Viky's own advice to beginner bear artists is to "have fun"! She adds that they should make sure that they learn all the rules of bear making and then design their own bears and "break all the rules" !! "Create your own style of bears which reflects your personality and your own vision!" she advises.
According to Viky bear-making is at a very exciting stage both locally and internationally. New bear makers are coming onto the scene on a regular basis and she feels that all this talent can only breed new levels of creativity and bring a new freshness to the bear world.
Viky admits that she doesn't ever expect to become a full-time bear artist. "I enjoy making bears too much to make it a full-time occupation with the pressures of deadlines and orders to fulfil ever present" she says. She has a morning job at the family's export company to pay the bills and feels that it is important to spend the afternoons with her two small children. She is in no doubt, however, that she will still be making bears for a very long time since it is something that gives her great pleasure. "Designing my own bears is something I have always done and playing around with different ideas and materials is something I love doing. I am always trying to find a new way and trying new and exciting combinations of design, materials and colours to create a special little fellow" she adds.
Viky was born in Spain in 1961 and moved to South Africa in 1979, settling in Cape Town which she now calls home. She married in 1986 and has 2 children, a boy born in 1995 and a girl in 1999. Viky has completed a degree in Fine Arts and a diploma in Graphic Design and for a hobby has been designing and growing Bonsai Trees since 1988.
Viky can't say for sure how many bears she has made to date, but has been keeping a record of her bears for the past two years. She has a special book in which she places a picture of her bear as well as the name of the buyer, the birth date and any other relevant info on the bear. Although she does not supply a birth certificate with her bears, each bear does have her signature on one of its paw pads.
The high point of bear-making for Viky is seeing the reaction of collectors to her bears, although she has to admit that being published in an American magazine (Teddy Bear Review Magazine) was rather fun too.
Viky uses both mohair and upholstery velvets for her bears. She hand dyes some of the fabrics and will often paint it as well to change the colour in places or enhance a feature or to create a focal point for the design. She also likes to include other elements in her designs such as beads, plastic, metal, wood, etc. Her bears range mostly from 2" to 14" but she occasionally makes smaller or bigger bears. (She has 2 patterns on offer on her website at http://members.tripod.com/~HappyHug )
Viky started making bears when she fell pregnant with her son.
She remembers how she suddenly became obsessed with teddy
bears and simply had to make one! Unfortunately, she found supplies very hard to come by in Cape Town at the time ("not having discovered the net yet!" she adds) and gave up on making bears. When she fell pregnant with her daughter though, the bear bug resurfaced and having discovered a wonderful local supplier in the meantime, there was no stopping her. Her supplier also introduced her to the 'net' and taught her how to enjoy mini bears.
Viky has a large soft spot for the work of miniature bear makers. She admires the craftsmanship and the attention to detail given to the miniature bears and also the freedom of design and creativity that it allows the bear maker. She doesn't see herself as a collector though, but does love to swap bears (mostly mini bears with her friends). "The bears remind me of the people who gave them to me, which makes them very special!" she says. Viky has made many wonderful friends over the last few years in the bear world. She says that they are a very special lot of people who love teddy bears and most of whom are more then willing to share their knowledge and freely give advice to newcomers ... "that is rare in any field"!
Viky's first bear was a jointed brown corduroy teddy with button eyes and a green hand knitted jersey that she made for her son when he was born. She admits that the teddy was anything but beautiful, but both she and her baby loved him nevertheless. Her first couple of bears were made from other bear artist's patterns and were also for much larger bears than what she is currently making. Viky tells that her workmanship was very poor on those first bears and that there was no creativity in the designs or her interpretation thereof.
Things have definitely changed from back then here is what Viky has to say about her work now, "My bears reflect my personality! They are a little bit adventurous! Everything around me inspires me, things I see, hear, smell, taste, everything I come into contact with is reflected in the way I see and that in turn reflects on my bears. I like bears to bring a smile to the faces of whoever owns them and let their owners know how special they are to have adopted them into their hug. I prefer bears that are well made and bears which in their material choice or colour choice or design choice are a little controversial and challenging. I don't like to repeat what other artists have done before and I want to have fun while making them."
Meet Viky, a very talented bear artist from Cape Town.
