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