Tuesday, September 3, 2013

All Over The Map!




Father Alban Comes Home....

I Hope you can Forgive me, Dear Readers, if I jump you all over the place this week, because I just have So Much to show you, it is hard to know where to start! And if I have learned Anything from making minis... it is that Sometimes you just have to Start Somewhere... and see where it leads you! And maybe that lack of forethought is why I am so often asking myself "how did I get Here...?"....but it is also a vital part of my method, if it can be called that! So I will Jump in and show you the Start of that pesky Next Room Up in the Tree House! (The What House, I hear you ask...? It has been so long that I will forgive you if you have forgotten it by now!) As some of you will remember I have often used the Exterior Door to the Room as the Initial clue to get me started in the Room, but in This case, the Door did not succeed in getting me started. It told me nothing more than "Zero" ! Zero as in Round, circular shape as the over-all theme. Hmmm. In an oddly shaped space in a Tree House. Then I realized that I had to attach the foundation for the Spiral Stairs at the back of the room before I could go forward... and ran into snags about the Attaching the door-frame part. But I have finally attached the frame Half-way... just so I can move on with the planning and that made me realize I needed to place the door to the Spiral stairs in just the exact right spot in order to meet the stairs correctly! So I cut that door and attached those Hinges!!!

Progress at last! 
And from there it was time to decide Exactly where the Fireplace would go....
Because the door was now in the place all the other rooms had the fireplace.... 
and that meant also deciding Exactly what the fireplace would look like..... 
and that is when things finally started to come together!
I started with a small "picture frame"....


For some reason this frame always looked like the Surround to a fireplace to me.... 
and I just wasn't sure which room would be the right one... 
But I think it is Perfect for this room....

Framed by these Awesome blocks of iridescent shell-like material (I am not sure what it is!)
And can we test the wall in place...?
 
 
Or maybe we can see the iridescence better here....

Well, once again, we have the Difficulty of getting a good photo on this small scale..... 
in place and with shadows everywhere...!
And here is another shot with the addition of a Circular piece of shell for the floor...


The color of the Beautiful Blue Sea.....
And you can see the two other doors cut in the side wall..... 
leading to....
Well, forgive me if I don't reveal all just yet!
We are Jumping around.....!!!

Because I just Have to share with you a place I visited this weekend....
It is a Local Used Bookstore called "Federal Street Books"...
and I have not been there for a while because I really don't have room in my House for more Books.... 
but I went on Saturday....
And as I was browsing the stacks of old books... 
I spotted Someone calling to me.....!

I am Positive he was Not there when I last visited!
He was firmly attached to the shelf (I tested!)
And then I looked further.....

And spotted another Small Escapee from Lilliput.....

And Another!

And Then I Looked UP.....!!!

Whoa!!!

What World had I Fallen into...???!

Everywhere I looked....

Even Your Nightmare Types....!!!

Thank Heavens The Hero's were there too!!!
(Or I Never would have gotten out in one piece!)
The owner of the Shop was glad to let me share these pictures on my blog....
If you are ever in this area, be sure to stop by the store!

And as if THAT wasn't enough Adventure for us all... 
I have to introduce you to Father Alban....
Here he is just in the very beginning....
He is made from Sculpey.....
With a cloth over wire body so he is poseable....
 
Here he has more of his beard.....

And then I had to make his under-gown

I have not yet made his Robe....
But I made his Easel.....

And his Ink horn and paint dishes.....

(Shells he has carried with him on his travels from the Farthest East...)
And his mortar and pestle for grinding pigments.....

And set them all up in a corner of the Chapel.....

Ever since I began this Castle... over Three years ago... Dear Readers, I have been intending to make the "Monk" who resides in the cell and administers to the Spiritual needs of the Castle Folk! And I have been fairly certain that he would also be a Book Illuminator... and he would have a desk in the corner of the Chapel to sit and paint his illuminations.... But I have constantly delayed in even Starting this project! So Why have I Started it NOW....? you might well ask.... when I have so Many Projects already under way and Incomplete?
Well, it is Because I agreed to do a Swap with the Lovely Ewa of "The Sunny Hours" blog... 
where I will get her Gorgeous hand made Cradle.... 
and all she wanted from me is a painting.... 
an Icon like the one I did for my second blog Giveaway....! 
I decided I better call in the Master to do the Painting! 
I just didn't realize how far away he was.... 
He had been all the way to Jerusalem and back in his Long life.... 
with stops on the way in many a fine Monastery....
But perhaps we don't have Time to tell his story just now....
Perhaps it is enough to know that he has finally Returned to the Home of his birth....

Where Sometimes he rises in the middle of the night and answers the call of his Vision....
Or Maybe it was all just a Dream....

This Painting he knew he had painted before....


And would probably Paint again.....

And maybe one day he would even think he had got it Right......

So perhaps we should just leave him to it, Dear Readers, 
Because, while he Truly has been All Over The Map....
Father Alban has at last Come Home!

(It is Almost Finished, Ewa!!!)

14 comments:

  1. How wonderful everything is, Betsy! You are so Creative and you have so much imagination and so many tales to tell! I am glad to see more progress on the tree house and what a Brilliant idea to use the metal frame for a part of the fireplace surround! So Clever! I like the iridescent tiles that you are also using. You have such genius with these smaller scales. Your father Alban is Fabuulous! ( can one say that about a monk!?) He has a kind face and such wonderful hands! ! You never fail to surprise and impress me, Betsy. From you incredible storytelling to your unbelievable construction projects and the impeccable works of art that you paint and show, you always present us with a veritable feast for our miniature imaginations! Simply Marvelous!

    elizabeth

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  2. Goodness, Betsy, I don't know where you find all the time to be so creative. It seams to pour out of you!
    What progress you ave made on tree house, how could we forget it?! And the book store is an adventure in its self, before you even read a book!! I was expecting to read that one of the tiny people made it back to your neck of the woods! (Paid for, of course).
    Have a great week, I'm looking forward to reading more on the painting.
    X

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  3. Why oh why I can't see the painted picture???? lol!
    I love your father Alban! He looks really as he is home. Make him paint faster, Betsy! ;D Of course I am joking. Let him paint as long as he needs.:)
    Cant wait to see more of this new room, the floor is already looking fantastic, I can't imagime what you will do there!
    And this shop! Just like my riddle: how many Little People can you find there?;) I wonder if the owner knows that too, lol!

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  4. Hello Betsy! I just read your blog post and I agree with Si, what a creativity and where do you get the time for it ;)??
    I wish I could have been with you walking through that book shop, it must have been very inspiring to do.
    I love to see more of the painting, just like the others ;)!
    Have a good week, see you! Hugs, Ilona

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  5. Wow! So much to love. Start with Father Alban - he's wonderful. Maybe you should just make dolls for a living! He's just perfect. Then the little fireplace - I didn't think it looked like one until I saw it in place, and then...perfect! (Reserving judgment about the blue sea..) And the store! I want to go back there. A great bookstore, run by someone with great imagination. I loved this blog. But get back to Daphne, soon.
    Lots of love,
    Mom

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  6. The picture frame is perfect for the fireplace.
    I like father Alban.

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  7. That book shop is for sure a place worth to visit... so nice that you were allowed to take pictures, it was so much fun. But your own work is not only fun, it's addictive, it's magical and it's breathtaking - everything you do. That new room in the tree house will become one more masterpiece - and Father Alban is a great character doll. Fantastic background story - with all this experiences he has made in his life I have no doubt he'll paint a stunning picture for our dear Ewa! ;O)

    Hugs
    Birgit

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  8. He looks great, Father Alban =) Nice work, and it was fun to se an invasion by Lilliput men like that =)
    Hannah

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  9. I know exactly what you mean about starting somewhere, anywhere, and then ending up with a strange, unplanned process! I have to start blogging all the little unrelated things I ahve made recently, but I don't know where to begin... I shall take your advice and just START!

    I LOVE your monk - he has such a kind face, and his calligraphy kit is fantastic, all those little sea shells, so beautifully made! I can't wait to see what he paints, quietly in his corner....

    Jonquil

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  10. Love the bookshop!!!! I would love to visit it :-)
    Father Alban is wonderful, I'm sure he will make the most beautiful paintings for you!

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  11. LOVE the fire surround and LOVE Father Alban!!!! And I agree with all the above. You have creativity coming out of you with every breath! It is such a pleasure to follow you and surf on your wave of inspiration! Thank you!

    Véronique

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  12. Welcome home, Father Alban. I can't wait to hear the stories of your travels and see your paintings.

    That is a cool bookstore!

    I like the doors and fireplace in the new room of the tree house.

    Cheers!

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  13. Hello Betsy,
    How could anyone ever forget the tree house! Your ideas for the next room are terrific...I am so excited to see wit come together...hopefully the villains will not cause any trouble. Father Alban is looking great! Everything you touch is incredible.
    Big hug,
    Giac

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  14. I came here and couldn't leave !!! LOL

    This is just something quick before I go back to reading more because I am determined to read everything I missed..

    Just want to drop a note to say that I just love love love what you planned for Father Alban. So fascinating to see how we are once again connected with trying to make art about ancient art-making. :):). Love love love!

    Your swap will be cherished (both ways)

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