artist bear

Maurice the Gorilla: work in progress

Apes and Animals

I’ve been working on this sweet baby mountain gorilla. He’s made in the same basic style as my other needle felted and plush apes, but with fabric hands and feet. I also put a new kind of armature in him that I’ve not used before. It makes him totally pose-able which is ever so fun! He’s not quite finished, but I couldn’t wait to share.

He is about 18-20″ tall from head to foot. When he is finished and available to purchase, I will send updated photos and purchase information to the mailing list. I am not taking reserves or pre-orders for him, but subscribers will be the first ones given an opportunity to buy!

Next on my list after this gorilla baby is another ape in the same style–either an albino gorilla, albino chimp or albino orangutan–I can’t decide!

An earlier progress shot next to a photo of the inspirational photo of a real gorilla baby

Realistic baby chimpanzee doll

Apes and Animals

I wanted to take a moment to highlight one of my favorite dolls which was made to order for a lovely customer back in the spring. This is my chimpanzee baby doll, made with luxurious faux fur fabric and a highly detailed face made by hand with the needle felting technique.

The ears, hands and feet are also made with wool. The baby is the same size as a real baby chimp and is lightly weighted with floppy arms.

This is the kind of ape doll I dreamed of owning as a child. It is so fun to hold and cuddle. The techniques I use result in a doll that is not fragile and even though I don’t make these dolls for children, I feel that as an adult collector, the lack of fragility still really improves the appeal of the doll. While you won’t be dragging it around or throwing it across the room (I hope!) it’s really amazing to be able to hold and pose these dolls and not have to worry about them breaking or coming apart.

This style of doll is available in any ape species. If you’d like one of your own, make sure you’re signed up for my mailing list. Subscribers get first dibs when new babies are available and are the first notified if/when I have made to order slots available.