Category: Uncategorized

dark owl progress

June 27, 2010
by annwood

dark owl

I was  sitting by a window working on an owl on Sunday- a new dark owl ( made from a variety of 19th century garments and the backing of an old quilt) and I heard an unmistakable sound outside, the clippity clop of a horse going by. I almost didn’t look because it’s never happened before and I thought I was imagining it.

clippity clop

I love horses and grew up with a big Shetland pony named Ginger.

ginger1969That’s me and my stylish father and Ginger in 1970. We were building bird houses. I was 4 and I  remember the day distinctly.  Ginger was an interesting character – he had very definite ideas about things. He lives on a beautiful farm for old horses now.

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.

bonbon raffle

December 11, 2008
by annwood

Deb of bonbon oiseau has assembled a lovely collection of things in a great basket that is being raffled to benefit the food bank of NYC.

I’m very happy to contribute a pair of birds – pearl and minter

pearl has a fancy corsage.

You can get all the details about the basket and purchase a ticket (ten dollars online and five dollars in person) right here. You have until 5pm on December 21st to enter.

cardboard castle #2

October 2, 2008
by annwood

I finished my second cardboard castle and it’s in the window at Johnson at 179 Orchard street. There are also some doug rhodehamel style mushrooms and a couple little creatures roaming around. I had lots of fun making it and it was good thinking exercise for my sometimes too buttoned up brain. I took some pictures of it here before we brought it over.

The back of the castle has some little holes you can peek into. I couldn’t really properly photograph what you see inside, there are ghosts at a ball in one, an enchanted horse in another and miss havisham is held prisoner in a tower (her picture didn’t turn out at all).

The castle will be in the window at Johnson until October 31st . Unfortunately this is my last window for Johnson, Mrs. Johnson is closing at the end of the month. I’ll really miss doing her window. I started doing it for fun and it ended up changing my life in interesting and good ways, Thank you MJ.

1910

February 7, 2008
by annwood

I just got a great box of old fabric, it’s very old- 1900-1910 but most of it is unused. The pieces are cut in pattern shapes so I’m guessing it originally came from a tailor’s or dressmaker’s estate. My estate has a lot of birds in it. Anyway, it found it’s way to me and I love the little prints, especially the black and whites. The one on the lower right makes me think of Lena Corwin’s blog ( as always,you can click the image for a better view).

31910prints.jpg

And something else: little bird couples all dressed up and waiting to have their official portrait taken.

3queue.jpg