Untitled Document

Lin Chamberlain of Pookie Bears

Lin has always been interested in various forms of art. She has progressed from being the only female in wood shop through fashion design, painting, costume design, theatre, professional singing, stained glass, a career in hair styling, original art dolls, and teddy bears.

The progression has helped her understand different styles and given her the ability to bring it all together to create unique one of a kind characters with marvelous facial expressions.

She started collecting dolls in the early 1980s and always wondered why the artist didn't "do this or that". With a little encouragement from her family she decided to make her own doll. She dismantled them, starting researching the art of doll making, learned about different techniques and spent considerable time experimenting with different clays and then - starting making dolls.

I can remember hearing her laugh and giggle as her creations took form in a spare bedroom. The excitement was contagious because each new doll sparked new ideas for additional dolls. I asked her one time where she came up with her original ideas and she replied they came from dreams. (Many of her first dolls were angels and biblical characters)

Lin produced more and more dolls and continually used new techniques to improve them. During this time, she owned a hair styling salon and her customers provided enough positive feedback to encourage her to exhibit.

She exhibiting at several doll shows and received such favorable comments that she decided to enter more shows. More shows led to increasing praise for her work and people started buying her dolls. Actually it was quite a pleasant surprise - people began to recognize her work and search for her at the shows. Before she knew it, she was in the doll world. And then, evolved into Bears, Dogs, and various types of animals.

Her latest creations are "Pookie Bears". These bears have one-of-a-kind faces made of Cernit. She sculpts a unique face, fires it for hardness, and finishes the details by hand painting the eyes and other details as needed. Most of the bears include human eyelashes and some other unique design features. Soft bodies are created from original patterns. Sometimes clothes are designed & sewn and wigs attached to complete a character. Recently she has completed: Teddy Roosevelt, Marilyn MonBear, a Wizard of Oz set, and others. She also makes various types of animals and portrait pets from their owner's pictures and specifications.

Nothing much has changed since 1995 when Lin closed her Hair Styling salon and built an art studio at the house. The studio is crammed full of books, drawings, patterns, and pictures. Tools and equipment, piles of mohair, cloth and bears in process are everywhere. We still hear plenty of laughter and giggling as her creations emerge from this pile of raw material.

Lin states, "My creations will make you laugh and if they bring some laughter, joy, or happiness to someone - then I have achieved my artistic goal."

People always make the comment to me that Lin has too much talent. In addition to making bears, she sings with the Philharmonic Chorus, and is a featured singer with her band Misty Memories. Yes, she does have a lot of talent and it has taken her many years of hard work and study to be talented. I'm very proud of her.

As for her future plans, Lin says, "I will continue to create original bears and attend shows to discover new techniques and make new friends. I may even teach creative art classes again."