Individuals: Craftspeople: Trish Pilon

Artist's Statement

I am an very visual person with a great imagination and a passion to try new ideas all the time. I adore fairies and woodland creatures and love to incorporate them into my work whenever I can. I find ideas in music, movies even walking through the woods will stimulate my mind of new ideas. I adore being with people, especially if they love bears and fairies! I really enjoy teaching classes and sharing ideas with artists.

Bio

I have been making bears since 1990 and have won several design competition awards. In 1999 I won third place at the People's Choice Awards at the Ross Park Artist Invitational. I work with Mohair soft sculpture fabrics as well as clay, paper mach'e, porcelain and various other mediums. I hand painted and hand dye all my fabrics.

I have been featured in Teddy Bear magazines around the world, Canada, USA, England, Germany, Australia. I was featured in Canadian Living for an auction I held for Valhalla Wilderness Society for the preservation of the Kermode Bear or Spirit Bear.

I have written for several magazines on teddy bears as well as environmental issues relating to bears.

I have small studio where I teach classes in teddy bear making, changing your fur coat into a bear and needle felting. I keep the classes small so people get individual attention. Larger classes can be arranged. Classes start up again in April and are arranged around individual schedules.

Workshops & Classes

Make a Teddy Bear

A one day class (avg length 5 to 8 hours). The class includes, tracing and cutting out the fur on a sample piece, to understand the nap of the fur. Then sewing, jointing, stuffing the bear and then finishing the face. They can make a bear in either Mohair or synthetic fur, prices vary with styles of fur. Full kits start at $50.

Use Old Fur Coats to Make Memory Bears

People leave knowing how to change an old coat into a teddy for their own family or for profit by making bears for all their friends who have old coats.

Needle Felting Classes

Beginners start with a piece of wool blanketing and pick a picture to flat felt onto the wool. After you have the technique you can do 3 dimensional felting and make anything you can imagine! Classes can be 3 hours plus, depending on what you want to learn to felt and how big the piece is.

I charge $10 an hour for classes and are all usually just one day or a few hours I am super flexible!

119 Prince Edward Street
Brighton
613-475-1618