When we left Mr. Wu and Binky, they opened the door on a strange new landscape, far away from Panda Canyon!
Be the Bear!
Bob T Panda
It’s Mr. Wu’s Birthday Season, so let’s all enjoy this encore presentation of Bears Under the Big Top. If you missed the first half of this feature presentation, just go back to last Sunday’s post!
We hope you enjoyed this feature encore presentation! Maybe it took your mind off of, ya know, the republican attempt to disassemble democracy. Mebbee not.
Be the Bear.
Bob T Panda
Who would have guessed my creative journey would have taken me into the realm of needle felted pandas, or even Panda Satire? Certainly not me! When I was in art school, back in the days when you could get a college education for less than the price of a house, if you were a painting student, you PAINTED! Nothing else was acceptable! You did not “waste” your talents on such frivolous pursuits as Panda Satire, for crying out loud!
For some number of years, I held to those principles. Eventually the realities of a more regular cash flow lead me down the path of printmaking (etching to start). Eventually I embraced other forms of printmaking, such as lithography, monoprint, and monotype. One of the universal truths I discovered was that all forms of making art have something to offer, and each technique you add to your tool box, circles back around and makes the other forms you practice stronger.
Working on black and white etchings made my paintings much stronger, with greater attention to composition and light an dark values.
The recession of 2008 hit me hard, and I needed something to cheer me up. Pandas were the answer. I don’t know what the question is. What I do know, is that one thing leads to another: panda satire lead to starting to write children’s book (another pursuit which has a long way to reach its conclusion) and it also led to making needle felted pandas.
Some of the stories are mine, but the felty panda troop inspires stories in the people who welcome them into their homes. I am honored to be entrusted with some of these stories, and rather than my usual dive into the archives today, I am going to share some of the photos sent to me by a lover of the felty bears. They have added their own touch to the settings, and as one who has always loved dollhouse miniatures, the exquisite details they have added to the scenes thrill me no end!
Be The Bear
Bob T Panda