Bella, a White Forest Spirit Bear

Good Morning!

I have an extra special bear to share with you today. Several months ago a lovely collector from New York emailed us about the passing of her beloved Lutino Cockatiel named Bella. We could tell by her email just how much Bella meant to her. The collector requested that we create a bear in the spirit of Bella, which we were excited to do. We wanted to create something that would reflect her beautiful colors and give our collector a wonderful memory of Bella each time she looked at her.

Here is the beautiful Bella the Lutino Cockatiel (on her favorite teddy), and Bella the White Forest Bear:




I used long and soft mohair in white, which I hand-dyed a blend of swirly yellow hues while leaving plenty of white showing. I'm so glad we chose this fur to use as it is fun to style, and Jack gave her a cute little tuft of hair on top. Her paw pads and eye areas are needle felted wool, and her nose and mouth are embroidered with perle cotton. I love the color Jack chose for the paws/nose/eye areas - it's grey and has a little hint of peach to it.

I really love Bella's eyes. The collector said that her eyes appeared black until getting up close to the bird, and then their true color of deep red was apparent. Jack was able to recreate this effect for the bear, and they are fantastic! Here is a little closer photo showing the eyes:



Of course, we can't leave out the orange cheek "rouge" of Bella. We wanted to make sure we got them in just the right place in relation to her eyes.

Jack and I both feel so honored to have been asked to create this bear. Not only was she really fun and exciting to create, we were able to create a special piece for a super sweet person.