creatures in prospect park

April 11, 2010
by annwood

prospect spider

The  weekend was beautiful,  the park is blooming and it’s spectacular.

orlando3

The spider and owl (orlando) will both be in the shop  later this week  along with lots  of other new things. I’ll continue to post previews here  as I get the new stuff photographed.  I’ve been in extreme busyness for weeks, not in a miserable way, but definitely too much and I’m  looking forward to slowing down  a little and having time to work  on some new things and ideas and I have some interesting garments and flea market things to show you too.

bats

March 26, 2010
by annwood

batseliot

“A woman drew her long black hair out tight  And fiddled whisper music on those strings  And bats with baby faces in the violet light  Whistled, and beat their wings’ – T.S.Eliot

mrs. brown’s skirt

March 23, 2010
by annwood

I love it when there’s a label.

mrs.brown tag

I’m curious about Mrs. F. C. Brown and what she was up to in 1917.  Her skirt is very sensible with pockets and a modest train.  The fabric is fabulous.

mrsbrownsskirt

* note on the photo- I’m not giant, the chair is mini – I got it at the flea market a couple weeks ago.

It was fun to try on and I was surprised by how good it felt, the way it moved, the  pleasant weight of it and  how the little train felt behind me, it isn’t in wearable condition though, and I probably shouldn’t add “wears period clothes” to what I already have going on anyway. I’m going to make a collection of things from it, the first is a mrs. brown spider.

mrsbspider

new birds

March 12, 2010
by annwood

springwedding_3

I’ve added some new little birds and sweetheart sets to the shop and I’m working towards the next update which will include boats, bats, spiders, ballerinas and owls, they will be in the shop within a couple weeks. Please join my mailing list if you would like to be notified when  new things are available.

things to do on a rainy day

March 11, 2010
by annwood

rainydayship

I made the ship above  as a prop for a TV commercial a couple years ago.  I assembled some boxes and parts of boxes into a shipish shape and then added all sorts of stuff – pipe cleaners, dixie cups, part of a birthday crown, wooden ice cream spoons, buttons, felt, etc. etc. The castle collage below was for an ad as well. I think they would be fun for little people to make ( with some grown up help).

castleflat

Both  involve using the die cut sections of boxes for details .  I can’t resist a good piece of cardboard – I live near a fancy grocery and their recycling is full cartons and boxes with  interesting cutouts and shapes.

cardboard

boxes

March 4, 2010
by annwood

Everything I make starts in a box and then lives there until it’s done. The boxes are  for organization – keeping the many little bits for many little projects together and they are also a thinking tool  and  most importantly  a way to start, it is very easy to put things in a box.

owlbox3

I love Twyla Tharp’s book, The Creative Habit. Here’s a little of what she has to say about boxes:

“The box makes me feel organized, that I have my act together even when I don’t know where I’m going yet. It also represents a commitment. The simple act of writing a project name on a box means that I’ve started work”

birdbox2

I have different sorts of boxes for different sorts of projects. You could also  make your own box or use a basket – project bags are great too.

snow

February 25, 2010
by annwood

One of the first really old things I bought  for making things was a purple silk bodice that was in wretched condition. The silk itself was mostly unusable-  it disintegrates when you touch it .

purple bodice

a sewing pattern for a dastardly owl

 

I was originally interested in the buttons, the fantastic buttons,  flinty piercing eyes, they inspired my first owl,  but when I began to take it apart I found a variety of tiny prints and lovely indigo ,  hidden and preserved in the foundation.  They ‘re mostly gone now – used in owl ears and beaks and spiders but yesterday I found one more piece of my favorite print  inside a cuff. I think it’s  enough for a beak for the fellow in the background  and maybe a spider too.

 interfacing

It is snowing like nobody’s business in Park Slope.

parkslopesnow