creativity – Page 2 – ann wood handmade

It was a pretty cozy situation, hanging out by the fire watching paper vessels turn in the breeze. And that’s what I wanted to make. A cozy situation, a daydreaming place for anybody who chose to partake. A situation I think Mr. Roger’s would approve of. That is my barometer for lots of things – “what would Mr. Rogers think of this? What would Mr. Rogers do about this?” It never steers me wrong.

(photo by awesome @bailey.b.raha)

And the world needs more paper ships. This is my firm belief. I made lots of paper ships and boats over the last couple months to bring to the Squam Art Retreat. I hung an installation of them in the sweet little library, it’s my favorite room at the camp.

The smaller boats are quick and easy to make and I’ve made you a tutorial and templates for making your own. You can find that right here. And I’m teaching the larger ships in a workshop in October.

I love the retreat and I love that giant forest and I made the artwork for the tote bag this year! So happy with how it turned out.

And it was an exceptionally good year for mushrooms at Squam Lake. Big colorful mushrooms kept popping up all over the place. This one was just right for sheltering a tiny lady. You can find the free pattern for her little jacket and hat right here. Bundle up somebody little. It comes in Mr. socks size too.

Speaking of that mischievous cat I ran into some of the Socks cousin’s on a path, it was a happy meeting for everybody. You just never know who you might meet. As usual I was so busy being in the forest I hardly took any photos but you can find more images from the Squam Art Retreat right here.

In other news : The Owl Booklet starts shipping today! It turned out even better than I expected and I’m excited for you to get it. Thanks so much to everybody who pre-ordered. The first printing is just about sold out and there are more on the way.

Extreme mending, that’s what happens when you can’t let go. I can’t let go of this giant flannel shirt. I got it for a quarter at the Herkimer NY Goodwill in 2010. I started mending it a couple years ago, mostly just worn edges. Last winter it had some major sleeve blowouts and other serious issues. It was barely a shirt anymore but I remain too attached to part with it. I spent my 3 hour train ride to Vermont (more on that in a minute) stabilizing it. And now I’m plugging leaks. Besides my ridiculous attachment to it I like the process of this kind of meandering mending. And I like the result, the unexpected layers and combinations that turn up.

I’m mending my linen smock too where I have worn it thin, keeping it mostly pale. I’ll never part with it either and it will eventually be all patches. I’m good with that.

100 days of creativity

The Hundred Day Project starts on Tuesday April 2. It’s a free art project that takes place online. Every spring, people all around the world commit to 100 days of creativity. Are you participating? I sort of am. I do a little painting or drawing everyday anyway so I think that counts. All you need to do is commit to a project (big or small or very small) and tag your instagram posts with #The100DayProject. You can do anything, You could mend something if you like.

This blog started with a similar experiment. It was a little different, I committed to making 100 cardboard horses. I made one Monday through Friday and gave myself the weekend off. Much like my daily practice now, somedays I loved it and some days I most certainly did not. But I know now I need it.

If you decide to participate I can offer you some of what I’ve learned:

* Be realistic about time. The amount of time you commit can be very small and still have lots of benefits.

* Have a plan for the bad days, a minimal but acceptable effort. And accept the bad days. Everybody will have lots of them. I have some very bad days and post some real stinkers.

* It’s helpful to do it around the same time everyday. Your subconscious gets on board after a while and shows up with ideas.

* Think of it as an opportunity to listen to yourself and maybe get glimpses into your singular and powerful imagination that you would not otherwise get. Plus new instagram friends.

And if you feel like making your daily art a cardboard horse feel free – there is a whole tutorial here. And as an added bonus when you’re done you have a stampede.

Back to Vermont.

I took the train up to Warm Brook Barn in Vermont to teach at their Maple Harvest retreat with French General. The group was lovely and intensely creative. We made silk necklaces, talismans, beeswax candles, wax seals and lambs in pants. There was a beautiful snowstorm of almost exactly the right duration and intensity and It was all generally a blast. And I loved exploring all the fabulous details of the old houses.

PS- If you’d like to make a little sled it’s super easy – I found a tutorial here.

And PPS – A rare occurrence – I’m usually like a ninja, a lamb in pants making stealthy ninja. I was captured in the wild in Vermont, caught in the act, sneaking up on a sledding lamb in pants for a photo.