Windswept
Delartful Bears
Danni Whatford
By Angela Jarecki
Ever heard of Kambah? Okay, let me give you a bit of a hint…how about Canberra? Getting warmer! Well, Kambah is a lovely suburb just south west of the capital of Canberra, Australia.
And, if you were fortunate enough to travel to Kambah, you might cross paths with Danni Whatford, yet another emerging talent in
the bear world from down under!
Danni’s foray into the world
of bears began by cruising the internet! “I first got inspired by looking at Artist Bears online.
It amazed me that there are
such an array of different style bears, and I was really inspired
to give it a try.”
Despite the variety of bears
Danni saw online: felted,
thread, fabric, and so forth,
she found herself drawn to contemporary styled bears
made of mohair.
Stricken with Chronic Fatigue Symptom seven years ago when she was 17 years old, Danni
has been unable to work full
time at a regular job.
Sometimes, she spent her
spare time between symptoms,
by dabbling in other crafts such
as cake decorating and rubber stamping.
She always wanted to try bear making, but wasn't confident enough to do so, because she had no needle work experience, AT ALL!
Danni also had no idea how to sew. Finally, in December 2004, she took the plunge to try bear making in and to her suprise, discovered that she could indeed, make bears!
Deciding to take the plunge,
Danni set the creative wheels
in motion by first designing her own pattern, not a small feat
by any standard.
Next she gathered a stash
of Alpaca and Mohair (you can never have enough - ask any
bear artist), and oh yes…can’t forget upholstery thread and
a graduated awl…. two tools Danni says she can’t live
without!
Danni demonstrates a natural ability and talent for bear artistry. Especially since, she has been creating bears for only six months and has already amassed quite
a portfolio of amazing unique
and extremely excellent bears!
It’s one thing to be inspired
by others' creations….but to
be able to give life to your own creations really says something about your own inner potential and drive.
Though she is relatively new to the bear making world, she is already producing work that definitely has a distinctive style.
Her patterns incorporate big bellies, generous bottoms and
big feet. The bear’s big feet and bottoms give them a real “squashy” comfortable look,
which add to their “aaah” factor!
Danni believes in using ony the best, top quality materials for her bears,
from the mohair (mostly Schulte ) to the thread with which she stitches them together - each bears ending up with hundreds of tiny little hand stitches.
She likes to give her bears a winsome, windswept look with long pile mohair and alpaca for their handsome "coats" which she then carefully brushes for that special effect..
Their faces are carefully hand plucked and extensively needle-sculpted and then subtly hand shaded in numerous colours
and mediums to bring out their personality.
Danni likes to use tiny, undersized eyes for her bears. People often comment that her bears have especially sweet faces, but
she thinks sometimes they look
a bit grumpy.
If those expressios are grumpy, then it’s the cutest grumpy
ever seen!
Their noses, another trademark
of Delartful Bears, are hand stitched with perle thread and varnished to a glossy shine.
And last but not least… big, furry ears! For no matter what care
you give to their faces, Danni points out, “ that a bear never looks right though, until he has his ears!”
Danni’s creations are usually only about six inches in height and take roughly 14 hours from start to finish.
Bears are her animal of choice
and her favorite is the Polar bear.
In fact, her most beloved of her own creations is a little Polar bear named Bjorn. “He’s my favorite because he has the cutest little face, and has sentimental value because he was the first bear to be adopted by someone.”
Her online adventures did not
end with her starting production of her own bears.
She still finds time to foster friendships and trade bits
of information with fellow
artists that she has met online. “I’ve met some lovely helpful artists online, who are always willing to help. That’s partly the reason why the bear world is
so wonderful!”
Another reason for the bear
world being wonderful is
probably that new talent
such as as Danni Whatford’s
grows and thrives in the midst
of such a warm community
of bear makers. We look forward to seeing more of Danni’s work
in the future!
Several other
Delartful Bears
Below
Some of these bears have found great homes already.
However, if you fall in love with one of them, Danni can make you something similar (not exactly the same) Just email her with what you would like.
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3428 Hillvale Road 
