Teddy bears at first appear trivial: playthings for children and symbols of innocence, comfort, and nostalgia. But the teddy bear is also an allegory for the way humans manipulate the natural world to our own ends. The anatomy of the teddy bear is designed to appeal to the biological response of human adults to care for their cute, round-featured, helpless babies. The tiny, sharp teeth in my teddys’ skulls serve as a reminder of the apex predator that inspired them. 

To create my teddy bear natural history pieces I start with various breeds and reverse engineer the physical 'evidence' of their biological history in needle-felted wool, a material perfectly suited to representing fuzzy and soft yet firm and structural bones and tissues of stuffed animals.

Learn about the origin story of felted wool teddy bear skulls through my UnNatural History blog. Shop for photographic prints, tee shirts, and stickers in my online UnNatural Designs store, or commission your own sculptural skeletal portrait of your favorite teddy bear.