ann wood

week 11 in my  “this is where i am from” year long project: A little more progress on my depression era dump painting.

( you can click the image for a larger view)

And thanks to Laura from Duo Fiberworks for sharing this link  to an accidental terrarium she found with her son.

week 10  in my  “this is where i am from” year long project:

I’m working on the depression era dump painting, it took some frustration and some hours for me to figure out I was going to have to take my time with this. The place is such a rich and vivid memory for me I want to express it as fully as I’m able. It’s slow work that I’m very happy doing.

I indulged in my favorite paints – lascaux – and a cradled gessoed board. I haven’t invested in good painting supplies in a long time and it’s such a pleasure – I love the texture and flatness of the lascaux.

I’ll share this little detail with you today – the leafy forest floor and some lovely old junk poking through – and I’ll probably post a little bit of  progress on instagram later this week.

week 9  in my  “this is where i am from” year long project:

I’m working on a painting of the little depression era dump next to Ginger’s barn. The sketch below is of one of the treasures you might find in that spot –  an accidental terrarium – a jar or bottle or even just a piece of glass that has become a mini greenhouse – a winter home to growing  things – foggy and misty and otherworldly inside.

It is a magical thing to come upon on a cold brown winter forest floor.  You can see some examples of accidental terrariums here , here and here and if you have found one I’d love to see. I’ve almost finished the charcoal sketch on the board I’m going to paint on. Besides the little terrariums there is lots of marvelous old timey junk, the  stone wall that went impossibly on and on and the dancing sumac trees with their strange velvety red bobs, leaves gone for winter.

This is the beginning of a map of the territory of my childhood. I’ve begun pretty much in the middle – our little red house with the barns behind, The house across the street and the house next door. The hill behind the house across the street was a forest of huge red pines. The dried amber pine needles carpeted the west facing slope and it glowed in the afternoon. The house next door had a grove of sumac trees behind ( upper right of this map) and past those trees, next to Ginger’s barn, was a depression era dump – a little one. Bottles and jugs, buckets, upholstery springs, ancient roller-skates, piggybanks and broken china – everyday things from a long time ago all rusty and ruined,  waiting to be excavated by curious children. It was my childhood deadhorse bay and one of my favorite places – I’m going to zoom in on that spot for next week.