Learning Journey - Trip to USA! 6 - 11 April 2018

It felt so good to be back in USA again this year! The weather seemed to be a little much colder but it marked a new exciting year for Wayne, having the courage to travel alone on a 24-hour flight! This showed that nothing could stop him from fulfilling his dream to become a great toy designer and bear artist!

Wayne felt so lucky when his name was called by the airport attendant, as he received a Free Upgrade to Business Class! He felt like a king on his flight which made it very enjoyable, despite the long journey.

Wayne was also very excited to meet his mentor and best friend, Joanne Livingston again. Learning from one of the very best Teddy Bear Artist in the world felt like a dream. He knows there is no returning, the only way to show gratitude to his mentor is to become better, pass on his knowledge and share the joy of bear making to the next generation and promoting the Art of Teddy Bear making.

Working on centaur horns

Wayne the Manicurist

Adding colours to bear noses

This trip was not exactly a holiday for Wayne. He worked hard for three full days to complete his gallery piece and made claws for his realistic bears before the show at Susan Quinlan Doll & Teddy Bear Convention. Joanne taught Wayne different colouring techniques to create beautiful tones for the bear claws and shadings for bears' faces.

Joanne and Wayne

Besides spending most of the time working with bears, Joanne and her husband, David brought Wayne to Renningers and Adamstown at Pennsylvania for antiquing! They knew Wayne loves antiques and the group spent almost a full day doing that! Wayne is fascinated when he came close face-to-face to two life size black bears taxidermy in the store. He took pictures and observed closely to the way a bear face and body is built proportionally, this definitely gave him a better idea next time when he would design realistic bears.

Wayne bought a vintage Steiff Chimpanzee toy and some doll clothes during his trip.

On Wednesday, Joanne's niece, Jillian Reeves bought him to Micheals, one of the biggest Craft store in town! The store is amazing, there are many brands and a vast variety of craft supplies that you could not find in Singapore. What a very exciting place to be in! During Wayne's stay at Jillian's house, he shared with Jillian, ways to pose her bears and setting up the right environment to photograph her bears using natural outdoor lights.

Wayne would like to take this opportunity to thank Joanne and David for teaching and hosting him. Plus Jillian and her mum, Mary for making him feel at home when he stayed with them.

We look forward to our trip to USA again next year!

Hugs,

Wayne

Chubby Dollies Workshop

Wayneston Studios proudly presents a brand new workshop -"Chubby Dollies", available this coming June school holiday!

In this workshop, children can learn how to sew, draw, paint their own handmade toy. Each child will be making a dolly similar to the poster.

This workshop is available by appointment only, email to waynestonbears@yahoo.com.sg to reserve your slot!

Cheers,Wayneston Studios & Team

Susan Quinlan Artist Doll & Teddy Bear Convention, 12 - 14 April 2018

This is our 2nd time participating in the Susan Quinlan Artist Doll & Teddy Bear Convention. The event was held at the same location as last year, in the Clarion Hotel & Convention Center.

We were so happy to meet our fellow bear and doll artist friends again. We gave everyone a big "bear" hug as we met. This event somehow seemed to have a unique magical power, having the ability to bind artists and collectors together. No one seemed to be strangers as everyone had a great smile on their faces. This was possibly one of the reasons why Wayne had decided to come again. He felt a deep sense of belonging at the show, where he could not have felt the same at any other shows he had attended.

He ain't Heavy, He's my Brother by Wayne Lim

We arrived at the hotel on Thursday, 12 April and the first thing we did is to display our OOAK (One-of-a-Kind) Signature Gallery piece at the Ballroom. This year, Wayne gave his best to create and present his creation, "He ain't Heavy, He's my Brother" on the gallery. The piece consisted of a Centaur named Brave Heart and a baby cub, Micki. We were glad to hear that some artists and collectors voted for us, which meant a lot to us. Although we didn't win a prize, we were appreciative for the encouragement given, as it gave us motivation to strive to become a better bear artist. Some collectors and artists even thanked Wayne for creating the gallery piece. It gave them inspiration and a moment to appreciate something beautiful. Wayne was also very thankful to all the wonderful praises, as it made all his efforts totally worthwhile, which was priceless.

Tami Eveslage

Tracy Meier

Marina Osetrova

Joanne O'hanlon

Wanda J Carson

Michelle Lamb

Svetlana Khabarova

Darlene Allen

Franciso Carreno

Shane Elliott

Rob Boger

Candi Taylor

Charlene Draeger

Sue VanNattan

Katherine Hallam

Michelle Lamb

Jillian Reeves

Michelle Lamb

This event was definitely a "must-go" to all who loves dolls and teddy bears. There was always something for everyone. On Thursday, there were several doll and bear workshops. On Friday, there was an Artist & Collector Market Place where one can shop for materials, supplies, do-dads and other accessories. There were many sharing sessions in different time slots. We attended the Toy Prop Making session by Michelle Pulaski and Five Key Steps to Building Successful Business by Jack Johnston. Wayne was very excited to purchase and receive a specially autographed book from Jack!

Jack Johnston and Wayne

With Marina Bondarenko and Katrina Bittar

With Tami Eveslage

With Karen Baker

Wayne is so happy to have a chance to hold one of Michelle's new raccoon design!

Thank you Andrea Shinn for visiting our table!

On Saturday, the convention was opened to the public to visit and purchase creations from their favorite artists. The crowd this year seemed to be a lot less than the previous years, due to the change of date, hence it affected sales of most artists. However, we were glad to see some of the regular collectors coming to the show to support the event. We were glad that two of our creations, Mikhail and Brunost, have found new homes.

Thank you for adopting Mikhail!

Wayne and his mentor, Joanne Livingston

Thank you for adopting Brunost!

Beverly White

Darlene Allen

Diane Keeler

Tyler and Zac Crain-Davis

Amy Yascavage

Lynn Bowie

Katrina Bittar

Shane Elliott

Rob Boger

Michelle Lamb

Jillian Reeves

Tracy Meier

Maggie Anderson

Charlene Draeger

Anna Potapova

Candi Tylor

Sean and Tami Eveslage

In the evening, we had a wonderful time having dinner at the Presidential Ballroom where the winners of the Beverly Port and Helen Bullard Awards were announced. Congratulations to Tami Eveslage, Sue Vannattan, Katherine Hallam and Candi Taylor for emerging winners for the show!

L-R: Tami Eveslage, Katherine Hallam and Sue VanNattan
(Candi Tylor not in photo)

After the awards ceremony, Organiser of the event, Terry announced the dates of the convention next year to be  on 2 - 4 May 2019. So mark your calendar! We hope to see you again soon next year!

Hugs,

Wayne