Wayneston Studios is pleased to invite Margaret Burke, an award winning bear artist from Australia, to conduct a 2-day Intermediate Bunny Workshop.
This workshop attracted 5 students to sign up and even Wayne himself couldn't resist and joined in!
The students were all given the bunny kit in advance to complete sewing, assembling and stuffing the bunny first before coming for the class as Margaret focused on teaching the intermediate techniques to create the face and eyes.
The first thing we learned were to paint star burst glass eyes. We started off by painting a thin layer of glitter. After the glitter dried, we added multiple layers of colours, removing some areas to create patterns and later futher adding another layer of finishing coat to the eyes. As all eyes were painted differently, they all look different and unique!
While waiting for the paint to dry, Margaret taught everyone how to start with needle felting. This was the first time Chio and Benadette learned needle felting and we could see the anxiousness on their faces!
Margaret also shared the different types of felting needles and their uses. After the introduction, everyone started building the face with felting shapes on both side of the face to make them symmetrical.
Needle felting took lots of time! Everybody probably stabbed the wool a few thousand times at different angles to make sure the wool interlocks together, hardening them. After the faces were done, Wayne taught all the students needle sculpting techniques on the nose bridge, setting their glass eyes and making wire armature ears.
Margaret later also demonstrated the use of soft tip brush to apply soft pastels to highlight the face, paws and toes. After the final details are completed, we gave all the bunnies ribbons to give the final touch!
Look at all the bunnies! They all look completely different because that's the beauty of handmade craft! Everyone have added their own personal touch to what they created which are uniquely theirs.
We took group photos with Margaret after the class.
We want to thank Margaret for her guidance and sharing her knowledge with us. We look forward to her class again next year!
Cheers,
Wayne
