BBAA Nominations!!

I got the exciting news at the weekend that both my entries for this year's British Bear Artist Awards have been nominated to go through to final judging, at the British Bear Fair, December 12th in Brighton.
Here are my pieces:-

"Georgiana"; a seated 3" bear - Cat 1, Single Miniature Bear

"Tea is for Teddies"- Cat 10, Group of Miniature Bears (plus a dog!)


The competition will be fierce! It was only a few months ago, at the TBAE, Stratford, that I wondered aloud to Dawn (TBT editor) whether there would be any expansion of the miniaturist category to Dressed and Undressed; she felt it was unlikely as the number of entrants overall wouldn't necessarily make it viable, but this year sees double the number of nominees in category 1 (Single Miniature Bear) and two first prizes , two second and two third will be awarded. Next year the categories will be split. I think this is a terrifically healthy sign! It's great that more miniaturists are entering (probably there are loads of us lurking about!) and it will be a very good thing for more collectors to "get in to" miniature bears!

Congratulations to all the nominees; in all categories. I'm really looking forward to meeting up with lots of you on the day :0)

T.T.F.N  Ruth xx

.... and Some More!

The English Rooms at the V&A are a great place to visit if you're interested in English period furniture- they have whole room reconstructions, with huge canopied beds- or if you're a textile obsessive like me.There are quite a few items of clothing, with shoes and gloves too; just so much you want a photographic record of really!
Anyway, we spotted this beautiful and fragile fan.... I have a thing about fans......

Oh, and whole cases of drawers of lace!! Most are so ridiculously beautiful it's like a sort of appreciation overload!! This one is in a 17th century style which has the name "stitches in the air" when translated from Italian:-

And how about this one- apologies for the difficulty in photographing such a tiny, delicate fragment. This one is very different! Guess what it's made of... and I'll tell you at the bottom of the page :0)

Following our noses round the museum we came to a section on mosaics, and in particular a fabulous (in the original sense of the word) collection of two people whose names I'm sorry to say I've forgotten. Drawer upon drawer of priceless treasures; silver and gold and jewel encrusted snuff boxes. Here are just a few of the most astonishing works of art in "micro-mosaic" - these boxes are all no bigger than 3" across.

                                           (Enamelled, with pearls)

Which one would you treasure given the choice? I'd pick that gorgeous spaniel without hesitation - I wonder if it's the faithful rendition of a once beloved companion? I would like to think so.

And the lace from 16 Something?? Give yourself a million Clever Clogs points if you guessed it was made from human hair (with outline detailing probably horse hair) Yes, really!!!!!

Hope you've enjoyed a quick trip round the museum with me. TaTa For Now,

Ruth xx