My Nan used to tell me as a child that when my Teddy was threadbear and his stuffing was coming out it was because I had filled him so full with my love there wasn't enough room for some of the stuffing too. This is what I was thinking about as I painted the old Ted. You can see from the old man's eyes and whole demeanor how much he loves his bear and I wanted this love to be visible on the bear too.
If there is any one thing that symbolises
childhood it's a Teddy bear. Every parent watches with wonder as their baby goes from chewing
on their favourite bear to making him dance around and tell stories. As your child bestows a particular personality on a Teddy you start to play along, and soon you're as attached as the child.
But children grow up and they give up their toys. Often parents though cannot give up the symbol of their children's childhood so easily and so put that bear away safely.
Before we know days turn to months and months into years,
Time is mapped with laughter and cheers,
the long road sometimes landmarked with sadness and tears.
Elders pass and children grow,
has it been that long we ask, where does time go?
Ryan Guerrero
and then one day, the child that was finds his beloved bear again
and with it his childhood memories and feeling of love and attachment for his bear come flooding back as if the time between then and now never happened. In his heart he is that child once more.
Ona
