on my work table

September 24, 2013
by annwood

Owls. And a blue velvet songbird.

I get pretty excited about fall and to celebrate I pulled out my houndstooth wool.  I’m also working on a blue velvet songbird and another owl  made from a  textile from Sri Threads.  It is one of my all time most favorite fabrics – I can barely stand to use it. I think if I had miles of it I would never get tired of it. Here’s a closer look – it’s a thick  heavy weave and the pattern is incredible.

And I made a little more progress on the songbird.

Another fall ritual for me is taking a group of little birds out to prospect park for a photo ( I do it every spring too).  It was a big adventure.

the swamp

September 18, 2013
by annwood

week 38 in my “this is where i am from” year long project: When I am frustrated, or stuck or unhappy with my brain I always benefit from constraints and happenstance. That is where I was this week so today I chose a subject: the swamp (the swamp I loved) behind the house I grew up in in Massachusetts and worked with what was on hand: The Sunday Times.   As an exercise I recommend it – it worked well for me today – I feel the gears turning again.

polyester pants and the revolutionary war

September 11, 2013
by annwood

week 37 in my “this is where i am from” year long project:

In the winter of 1976 I had occasion to have dinner with a large group of fully outfitted revolutionary war enthusiasts and re-enactors. I had on plaid russet colored polyester and acrylic elastic waist pants and a slightly shimmery blue polyester shirt with a giant collar that I bought with my own money. It all felt pretty awkward. There was a particularly excruciatingly long moment where I had to stand on the little town hall stage and have my picture taken. I remember wondering “how much worse is this going to get?” and wishing the little stage would swallow me up, and being super into the dudes in costumes. Being 11 is no joke.

map – high tension lines

September 4, 2013
by annwood

week 36 in my “this is where i am from” year long project:

The far northern edge of my map – the high tension lines. There were wild blueberries around the lines and  a rocky stream that ran down a long hill.  I dug clay out of the stream bed and made useless little things.  The stream had a little haphazard bridge over it where it intersected a well used path through the woods and on the other side of that became a little swamp with lilly pads and white lotus flowers.

superchunk

August 27, 2013
by annwood

I’m so out of the habit of sharing what all is going on over here – I blame Facebook – it has made me, or allowed me to be,  blog lazy and that is a mistake in lots of ways.  Way back in July , when it was very, very hot,  I had an extra fun project working on  a diorama for Superchunk’s new video for Me & You & Jackie Mittoo” a song from their brand new album ” I Hate Music”.

(click the image for a larger view)

The diorama is cut paper and features  photos of lots people holding records. From Mac McCaughan: “‘Me & You & Jackie Mittoo’ is a song about bonding over records, & the role music can play in your life & relationships. We asked friends, family and some of our favorite record stores to collect photographs of people holding an album that is meaningful to them in some way — not necessarily ‘favorite’ though we’re sure plenty of them are.

The photos are incredible and there are hundreds of them. I was surprised by how sweet  and touching they all are- they made me love people in general a little extra.

We shot the video in my tiny place in brooklyn on the hottest day of the year – lots of dudes and equipment.  It was directed by my brilliant friend Phil Morrison and shot by Mott Hupfel – it was a blast – so much fun.

You can watch the video below or here:

treasures from sri threads

August 3, 2013
by annwood

I found a large unexpected box in my vestibule last tuesday morning.

Magnificent and inspiring treasures from Stephen Szczepanek.  I spent the rest of the morning having a marvelous time, unpacking it very, very slowly.  So much to think about.

There is a fascinating post on The Sri blog right now about stitched amulets. I didn’t know about this practice and Stephen writes about it beautifully,  it begins ” In Japan, there is a certain magic associated with stitching”.