The following article was submitted by Michelle Nunnery for our September 2009 Newsletter.  It is included here in its entirety.  Michelle's little bears are lovely and can be viewed at her website: http://www.littlebittiebears.com/

Have you ever looked at a teddy bear and swore it was alive?  You see it looking back at you with that little puppy dog stare wanting to be adopted?  That's the soul of a teddy bear!!

The teddy bear industry is alive and booming mainly because, in the past decade, artists have been very victorious in creating "soul" in teddies.

How have these artists achieved creating a "soul" in the teddy bear?  What is it about the teddy bear that captures us and makes us want to adopt them no matter what the cost?

Its in the eyes.  The eyes of a teddy bear are very important when it comes to soul.

Its very impressive these days to see what artists are going with teddy bear eyes.  You can find eyes with eyelashes, eyelids, unique hand painted colors, highlighting and shading around the eyes, sculpting, needle felting and even eyelids that open and close.  With these new techniques, artists have a new world of opportunity open for creativity.

For the collector, this is very important.  Not only do they look for quality in materials, stuffing, jointing, stitching on the noses and stitching of the body, but eye quality is very high on the list.

First and most important is the quality of the actual eye.  The use of glass eyes is imperative, no plastic please.  Glass brings about a reflection similar to that of an animal with "wet" eyes.  Good quality glass eyes are just as important.  If you buy cheap glass eyes, they will break in half, they don't have good shine, they pop off the wires, or have scratches.  A good artist never goes cheap when making their teddy.  They want the collector to have a bear that will last a lifetime.

Placement of eyes is critical.  There is nothing worse than a teddy bear with crooked eyes.  One technique used is to shine a light on the eyes and see of the light reflection is in the place same on both eyes.  I have to tell you that even after making bears for 17 years, I still have to take eyes out and put them back in about 5-6 times before getting them just right.  You have to make sure your eyes are not too far apart, or too close together.

Shading of eyes is very important.  Blacks, greys and browns can really bring out the eyes of a teddy.  Shading the eyes gives them depth.  Many artists venture out into other colors like, greens, purples and blues to match their mohair and apparel.  It sounds strange, but it really comes out very beautiful.

Sculpting the eyes adds character.  Many artists needle sculpt around the eyes to give more expression.  Sculpting the eyebrows, eye sockets and around the nose gives the teddy more depth.  This is a practice that takes much time and lots of redo's to get just the right expression from the teddy.

Collectors can rest assured that if they see a bear with "soul" in their eyes, the techniques to making that teddy bear come "alive" are very extensive.  Many artists have practiced these techniques for countless hours and it has taken years to achieve their own individual style.

Happy "soul" hunting.