I usually just post my phone pictures on facebook or instagram – but theses are a few favorites from this past summer in upstate NY. Happy 2012.
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I’m working on a little group of things – bats and perching owls mostly. I’ll put some of these things in the shop next week – most likely in time for delivery (in the US) before Christmas.
And The winners of the first ever ann wood handmade caption contest ! The voter chosen at random ( # generated by random.org) is:
comment # 15 – Geiger. Who is apparently a black cat with a recently replaced hip.
And for a variety of reasons I have decided to award birds to the top 2 vote getters and those winners ( it was very close) are:
7. Lauren
and
8. Cari
Thank you and Happy Holidays to all participants ! (winners – I’ll be in touch for address etc.)
P. S. - Another first ever for me – I’m going to teach a workshop!! (boat making). I’m something beyond excited about this and plan to go on and on about it next week but you can find more info right now here if you like.
Update: comments are closed, votes are being counted , winners announced later today. ****************************************************************************
Thanks to all of you – a panel of expert judges has, with difficulty, narrowed the field to twelve and a winner will be chosen by your vote. Also, as a thanks for your time, imagination and enthusiasm 2 prizes will be awarded – one bundled up bird for the caption contest winner and another bird will be awarded to a name chosen at random from the voters. Please vote by number (and only once) in the comments section of this post and I’ll announce both winners by the end of the day Friday.
1. patty “Now watch me friends, as I restores this lad to ‘is full strength with Dr. Bulfinch’s Magic Potion!”
2. gayle ortiz
3. Lindsey
4. Jennifer Cheek-Payan “Honest guys, he just fell”
5. Linda Richter
6. Kristin
7. Lauren
8. Cari
9. Brian GadgetSponge
10. Shelby Medina
11. Polly Anna
12. Janet Wilson I spent the larger part of the day packing and shipping things – that will occupy about half of tomorrow too. I secretly enjoy it.
Today was mostly birds and tomorrow larger things – ships. Later this week I’ll post my very inexpensive but effective method for shipping large -ish fragile things – so check back if that’s of interest.
And just for fun – a caption contest! A while back Lisa of a thread from the edge suggessted a caption contest. I think it’s a brilliant suggestion and if you check out the comments to this post you can see some of her caption ideas – so funny and perfect. And a prize! A winner will be chosen by a yet to be determined method - either a vote or a panel of expert judges and the best caption gets their very own bundled up bird!
Everyone is welcome to participate – just create a caption for this photo and leave it in the comment section:
(you can click the image for a larger version if that helps you with your captioning) A winner will be chosen next Wednesday 12/14. I’m busy working on new birds and ships and boats - I’ll add them to the shop this Thursday. Here’s a preview of a couple new things:
Please join the mailing list at my shop if you would like an email when they are available. I can hardly believe I’m included in this book – it is magnificent in every way. I think Olivier Dupon has created something very special. In less expert hands this wealth of information might have been overwhelming or the spirit could have been lost but Olivier presents it with simplicity and real elegance – you are never distracted from the central idea: that this is a book about love of craft, process and materials or Olivier’s true affection for the subject. Find the book: http://www.thamesandhudsonusa.com/new/fall11/551585.htm on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-New-Artisans/108346249261751 Olivier’s blog: http://dossier37.tumblr.com/
“This book captures the new mood – a return to a preference for the unique and the handmade. Design expert and acclaimed blogger Olivier Dupon has sourced the cream of the contemporary design world from all over Europe, Australia and the United States, profiling 75 artisans who use craft techniques, rather than mass-production methods, to create stylish, whimsical, covetable objects. Hundreds of colour photographs feature a huge variety of crafts, including art, ceramics, furniture, glasswork, jewelry, lighting, metalwork, papercraft, textiles and woodwork. Complete with a directory of products, and Dupon’s personal recommendations for inspiring shops and websites to visit, this is the perfect resource for discovering unique and beautiful objects made by new, talented artisans from all around the world.” This antique gown arrived a while ago. I think it’s Edwardian but it was definitely reworked at some point - it has fasteners and hardware and repairs that were added later. I guess it has had many lives.
The peach silk is almost all shattered, it’s torn, stained and many of the seams have let go but the gauze, sheer silk lining and lace are still strong. First I’m making a bird.
*update:
The dark things collection begins appearing today with owls. ( I don’t trust the little one on the right).
I made this playhouse a little while ago for Clare Crespo’s Yummyfun Kooking. It’s made of cardboard boxes, bits of found wood, foil, plastic and lots and lots of popsicle sticks. I had a blast making it and it was a nice shift of gears and a good “brain opener”. Clare is filming some new episodes of the Yummyfun Kooking show and I can’t wait to see the playhouse in action. I’m a huge fan of C. Crespo and Yummyfun - if you are not already familiar I recommend you check it out, most especially if you have little folks. There’s a recipe club and everything where you get stuff in the mail!
I’m working on some new songbirds, hoping to finish today. They will be in the shop by the end of the week along with a small collection of other new things.
And another sort of songbird: Listen, enjoy and then vote! (voting over- she won!) For Julia Haltigan for the Deli Magazine artist of the month.
I haven’t gone to the park to take pictures in a long time and it was lovely – today was a perfect day – sunny breezy and 80 degrees.
(I’ve just added this group of birds in the shop) Thank you all so much for your thoughtful questions and generous comments. And here are your answers:
why owls? do they hold a special meaning for you?
The owls evolved out of the birds. When I was working out the bird pattern I tried to make one from wool that was much to heavy and the shape got wonky. It turned into a little owl. That made me think of a lot of other heavy wools and tweeds I had and how owly they were and I started making larger owls. For a long time I just made the same owl over and over again – ian – the first full size owl made in 2006 I think ( named for ian mcshane whom I love).
Shirley
Hi Shirley – Right now I’m not able to take custom orders. It just isn’t possible time – wise at the moment but I hope I can soon. I’d love to see your great grandmother’s dress.
Stephanie
valeriepica
I find things all over and sometimes they find me. Looking for things is a huge part of the fun for me. I go to lots of flea markets locally and sometimes antique clothing shows. I have a couple dealers I work with and ebay is a great source too – I check daily. And people give me things – my friend Stephen Szczepanek sends me incredible packages.
Thought process : that’s a big question but part of the answer is : I love fabric. I always have. Even during periods of my life when I didn’t sew I collected it. And before that my mother collected it for me. I still have a stash of fabric she saved or collected for me – picked up at flea markets etc. Things full of memories and possibilities. rachel
This is my only source of income and it is hard. If I didn’t enjoy making these things so much it would be impossible. It would be much more reasonable to do this somewhere other than NY city and that may happen someday.
the drape next to your bed looks like it has been a work in progress over time, did you find scrap lace and hand sew them all together at once or did you just keep adding until you were satisfied (if you are satisfied yet!)? how long did it take to complete this? absolutely beautiful, ann.
The drapes and curtains here are a functional thing but I do love the way they look. A couple years ago I started pinning bits of lace and dissected garments to them – as a way of keeping track of little bits – keeping them in front of me for inspiration. It has worked well and grown into something I really love.
Star B.
I use both hand stitching and a machine – a vintage white – it belonged to my mother and I learned to sew on it. I sew simple seams on the machine and more complicated curvy tiny things by hand. A lot of what I make is very small or has very small details. I also like to sew things inside out ( on the machine or by hand) and then turn them right side out, stuff them and sculpt the shape from the outside with hand stitching.
lynn
I have not produce a book but I would very much like to in the near future.
Do you do workshops or tutorials.
I’ve been publishing tutorials on my blog for a while and will continue to. I’ll be teaching workshops for the first time in 2012 ( and also possibly something later this year too) and will share details on that soon. Send an email to info at ann wood handmade with workshop as the subject if you’d like to be updated on that. |
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Copyright © 2012 ann wood - All Rights Reserved 
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