(Galia Kharebava)

by Pam North

Galia Kharebava  was born and raised in Georgia, located at the eastern end of the Black Sea, the first non-Baltic republic of the Soviet Union to officially declare independence. She moved with her family to St. Petersburg during the war, and lived there most of her life, returning two years ago to Georgia, her homeland. Now she and her husband, Roma, and their French bulldog, Gryusha,  live in Tbilisi, Georgia’s capital city.  
Galia started her career at a toy factory in St. Petersburg as a designer of toys, but the work was not satisfactory for her, as there was nothing left from her initial ideas because there were changes at every stage.
I remember very well the day when I first had an idea to make a bear. I was just looking at something on the internet and suddenly I saw a teddy bear! "I want to make him!" - I said. This idea was so weird, but it excited me so much, to the point of trembling in my hands, that I just couldn't ignore it! So I sewed my first bear, which turned out surprisingly beautiful. Although I had never sewn at all in my life. I didn't have any training, it was all very intuitive. But I did it! And I was very happy about that. 
That was over ten years ago! Probably I was one of the first teddists in St.-Petersburg, my works were in all the salons! It was so great! In 2015 I was invited by the Marstall Museum in Winsen, Germany, for a solo exhibition. I remember there were posters of me and my teddy bears all over the place, a local newspaper wrote about me, it was magical!
I make mostly big teddy bears, but also little bears, foxes, bunnies. I had a collection of black rabbits in beautiful hats and costumes, I dedicated them to my English Bulldog who died of cancer. Each one had a symbol of time, life and death hidden in its costume.  Sometimes I model something in plastic, some fantasy animals and birds. I very much like to make armor for my bears. Bears are warriors who protect their owners from all disasters.
I often buy master classes from other artists, it is always interesting to learn new things and learn. It helps to make my work more diverse and interesting. 
I love working with German faux fur for teddy bears, I rarely use mohair.  I work with different techniques. Some of my bears have skeleton in the whole body, some only in the neck, some are just on disc braces, plastic birds can be still or only wings can move, some have costumes or armor, there are bears with movable jaw, some are classic, even without fingers. I make very different toys, it all depends on my mood.
I think the hardest part of my job is to do marketing - that's what I'm not good at, it always ruins my mood.
 
The most pleasant thing in my work is the appreciation of collectors, the way they are happy when they get the bear, what emotions they feel. It's always a great pleasure, it inspires me to do better and more bears.
I work in my home, it's probably the best place for me. Always near my husband and my dog and a fridge full of food of course)))) I tried to rent a studio but the thought of having to go somewhere to work depresses me
My work is represented on tedsby.com on Instagram and Facebook
I used to do workshops to create the classic teddy bear. Now I am looking for a new style to make my classes interesting not only for beginners but also for craftsmen.
Teddy bears are as much art as sculpture or painting. There will always be ups and downs. Maybe the work of teddy bear artists will be at its peak, a hundred years from now, and our work will be worth ten times as much, or maybe not. The teddy bear world is very small, for example in Georgia, where I live, they don't know anything about it at all. But there are true collectors and connoisseurs, they allow us to develop and make real art by buying our work for the right price. An artist should not be poor! I think it's money that allows you to develop, to live well and to be happy - and this is very important for an artist. 
But personally I believe that my name will go down in history.
Email:  potaturinagalina@gmail.com

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