Wooden Stories

Over a year or so ago, I received a package from a childhood friend with a surprise inside. She told me a story about how her parents wouldn't let her have a pet so she saved up her allowance each week and went to this little store uptown and eventually bought herself a wooden zoo. She felt that her Zoo should move to a place where they would be used more. I inherited these beautiful little animals from her.

I picked up a cheap wooden artist's mannequin last summer on a whim. I wasn't sure what it would be useful for at all. I ended up setting it aside until a two Flickr friends posted photos of their very same mannequins. One was a study of shadows and light in photography. The other one was of the mannequin juggling peas. [He said he used wire and frozen peas and had to edit out the wires!]

With Valentine's Day coming up last week, I thought I'd do a bit of experimenting with light and what else? Hearts!

I learned something. I could work with the mannequin.

And then I thought about it some more and decided that I'd try and do something that had an emotional impact.

I thought the mannequin would be so hard to work with because it has no features. However. Having no features made the positioning and the composition more important than ever.

Joy

Love

Caring

Adventure

[Standing the mannequin on ice with a wind was tricky, but I got it done before it tipped over.]

This was a great exercise in creativity. I may do more. 

The weather is predicted to be nasty today. I wonder where my wooden friends will take me next?