Midnight (Snack) and Mikki have been nominated for the Australian Bear Creations award. The results are determined by public vote. If you want to see Maria's entries and all the other entries in the competition, you can download the competition pages and the voting form from here.

Maria has entered Cerah (the Sun bear) in the URSA awards. The results are determined by public vote. For more information about the URSA awards and to vote for the winning bears, visit the Bears and Buds Website.

Midnight (Snack) won a Golden George award. Stargazy received a nice runner-up award.

Midnight (Snack) and Stargazy have been nominated for Golden George awards. The results will be announced at the Teddybär Total in Rheda-Wiedenbrück on 16 April 2011.

"I haz a pic-a-nic" won the non-traditional materials and methods class and "Who's the Daddy" came second in the 6 - 15 inches dressed class.

"Bear-faced Cheek" won the large artist's bear undressed category and the editor's choice award.

"Ted and Lucky" have won their class for the URSAs – a competitiion run by the online magazine "Bears and Buds". The winners were decided by reader vote; a big thank you to everybody who voted.

"I haz a pic-a-nic" and "Who's the Daddy" have been nominated. The winners will be announced at the British Bear Fair on 12 December 2010 at the Brighton Racecourse.

Maria has recently completed a vacation in Minnesota, during which she completed a a study course on black bears. For those people that didn't see it, here is Maria's account of the experience that she wrote on Facebook.

several people have asked me to post an account of our experience here, so it won't whizz past and disappear, before they've had a chance to read....... so here goes.......but how do you start to adequately describe the most amazing and unforgettable experiences EVER? When we arrived at the field station on the sunday afternoon, there were already a few bears around - there are several feeding points around the cabin, some arranged over scales, so the bear's weights can be noted. Off to one side was a handily arranged "feeder" under a big pine tree - perfect for the rather shy Keefer and her three cubs, who had more or less taken up residence..........eat all day and shimmy up the pine to sleep! The other course participants arrived and we spent time chatting, unpacking and then sat down to a YUMMY dinner, cooked by Sharon (one of the NABC peeps, who came in three times a day to feed us - extremely well!). Lynn talked to us about the bears - and how we should behave, and what we should see/notice.........and then out we trooped to watch and listen to, in effect, an unfolding pageant of beary loveliness! Juliet came in with her three cubs; there were yearlings, including the sweet Ty, older bears in all shapes and sizes - Jo, Sarah ( a sweet bear who still has light patches on the backs of her ears), RC, and some of the BIG males..........and boy are they IMPRESSIVE! We watched Ty playing with an RC cub, which was an absolute delight - funny how they NEVER vocalise while "rassling"..........and we heard a few of the threatening "rumbles" between some of the BIG adults - "that's MY feeder - back off"........... I've no idea how long we watched.......but eventually HAD to drag ourselves off to bed, only to realise we had a bear just outside the window. Didn't really get much sleep the whole time we were there! Up at first light - more bears outside............. Our first trip out with Lynn, and we were looking for June..........walking along a trail with Lynn calling "it's ME bear" and "come June" - a rustle at shoulder height from a tree next to us, and out popped.....HOPE! She really is an exquisite, proper little bear now.........and Lily is every bit as beautiful as I'd expected. Not long after, who should come wandering up, but Momma June..........and Lily very determinedly saw her off! Lynn knew that Gordon & Co wanted to film him putting ribbons on June's collar, so he called them..........the arrival of their vehicle spooked June and she took off - so while Lynn and the crew went off to find her we all just plonked ourselves down in the shade! Struck me as really funny - a whole group of us, sitting in the middle of a track in the middle of nowhere - eventually the others joined us and sat down for a chat......and I have to say - Gordon is LOVELY! Back to the cabin for a lazy lunch then out to see Juliet and cubs........they were all up a tree, and only two of the cubs deigned to descend - Juliet was having nothing to do with visitors. As it was very hot and VERY humid, Lynn then gave us a real treat and took us out onto one of the lakes in a pontoon boat, to see the Loons.......a glorious experience. Back to base, and dinner (I think we managed to squeeze a lecture in sometime during the day).........and more bear watching - the gorgeous Shylow, Braveheart, big Harry......yearlings.........bears everywhere! Tuesday morning we caught up with Juliet and her cubs - ALL of them this time, and then went in search of Lily and Hope again - they weren't so obliging this time and lead us on a merry chase thru a swamp. NOT the easiest terrain to negotiate, and it filled me with admiration for Sue and Lynn, who'd do this for hours at a time! We eventually had to give up, but we did bump into another bear - Sue had asked Lynn to adjust her collar if we saw her - and as Lynn said - "done - now Sue will let us have our lunch"! In the afternoon we went out with Sue, studying bear tracks and signs - fascinating stuff. At one point, Jewel, June's daughter appeared, so Sue took the opportunity to put ribbons on her collar. Incidentally, the bears are wearing pink ( the colour was "flaming flamingo") yellow and green ribbons this season. Nothing in life is easy - these are made from duct tape, which has to be folded on itself, so it doesn't STICK to the bears.........and believe me , it isn't easy to get it right - that stuff is REALLY sticky! Back again (and I seem to remember we slotted in another lecture during the day)............and more bears to watch all evening. Ursula rocked up and got her ribbons too....... I hope this doesn't sound too "flat" - it's impossible to convey just how exciting every single minute was! There was just so much to see.....after years of carefully trimming the fur short on the inside of my bear's ears, I now realise that they actually have more hair INSIDE their ears than outside. And this story that bears poop in the woods - yeah, right! They poop ANYWHERE - even from the trees - too lazy to climb down! They snore LOUD - one of the guys on the second floor said he woke in the night and could hear FOUR people snoring......but he was AWAKE!?! Looked out the window, and there was a big bear - fast asleep- the fourth snorer. But most of all - they are all beautiful, from the big fat chunky males to some of the more elegantly-built girls........and the cubs are utterly enchanting. I urge any and all of you that get the chance to do one of the courses - DO IT! It's worth every penny.. Lynn and Sue were just wonderful - warm, kind , informative...........I feel SO privileged to have been there. We spent the last morning at the NABC........and Maggie, Celia (two English ladies) and I were plotting to go into Ely to try to find some black faux fur............we planned to disguise ourselves and sneak back to the field station......but I guess someone would have noticed the strange-looking, giggling "bears"?!?

There are some photographs. Click on this link to see them.

The raffle is now over and "Ted and Lucky" are on their way to their new home in Australia. We are pleased to announce that the raffle raised $1580 for the North American Bear Center. Thanks to you all for your generosity.

The URSAs

"Does My Bum Look Big in This?" and "Ted and Lucky" have been nomiinated for the URSAs – a competitiion run by the online magazine "Bears and Buds". The winners are decided by reader vote; if you would like to vote for Maria's creations (or for any of the other entries) visit the Bears and Buds Web site. If you voted last year, you may need to clear your cache before you can vote this year.

ABC Awards

"Does My Bum Look Big in This?" and "Bare Faced Cheek" have been nomiinated for the Australian Bear Creations (ABC) Awards. The winners are decided by readers' postal vote. You can vote in this competition by using the voting form on page 45 of the new edition (Vol 16 No 2) of the Australian Bear Creations magazine.

The raffle is now over and "Does My Bum Look Big in This?" is on her way to her new home. We are pleased to announce that the raffle raised a total of $1270 for the North American Bear Center. Thanks to you all for your generosity.

If you like Maria's "Does My Bum Look Big in This?", you can still buy her picture on a T-shirt from zazzle.com and all profits from the sale of th T-shirts go to The Wildlife Research Institute.

Following the success of the raffle for "Does My Bum Look Big in This?", Maria has decided to hold another raffle — this time for a pair of bears: "Ted and Lucky". As before, this is a raffle to help the the North American Bear Center and you can win this one-of-a-kind creation. To enter this raffle, go to the North American Bear Center website and click on the "Donate" button. Every $5 that you donate entitles you to one ticket in the raffle - just make your donations and send an e-mail to Maria, who will allocate your ticket numbers.

"Ted and Lucky" is a very special creation and Maria would not normally sell this pair for less than $700.

Remember that the North American Bear Center is a registered charity so you may be able to claim tax relief on your donations.

Maria is planning to run the raffle to the end of June (2010).

This is a raffle to help the the North American Bear Center and you can win this one-of-a-kind creation. To enter this raffle, go to the North American Bear Center website and click on the "Donate" button. Every $5 that you donate entitles you to one ticket in the raffle - just make your donations and send an e-mail to Maria, who will allocate your ticket numbers.

"Does My Bum Look Big in This?" is a very special creation and Maria would not normally sell this bear for less than $500.

Remember that the North American Bear Center is a registered charity so you may be able to claim tax relief on your donations.

Maria is planning to run the raffle to the end of May (2010).

Bear-faced Cheek

British Bear Artist Awards 2009

"Bear-faced Cheek", on the left, has been awarded a second place in the Dressed Bear class for bears taller than 16 inches.

Some computers do not recognize the built-in voting controls and you might not be able to vote as cookies were left in your computer from last year. Remove the cookies and continue to vote. Other computers do not recognize cookies, so multiple votes can happen. Auditing software monitors all the voting and, when discrepancies are found, the votes are corrected to keep the competition fair.

Torngasuk has returned from Japan and brought the TITA award with him. Torngasuk's page now has a picture of the award.

As an update on the British Bear Artist Awards 2008, Maria has learned that her polar bear was the winner of its class.

Maria has learned that her tableau "The Three Great Danes" has been nominated in the Taiwan Teddy Bear Association 2008 Creative Awards. Online voting for all the nominated bears is open until November 5 at this link. (Click on each thumbnail image to view each creation in full.)