on my worktable today

March 14, 2013
by annwood

I’m finishing up  boat orders this week – if you’re waiting for one they will all be off by Monday.  Merry Wobblers are preparing to board their boats, raise their sales and depart.

wobblers and boats

So long Wobblers.

I’m also working on a collection of new Fortuny creatures for their Venice showroom. I stopped by the New York showroom last week and got lots of  beautiful and inspiring fabric to work with.

P.S. If you are in NY or will be before March 30th  there is a wonderful  exhibit at  the  Queen Sofía Spanish Institute curated by  Oscar de la Renta of  of the work of Fortuny y Madrazo  (1871–1949).

a remarkable collection of vintage greeting cards

March 13, 2013
by annwood

Thanks so much to everybody who turned up at the Surplus Sale on Sunday. I’m gathering things for the next sale and   I photographed my collection of vintage greeting cards today.  It is mostly 1970’s, some older and it is spectacular. And huge – more than two and a half pounds.

I got this collection 5 or 6 years ago at the park slope flea-market – it was part of someones estate.   This lady was a pioneer – she was scrapbooking before it was invented – some of the cards are  very carefully cut -I guess to be part of a collage or  gift tags or maybe new cards populated with mismatched characters ( I love that idea).

The vase has glitter on it. So good.

surplus sale : previews

March 10, 2013
by annwood

Happy daylight savings time!  It was a magnificent spring like day in Brooklyn. I spent a lot of it taking last minute photos for tonight’s sale. I’m featuring mostly  textiles this weekend  ( next weekend is paper) and here are a couple more previews of what will be available at the surplus sale tonight at 9PM (EST).

painting progress

March 6, 2013
by annwood

week 10  in my  “this is where i am from” year long project:

I’m working on the depression era dump painting, it took some frustration and some hours for me to figure out I was going to have to take my time with this. The place is such a rich and vivid memory for me I want to express it as fully as I’m able. It’s slow work that I’m very happy doing.

I indulged in my favorite paints – lascaux – and a cradled gessoed board. I haven’t invested in good painting supplies in a long time and it’s such a pleasure – I love the texture and flatness of the lascaux.

I’ll share this little detail with you today – the leafy forest floor and some lovely old junk poking through – and I’ll probably post a little bit of  progress on instagram later this week.

surplus shop : dress parts

March 5, 2013
by annwood

I’m spending a little bit of each day photographing things for my surplus shop sale and a little bit of each night editing and writing descriptions.   I plan to have weekly updates (until I run out of stuff) beginning this Sunday  ( 3/10) evening – it’s my favorite day of the year- the beginning of daylight savings time, sunset at 6:45 PM !  I don’t even mind losing the hour of sleep.


All the photos above are of tattered antique  dress parts – you can see all the preview photos I’ve taken so far here. This afternoon I’m going to sort through this box of bits and pieces – vintage millinery mostly.

surplus shop : gowns and lace

February 28, 2013
by annwood

I’ve been photographing more  things for the upcoming studio sale – a virtual stoop sale of some of my treasures, experiments  and supplies.  After considiering lots of options I’ve decided to host this sale on etsy.   I’ll give you more info as I figure things out but I’ll begin listing things for sale  at the end of next week and  will be posting  more previews here this week and next. As always you can join my mailing list updates.

I’m beginning with textiles – lace and gowns  mostly.  It hurts to let them go  but I’ve used what I can use. They are undone, tattered beauties- sometimes in pieces.

I’m also sorting through tangles of lace  and  dress parts and creating little collections – there’s some interesting stuff.

accidental terrariums

February 27, 2013
by annwood

week 9  in my  “this is where i am from” year long project:

I’m working on a painting of the little depression era dump next to Ginger’s barn. The sketch below is of one of the treasures you might find in that spot –  an accidental terrarium – a jar or bottle or even just a piece of glass that has become a mini greenhouse – a winter home to growing  things – foggy and misty and otherworldly inside.

It is a magical thing to come upon on a cold brown winter forest floor.  You can see some examples of accidental terrariums here , here and here and if you have found one I’d love to see. I’ve almost finished the charcoal sketch on the board I’m going to paint on. Besides the little terrariums there is lots of marvelous old timey junk, the  stone wall that went impossibly on and on and the dancing sumac trees with their strange velvety red bobs, leaves gone for winter.

rat

February 26, 2013
by annwood

rat_sm

A  rat!  In silver and grey Fortuny fabric, with a little antique lace ascot  and a condescending manner.

rat

he considers you briefly,  offers a perfunctory farewell

And is off to his castle

rat and castle

a new shape on my worktable

February 25, 2013
by annwood

I’m working on a new shape, a new creature.  For me this is all about persistence: lots of drafts, prototypes , experiments, failures and adjustments.  So many failures and adjustments – these are just some:

 

newshape_2

Over the weekend I felt close enough to the shape I was looking for to cleanup the pattern and try one in  good fabric. After a few more pattern refinements and  adjustments  I finished a little  fellow made from beautiful  silvery grey Fortuny fabric tonight and I’m going to photograph him in the morning  – here’s a little shadow preview of him  on an evening stroll through the toadstools.

map – a beginning

February 20, 2013
by annwood

This is the beginning of a map of the territory of my childhood. I’ve begun pretty much in the middle – our little red house with the barns behind, The house across the street and the house next door. The hill behind the house across the street was a forest of huge red pines. The dried amber pine needles carpeted the west facing slope and it glowed in the afternoon. The house next door had a grove of sumac trees behind ( upper right of this map) and past those trees, next to Ginger’s barn, was a depression era dump – a little one. Bottles and jugs, buckets, upholstery springs, ancient roller-skates, piggybanks and broken china – everyday things from a long time ago all rusty and ruined,  waiting to be excavated by curious children. It was my childhood deadhorse bay and one of my favorite places – I’m going to zoom in on that spot for next week.