From Admirer to Maker of Realistic Bears

Joanne Livingston pulling the toes on Spirit.

Three years ago the thought of making a jointed teddy bear seemed unlikely. Today with lots of generous help and encouragement I've gone beyond that. If you want to meet the best people start crafting!!!

Joanne holding Spirit after showing me some of her techniques.

This is Joanne's hotel room at the...

Artist Doll & Teddy Bear Convention

presented by the
Susan Quinlan Doll & Teddy Bear Museum
Clarion Airport Hotel
Philadelphia, PA • May 2-4, 2013

Joanne gave me some of her time on Thursday to help with finishing touches on Spirit. She had been consulting with me on this project since the beginning of March.

These are Joanne's bears that I made sure I picked up!

Joanne loves black bears and particularly a bear named Hope. She has used Hope as a model for most of her bears.

My initials on the left and Joanne's on the right. 

I'll never be able to really thank Joanne for helping me make Spirit and for being a wonderful blog friend. What I will recommend to people reading this post is to live generously. You'll find that you and the people around you will enjoy and live life more.

My brood.

Next post... Spirit!