Pictoplasma Character Compendium

Posted on June 22, 2012 by Anna

I’m honored to have some of my recent artwork featured in The Character Compendium, a new book published by Pictoplasma. Just look how beautiful this thing is!

It’s packed full of images from 200 artists who create the most original characters you’ve ever seen. So much cuteness, weirdness, and inspiration! Here’s a look at my pages:

charactercompendium2

The spherical guys are from my 2011 show “Mochimochi Worlds,” which was part of the annual Pictoplasma Festival in Berlin. And the colorful piece in the lower left was an installation hung at the Lion Brand Yarn Studio in 2011.

I am so in love with the other work in this book, which all way outshines my own contribution, in my opinion. A huge thank-you to the awesome people at Pictoplasma for including me!

New Art Website

Posted on February 15, 2012February 15, 2012 by Anna

I thought it was worth a mention here that I have a new website featuring my different art projects, at annahrachovec.com.

This is where you can easily find photos of my installations, in addition to a general look at some of my favorite toy designs.

It also includes some great new photos from my Gnomes vs Snowmen show taken by my sister-in-law Jenna.

See the rest of them here.

I am so grateful for Jenna’s help! She always blows me away with her images. (Check out her amazing new Westminster dog photos, and get a session with her if you’re in the NYC area!)

I’m hoping the website will be a good introduction of my work to people in the arts or media. And I’m also very excited to be newly represented by CWC International for commercial art and licensing. Maybe some fun and interesting projects will come about!

Mochimochi Land in 3D

Posted on December 27, 2011December 27, 2011 by Anna

You know those old-school 3D glasses, the paper kind with the red and blue lenses? Like these:

3dmochimochi

Maybe you have a pair in the bottom of a drawer somewhere? Go get them right now so you can enjoy the rest of this post!

3dmochimochi1

A very cool person named Jess Mireau took these photos at my 2010 show Greetings from Mochimochi. How awesome is this?!

3dmochimochi2

3dmochimochi3

I didn’t even know that they made 3D cameras like this, but Jess tells me that she used one called the Fujifilm W3, on loan from her friend Cory, who has an entire blog dedicated to 3D photos. Jess is an animator herself—you can see her amazing work at jam-i-am.com.

Twiggins for Luv-able & Hug-able

Posted on November 23, 2011November 23, 2011 by Anna

Luv-able & Hug-able, the annual holiday plush show held at gallery hanahou in NYC, is opening next week!

This show really snuck up on me, since I was so focused on Gnomes and Snowmen for most of the fall, but it’s so fun to be able to participate in this group show happening right after my installation!

I did something a little different this year for my pieces—walking through Prospect Park one day, I was inspired to use a bit of nature in combination with yarn… The result is Twiggins!

Rainbow Twiggins are the noisiest variety of this new species, constantly singing their off-key folk tunes.

rainbowtwiggins

Berry Twiggins are quiet but active, bouncing from branch to branch.

berrytwiggins

And Citrus Twiggins are mischievous little thieves who have never worked a day in their lives.

citrustwiggins

These pieces are meant to be mounted on a wall—hopefully once the show is up I can photograph them that way. I’ve gotten a peek at the other plushes in the show, and there are so many fantastic ones to choose from!

Want a special sneak peek and an opportunity to purchase plush art early? Click on this link, and use the password welovehugging.

Have a happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Gnomes vs Snowmen Photos

Posted on November 15, 2011November 16, 2011 by Anna

So this is the last week of Gnomes vs Snowmen!

I took some photos of the installation last week, which I’m excited to finally share here. I’m hoping to take better ones before the show ends (this Friday is the last day), but for now here’s a look at some fun bits of the big battle!

WARNING: These photos contain adorable knitted violence and nudity.

gvs1

A tragic accident kind of spoils the day, and a pleasant afternoon of naked bathing is rudely interrupted…

gvs2

A Snowman awaits his old-timey demise…

gvs3

A Gnome gets smothered by his own beard!

gvs4

A fallen hero is laid to rest in the cutest way possible…

gvs5

Toasted Snowmen smell like revenge…

gvs6

An epic snowball fight begins, and quickly ends…

gvs7

A normally peaceful house becomes an unwitting arms dealer…

gvs8

An angst-filled Snowman strips Gnomes of their non-hat attire and exiles them to Snowberia…

gvs9

Santa has had it with the fighting, and unleashes evil robots! (You can just see Santa’s backside in the left side of the photo; he is pulling a lever on his factory.)

gvs10

Snomen and Gnomes both do their part to destroy the evil robots…

gvs11

Gnomes and Snowmen discover that friendship is almost as fun as fighting!

Soon the two armies will pack up and call a real timeout, but until Friday you can see the installation at gallery hanahou in NYC! A complete show catalog can be downloaded at the gallery website.

Thank you to gallery hanahou, Pictoplasma, and Cascade Yarns for their help making this show happen!

Gnomes Gnomes Gnomes

Posted on October 17, 2011October 17, 2011 by Anna

Before they get assigned roles in the epic battle, let’s enjoy this pile of 100 or so gnomes, shall we?

gvs_progress2

And here’s the official show info!

In association with this year’s Pictoplasma NYC festival, gallery hanahou is excited to bring you the second installment of Anna Hrachovec’s miniature knit world, Mochimochi Land. The battle begins November 3rd, as a part of the Pictoplasma Character Walk!

Show dates: November 3rd – 18th
Opening reception: Thursday, November 3rd, 6-8pm
RSVP: info@galleryhanahou.com
(Please note: You do not need a Pictoplasma pass & there is no admission fee to view this exhibit)

gallery hanahou will soon be overtaken by the tiny gnomes, snowmen, and the fuzzy bunnies that inhabit Mochimochi Land! Fiber artist Anna Hrachovec will create a miniature epic battle scene rife with cuteness and chaos as sworn enemies, Gnomes and Snowmen, fight it out for control over carrot supplies and herds of cuddly bunnies, with as much pathos and violence as knitted toys can summon.

Inspired by the 11th century Bayeux Tapestry depicting the Norman conquest of England, the installation is a study of iconic characters and their physical limits within the technical constraints of knitting. The three dimensional, linear scene plays out along the walls of gallery hanahou in a series of 40+ panels.

Melting snowmen, flattened gnomes, candy cane fights, and a super-secret third invader are just some of the fun that awaits…

We hope you can experience the chaos that will ensue at the opening on November 3rd!

This show presented in partnership with:

Gnomes vs. Snowmen this November in NYC

Posted on October 4, 2011October 5, 2011 by Anna

I’m super-excited to announce that I’m working on a new solo show for the fall!

“Gnomes vs. Snowmen: The Battle for Mochimochi Land” will open November 3rd at gallery hanahou in NYC. The installation will be an epic knitted battle scene between two of my favorite characters. Lots of cuteness and chaos is promised, with a cast of hundreds!

The show will be part of the Character Walk for the upcoming Pictoplasma Festival in NYC, but it’s also open to everyone through November 18th.

If you’re in the NYC area, I hope to see you at the opening on November 3rd, at 6-8 pm (RSVP to info@galleryhanahou.com). I’ll also be sharing lots of pics from the show here on the blog.

Tiny Robots

Posted on September 30, 2011September 30, 2011 by Anna

If you’ve flipped through a copy of Teeny-Tiny Mochimochi, then you’re familiar with this bolt head. I just realized that he hasn’t been on my blog yet!

tinyrobot1

Tiny Robot was inspired a bit by Bender from Futurama, as you might have guessed. I love the photo of him and his friend that Brandi Simons took for my book—it’s one of my favorites!

And now there is a new robot in town! Meet Tiny Robot 2.0.

tinyrobot2

This bot’s specialty is his arm extension feature, which lets him do lots of hugging and shoplifting. I’m making a bunch of this new model to incorporate into my next installation! It’s going to be unveiled on November 3rd at gallery hanahou in NYC. More info on that soon!

We’ll resume the caption contests next Friday!