Rabbitat – part 4 (stitched signature)

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The last part of the animated title sequence in the Rabbitat film (which just hit 2001 views!) includes this stitched signature. We wanted my name to appear below the title made of found objects, so I wrote the script out in a simple line of stitches.

On tissue paper, I wrote out my name in pen and then pinned the paper to a stretched piece of black felt. I then stitched through the paper, tracing the lines with orange Perle cotton, making one continuous line. Removing the paper afterwards was a tedious mess. I cut as much as I could with scissors and pulled out the small bits with tweezers, making sure not to leave bits of white showing on the black background. I’m sure that I could have found a better method, like water soluble paper, but I didn’t want to get it wet.

We stabilized the camera by strapping it to a stack of books.

We used a tripod and clamps to hold the stretcher upright and rigid, so that I could access the back.

Daniel took pictures as I pulled out one stitch at a time. Through the magic of filmmaking, he put all of the photos together to make it look like the signature was written out in stitches and added it to the rest of the title sequence. The process took several hours for a few seconds of action in the film, but we think it was worth it.

To see the film and read other posts in the Rabbitat series click here. 

cruise to Cuttyhunk (part 1)

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On a calm day earlier in August, before Irene blew up our way, my husband and I took our boat to Cuttyhunk Island. It’s only an hour ride from Woods Hole to this little gem at the end of the chain of Elizabeth Islands. In the harbor, we met up with our friends Ben and Julie and they rafted their sail boat up to our boat.

We took our dingy to shore, walked around the town and passed the public library.

We had a lobster dinner.

And walked back down to the dock to take our dingy back to our mooring.

On the way, we passed acorn stand in a golf cart which operated on the honor system .

As the sun went down and the moon came up, we returned to our boat and spent a peaceful night on our boat in Cuttyhunk harbor.

to be continued…

Cruise to Cuttyhunk (part 2)

Rabbitat – part 3 (title animation)

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Now that summer activities have slowed down, I can get back to writing about the making of Rabbitat.  This post will show the letters that I made for the film’s title animation. See  the completed film  here.  I was originally just going to spell out the word Rabbitat in found objects. Then the filmmaker (Daniel Cojanu) and I decide to try our hand at some spot action animation.

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I formed the letters with driftwood, adding embroidered felt vegetation to complete the shapes. One “B” features a roving, rounded vine made of felt covered wire. The thorns are thread wrapped wire.

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And a “T” is crossed with thread wrapped wire branches laden with felt leaves and bead berries.

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I found just the right beach stone for the other “B” and used a green mushroom, which is a florist product, for the rounded top of the “R”. For the filming we used a solid black felt background.

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We started with the word Rabbitat spelled out and then moved each piece about a 1/4 inch for each shot.

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Every piece had its own path to follow, so the 2 of us had to keep track of several objects at once. Instead of trying to construct the letters from a pile of objects, we deconstructed the word and then reversed the order of  the hundreds of photographs, so it looks like we built it in the film.

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When we were ready to shoot, I bought some vegetables to include; a carrot, a parsnip and a peapod.  It took us many hours to move and photograph the letters for what would become a 15 second title sequence. After working side by side for most of a day, moving little objects a tiny distance at a time, Daniel and I weren’t frustrated at all. We said to each other,”That was fun!”.

The next post in this series will be about my animated stitched signature from the Rabbitat title. For other posts in the Rabbitat series click here.

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poster giveaway winners

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Congratulations to Cindyfelter, Nancy K. and Carlie H. , who are the winners in the  Pocketful of Posies   poster giveaway. I will be sending e-mails to notify each of you, so you can send me your mailing addresses. Here’s a photo of Saturday’s book signing at Eight Cousins Bookstore, taken by the owner Carol Chittenden. Despite the impending storm, a few people showed up, including my doctor, who is a stitcher himself! They are celebrating 25 years in business and are the only bookstore left in town. We’ve had  agreat relationship over the years and I’m always willing to go in and sign a book on request.

Irene’s wind

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By the time Irene made to us, she was downgraded to a tropical storm. Here are a few photos taken at the Woods Hole Yacht Club before the height of the storm, looking out the fully cleared dingy pier and the practically empty harbor. I’m glad to say our boat held firmly to its mooring.

book store event & poster giveaway

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I’ll be talking about book, Pocketful of Posies this Saturday, August 27, 11 am to 1 pm at  Eight Cousins Bookstore, 189 Main St., Falmouth MA. I’ll also bring along some original illustrations to show. I hope that some of you can come, even with hurricane preparations to take care of! Irene’s not expected until Sunday night.

It’s time for another poster giveaway! To increase your chances to win, sign up for an e-mail subscription to this blog or tell me that you are already subscribed through WordPress. Either way, leave another comment, for an extra point in the drawing. To sign up, click Sign Me Up on the home page side bar. Three winners (international, too) will be picked at random on August 31st.

fiddlers on the roof

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As we were heading in from our mooring in Great Harbor we couldn’t help but notice  some house boats had rafted together in a clump, with people all over. They were celebrating a friend named Kenny’s 60th birthday, Woods Hole style.

Guests either rowed, sailed or motored to the party, tying up their boats to one of the rafts.

We were hailed aboard by Alison, the birthday boy’s wife.

There were fiddlers on the roof!

We visited with friends for a bit and motored back to shore in our skiff, thinking how we love living in this place!

tarpaulin cove

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With summer’s end quickly approaching, we are getting out in our boat as much as possible. That means less time stitching in my studio, but there will be time for that this fall and winter. I tend to be a compulsive worker, so I’m trying to bring more of a balance of work and family/social time into my life.

We motored down to Tarpaulin Cove, which is about a half hour boat ride from Woods Hole. It’s one of the beaches that the public is allowed to use on Naushon Island, which is privately owned. But you can only get to these beaches by sea. The family trust that owns this stretch of islands keeps them undeveloped and natural, with just a few houses for family members to stay. It’s like going back in time a couple hundred years.

I walked with my friends down the beach toward the light house, passing the farm-house. We went through a stile, which keeps cattle from straying too far. Their pasture is inland, over the dunes, with a path to the water. The last time we came to the cove, the cows were standing in the water, cooling off.

We worked our way along the shore.

And climbed up towards the light house.

Where we could see across the sound, with Martha’s Vineyard in the distance. Looking out, I imagined all of the ships that have passed by this point or taken shelter in this cove. There’s a story about how during the Revolutionary War, British ships hid in Tarpaulin Cove, waiting to attack Cape Cod. They were spied and word got back to the main land in time for the militia to defend the shores of Falmouth.

3 illustrators get together

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Last week, illustrator Ashley Wolff came to visit. We were classmates at RISD in the 70’s and haven’t seen each other for several years, so it was great to catch up. She was traveling with her most recent border collie, Tula.

Ashley has illustrated a ton of beautiful books, including the popular Miss Bindergarten series, which features a border collie kindergarten teacher.

Miss Bindergarten is available as a stuffed doll, a perfect replica of the book character in her green pinafore. Ashley brings Miss Bindergarten along on her travels and she took a picture of her in my studio with my wedding dolls.

I invited my neighbor, Molly Bang and her husband Jim over for dinner, thinking it would be fun to introduce her to Ashley. It turns out they know each other already, from an illustrators group in San Fransisco, where Ashley lives and Molly lives half the year.

Salley, (Tula), Ashley and Molly

Out on our patio, we had a vegetarian meal made with my garden produce; tomato pie, zucchini pancakes, string beans and cucumber salad.

I’m glad to know such talented and nice people, who happen to be successful in the children’s book world. Here are some of Molly’s wonderful award-winning books.