruistic generosity . "Good Luck" with the up-coming presentation to collectors !

I have known all these dear ladies since we all joined (the late) Bear Artists Online , and it is a pleasure to still belong to the wider teddy Sisterhood with them !


Now then , so you don't think I'm only ever serious and not much fun , here's a piece of "art" I created earlier (look it's even in a gallery , wink , wink ....)



Which reminds me ; I'm longing to see the current issue of Teddy Bear Review as there is an article about British Bear artists in it , and my little "Miss Majesty" has put in an appearance !
Happy Days !

T.T.F.N Ruth xx

Summer Treats and Lovely Things...

I thought I would share some of the lovely , pretty treats I've acquired so far , and I've also got some photos of my challenge piece for the Teddy Bear Artist Event last month .

Lovely , lovely Tina (of TinyBear) gave me the sweetest little package when we met up on the Saturday before the TBAE - as you can see above ; romantic little looped hearts and pretty tags/markers which I'll be keeping all for myself ;0) I was totally enchanted by the beautiful picture she attached as the gift tag ( I think I will frame it) and also the embellished sea urchin dangling from it - even the outer wrapping braid will go in my squirrel-stash! Ooooooooh I love pretties ! So "Thank You" once again Tina .... I hope everyone will visit your pages and treat themselves !


"What's in these lovely boxes ?" wondered Tiddy

Whilst we were walking round Stratford I came upon The Montpellier art gallery , where we were all welcomed in out of the rain with the offer of wine and canapes ( although it seemed a bit over indulgent to accept !) I was so glad we went in because Ashley and I treated ourselves to the most darling little bronze sculptures of hares and one of an otter in the weeds . We have 2 similar little bronzes on our mantelpiece , but these are really small at 2.5" for the largest .







On a slightly different note :- I was absolutely delighted to hear recently that the Wedgwood Museum had won "The Museum of the Year" award for 2009 . As you may know , my husband worked at Wedgwood for 18 years , some of this time was spent doing hands-on modelling for them . Having gained a degree in ceramics there was only one sensible place in the country for him to move to and so we made The Potteries area ; which encompassed Wedgwood , Royal Doulton , Spode , Minton , Masons , and a host of small "pot bank" factories , our home .

Like so much other great , British manufacturing , the industry has been beleaguered and could really do with a boost right now . Ashley has retained very close links with the museum staff throughout his career and its changes , and so he was incredibly pleased for them all when the award was announced . A visit is definitely on my summer agenda - there are priceless pieces exhibited , which are National Treasures for sure !

Anyway , I decided to celebrate The Potteries part of the world in my Exhibitor Challenge piece for the TBAE ( theme Around the World" ) Although it didn't receive a placing I was still really pleased with how it turned out . The 3" bear is created in a Wedgwood blue , and the medal is intended to recall blue Jasper cameos - of course I just had to make a bear's head ! I felt quite proud to highlight 250 years of ceramics heritage .... please let there be 250 more !




You can check out the museum details here : www.wedgwoodmuseum.org.uk/home

Well , it's the last few days of Wimbledon so Ta Ta For Now ,
Ruth XX