Artist Spotlight: Jane Blowes
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Bear making, as almost any bear artist comes to realize, is something that can very quickly become addicting. Jane Blowes, a talented new artist, testifies to this aspect of bear making! Living in Alberta, Canada with her family for 24 years, Jane says that she stumbled upon bear-making when some of her friends goaded her into taking a bear-making class. Having never sewn a stitch in her life, Jane notes that after “twelve hours of bear-making”, she was completely hooked! Working full time prohibits Jane from pursuing her bears as much as she would like, but she does make time for sewing evenings and weekends. A devoted grandmother, Jane’s only other hobby includes playing with her grandchildren, Nikki and Hunter. Besides tending to her family, Jane also runs a teddy supply shop, which she says keeps her very busy! The story behind Jane’s chosen business name, MoBear designs, is credited to her two grandchildren. “As for the name Mo Bear Designs. When Nikki was born as a joke Steve started calling me Mo and the name stuck. So now the grandkids call me Mo instead of Grandma - I actually like Mo better than Grandma. So there grew Mo Bear Designs!” Jane’s devoted family is fully supportive of her efforts. Her grandchildren, however, are credited with being her biggest fans. “They like to hug and kiss each bear before it is adopted!” Surprised as her family was by Jane’s newfound talent, her family is indeed very proud of where she has taken her hobby. And well they should be! Jane now designs all of her own patterns, and “now uses those patterns for classes that I teach.” Jane had no idea that her hobby would have evolved into such a creative outlet, one in which she is inspired by many things. Jane finds inspiration in looking at new and established artists’ bears, as well as the fabric itself. She notes that looking at a particular piece of mohair will often inspire a new creation! Jane loves working with mohair, but also “has a lot of real fur in my stash. You will be seeing some of those bears in the near future!” When asked to describe her style of bears, Jane says that she is constantly evolving as an artist, and does not have a distinctive style as yet. However, looking at her bears, there are similarities among them. Her mastery of noses is quite apparent! Jane says that she loves making bears of all sizes, but finds that making bears between five and ten inches tall suits her best. Jane offers some wonderful advice to emerging artists, saying “You can create bears even if you have no prior sewing ability, so don’t let that stop you. Just jump right in, and you will find that you can swim!” Jane also offers that new artists, as well as established artists, should consider joining the myriad online forums that exist specifically for teddy bears. She says that “most of the artists are very friendly and willing to share lots of techniques. It’s like a big family with lots of support!” Jane says that she doesn’t know what the future holds for her as a bear artist, but right now she is content making and selling bears to collectors around the world. We certainly look forward to seeing what this talented artist creates next! You can find Jane’s bears at: www.mobeardesigns.com
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