The Retreat-

0700 Calgary-Mon. May 21, 2001
Already the butterflies were shaping up. A mixture of excitement and worry about the upcoming two day workshop with internationally acclaimed bear artists/experts Denis Shaw and John Paul Port. What would it be like? Would we be outclassed with the likes of the other creative retreaters? Unspoken questions wheeled and we rolled closer to Banff.

0900 Banff
The day was gorgeous-sparkling sun and a whisper of a breeze. Fly fishermen dotted the Bow River, bands of elk grazed quietly and early throngs of tourists strolled the streets of Banff nestled below the towering Rockies. We headed for the hostel-we were advised this building was the former hospital renovated now to be the local “Y”. We poured into the lobby, settled our belonging and set out to stretch our legs and check out the studio.

What a jewel. A separate log cabin type structure nestled among tall pines just yards from the river. And imagine our surprize to see a young elk grazing in the courtyard….the animal had “done the stairs” to get to the private pasture.

As if our instructors could read our minds, we were asked to find a table and get ourselves organized. Sandy Morrow was the perfect hostess-snacks in abundance and a cornucopia of beverages. Lots of great nutrition to feed our hard working minds.

12:00 Noon “The Studio”
“Sure you can draw-anyone can draw “, says Denis in a cool, calm, and patient voice. “Reach inside and access the right side of your brain” he added. For those who indicated more support was the order of the day, Denis provided a multitude of suggestions to help set the mood. The objective was to fool the analytical side of our brains and let the artistic side come out to play!

“What no pattern for the workshop” “You've got to be kidding”! “This is not funny Denis!” “No way can I do this”….the initial chorus was loud and complaining but within moments sketchbooks were placed in front of us. Soon enough our pencils were creating reasonable facsimiles of the plastic bear model. Table to table Denis and John patiently examined our sketches. We were challenged to think of the proper proportions, adjusting here and there, modifying lengths, angles and proportions. By the end of the first day, our sketches were done and most had reduced or increased the bear using the grid method. (And, yes we did register more gripes when we learned much later there was a perfectly good photocopier in the main building). With a stretch break, dinner and a walk to rekindle our creative spirits, we returned to the artist's studio set in the trees.

By 2100 h Monday evening-most students had created the pattern template and were ready to transfer the markings to the fabric. We had learned about making perfectly fitting gussets, foot and paw pads and by this time, our confidence was growing.

Time to crash hostel style in bunk bed furnished rooms complete with ensuites. We flexed our maturity with the youthful smokers parked outside our window directing their attention to the prominent “No Smoking” signs. Not surprisingly they demurred and moved respectfully away having glimpsed the strength behind our requests. Soon everyone seemed to have found sleep….the temperature plummeted overnight.

0800-1300 h
The next day we scrambled into our clothes with many a “brrrr” from the brisk temperature, each thinking about what the day might bring. Starting bright and early and working to early afternoon, we saw our bears take shape. The general camaraderie and repartee between instructors and learners was also building…..We learned about the magazine “Teddy Today”, how Denis and Paul became partners and major players in the teddy bear world, the value of learning by doing and the incomparable gifts of having a sense of humour….Denis and Paul are knowledgeable, supportive and hoping that each bear artist will find their own means of contributing to the industry. Their style was open, warm and supportive and wise. Never once did they get drawn into our plans to have them complete our bears.

PS. Unbelievably the paw and foot pads fit first time-so how'd we do that?” Was the tried and true string method! See our next newsletter for details.