More Saintliness

A Little Bit of Grout, A Little Bit of Paint....

Well, Dear Readers, I feel as though I am a "stuck record" (Boy does THAT saying ever Date ME!)... when I say I have very little to show you this week! But I will Dig deep and find something...!
I did manage to add the grout to all those Lovely bricks on the Future (supposed to be Distantly Future...) Conservatory Project! And I added the "glass" roof to the framework....

Which you can hardly see in this picture....

And had to start Fantasizing about the Future Interior Decor....!

But on That I will say no more....!

Because it is supposed to be a long time in the Future project!

 

 Meanwhile, those Patient Saints Increased their membership....

By One Ghostly underpainting.....

 

And a few Details on the others. 

But still None of them are Done!

And having received so many flattering comments about the Saints in my last post, 

I thought I would show you the Original Manuscript Illuminations 

I am using as models for my paintings ... 

so that you can see how far I have yet to go!

To begin with I will mention that the "Story" behind my Castle is that it was originally an Abbey that was abandoned and ultimately taken over by a Noble Lord who made it into his Castle. Hence it has a much richer than usual adornment in the Chapel and in the Great Hall as well. I am trying to have the Saints all painted as though it were done in the Twelfth or Thirteenth Century, so the style of the figures would be relatively primitive. I am not being able to find good versions for all of them from such an early period, so I am making "allowances" to stretch historical accuracy. Also, I will mention that it is really difficult to paint in a "style" more "primitive" than your own! 

The Saints I have painted so far are (from the left) St. Elizabeth, St. Amand, St. Hedwig, St.Mark, and the ghostly one is St. Mary Magdalene.

For the Figure of St. Elizabeth I chose a very small decorated initial from a Gradual from the Dominican Convent of Katharinenthal, Lake Constance, from about 1300.

(It is very difficult to photograph glossy pages without the glare....)

You will hardly recognize my painting from the above figures!

To begin with, I turned Elizabeth to face the other direction. 

Then I removed John the Baptist from her lap..... 

and replaced it with the Roses and Lilies inside her cloak... from one of her legends.

My figures have nowhere near the grace of the originals!

And I didn't even do a very good job of replicating the folds of her garments!

I was a Little more precise in copying St. Amand....

This is from the Vie De Saint Amand from Valenciennes 

in the second half of the Twelfth Century.

Even so, it is really difficult to replicate the angular and linear style of the original.

For St. Hedwig I have chosen an absolutely Gorgeous Illumination from the 

Vita Beatae Hedwigis from Silesia, 1353. 

This is later than my theoretical time-frame,

but St. Hedwig was only made a Saint in 1267!

But you can see how much the style of painting had changed 

from that of the earlier paintings.

This one I will not come close to succeeding. 

To begin with, I made her seated. All the Saints are seated.

(So they fit in the Windows!)

Secondly, I have altered the colors of her cloak from the subtle greys to the vivid blue....

I can only attempt the delicacy of her hands and face....

(you can see why it takes me so long... I have to work up the courage to Try!)

As for St. Mark, once again, I am trying to be true to the original.

This is taken from the Odolricus Peccator Gospel Lectionary. 

This is from the Ottonian Empire, early Eleventh Century. 

 You can clearly see the more primitive linear forms.

But I have put his Lion at his feet instead of overhead as in the original.

And I have altered the colors of the ground.

As for the Saint Mary Magdalene, 

I will have to show you the source for her once I have done more than the 

ghostly underpainting!

But I can already tell you that she does not resemble her original very closely!

And there are still so many details to paint.... 

as well as Seven more Saints to Discover....

So that is all I have to show for this week.

 You have the Grout and Paint...

And Maybe a Little More Saintliness!

The Patience Of A Saint...

The Tiniest Things....

I Only have a couple of Tiny Things to show you this week, Dear Readers, because I only had the ordinary sort of Weekend to Lose myself in the mini projects! Vacation was long gone and the short weekend sped by! But I was able to add a small amount of detail to the Saints for the Castle ceiling. I did not want to bore you with the before picture which you can see in last week's post, so the above picture shows almost all the details that were added this weekend. You must forgive me when I tell you that it is not I but the Saints who have to have the patience here! I set out with Very Good Intentions of completing both these Saints and maybe even the third one too! But then I thought that while the paint was drying... as is sometimes necessary before painting the next detail... I could ALSO be working on Another Tiny project....
You must understand that this is a piece of furniture that I have been planning to make for a LONG time now, and the only difficulty was not being Exactly sure of the Style I wanted it to be!

So I started by locating the pieces of wood that would be needed.... 

and then giving them a coat of stain...

Because I learned the hard way why you must 

stain the wood BEFORE you try to glue the Furniture together....

So while the Stain was drying.... 

I added more details to the Saints....

 

This is just a closer view....

Believe it or not... they are really NOT done yet...!

And then because I thought the little piece of furniture would go together quickly....

I had to start gluing as soon as it was dry....

 

I was right! It did!

The only tricky part was attaching the mirror.... 

which had so little contact with the wood, that I glued a tiny strip of clear plastic

(packaging material) across the back....

You can see just the edge sticking out on the left side....

See how Tiny it is?

And as if That distraction was NOT enough for one weekend.....

I also HAD to satisfy my curiosity about a Certain piece of Real Estate....

Namely.... COULD I cut it open and be able to access the inside???

Yes! I Could! And Did!!

I decided to access two of the Houses from the back.....

And the third from the side.... 

because that allows access to the Attic too...

When the floors are put in, of course.....

Perhaps Samuel Whiskers is going to have to hire a carpenter...

He had to come and investigate....

Yes, it is just as he feared.... 

the Property is not Quite ready to move in!

He will have to have the Patience of a Saint.....

if he expects to live here any time soon!

So while he was investigating....

I had to see if I could make the tiny utensils for the dressing table....

At the very Least it would need a tiny hairbrush and a hand mirror!

Thanks to Irene of Hambleton Hall  blog

(who also has several other Wonderful blogs...)

I knew Just how to go about making the hairbrush!

I used an old paintbrush and a toothpick....

and forgot to take the pictures....

Oh, and I needed to add a lace runner 

and some lotions and perfumes.... 

And then tried to fit the mirror and brush.....

 

Gosh, they look HUGE! 

And I even had already shortened their handles....!!!

But I guess they will have to do...

Oh, and please notice that the drawer does open and close!!!

And will eventually have items inside....!

But now we have to see how it looks inside the Dressing Room of the Tree House...

(Do you even Remember that room?)

And you must believe me when I tell you, Dear Readers, 

that THIS is where I need the patience of a Saint!

The building is Nothing.... 

but the Photographing takes Forever!

The Room itself is SO Tiny... 

and the lighting is either too strong or too weak...

Or the focus is not clear enough.... 

Can we get good focus on something only three quarters of an inch wide... 

inside a space that is only three inches by one and a half....

When the camera itself gets in the way of the lighting.....

I can't tell you how many pictures have been taken... 

then deleted....

And only a few get close to good enough....

And even Then.....

There are those who will say 

"No! You must not hide any more of the wall painting.... !"

But, Alas.... what Dressing Room would be complete 

without a Dressing Table?

And maybe we could see it better if there were Lights in the Dressing Room???

Oh Dear... I had hoped I could get away with no lights in This room.....

And How could so Tiny a Project use up all my Time?

Maybe I should just go back to Painting the Saints....

It's a Good thing the Saints have Patience!

Details, Details, Details...!

Updates and New Beginnings...

Where to Begin is the Question this week, Dear Readers, because there are so many Tiny things to show you, none of which add up to much in themselves, but in the end they will make a difference in my Multitude of Projects! So I will start with letting you know that the Traveling Rats have reached their Destination Happy and Eager to get to work at their new home! Above you can see them inside the Kitchen of the Little Cottage Dollhouse I made for my Sister. She shared with me a few pictures of their exploration of their New Home and said I could share them with you all!

Here you can see them checking out the Garden......

Oh my! Look at the Riches they have before them!

The little chickens are a bit surprised to see the Newcomers!

And a Baby Cabbage ! Just the right size!

 But maybe the Pumpkin too?

Oh, whatever do we do?

 

You get that one.... I'll take this one!!!

Ah, Life on the Farm....

Just what they hoped it would be!

So while the Tiny Rats are Taking over their New World.... I have been getting Lost in mine!

I have just spent a week of Vacation time tackling many projects around my House(s) big and small.... 

and as usual, I am not sure I have a lot to show for it! Somehow the Time just slipped away!

I worked at Dozens of little Details.....

Like making the "glass" window for the Spiral Staircase turret...

 

And adding the wallpaper to the interior....

I used the same Glittery paper that is on the Library walls...

And added a Tiny little circular Base where the turret sits....

(Because we would not want anyone to be able to fall into the cracks!!!)

See, you can see it at the bottom of that beautiful Spiral Stairs....

And THIS is the Last time you will see those stairs, Dear Readers...

Because the Turret is Glued in place... 

and when the back wall is put in place behind the Chinoiserie Bedroom,

It will all be hidden from view inside the Tree!

*Sigh*

(Why do I work so Hard on these Invisible Parts?)

And Another thing I worked on was the little doll kits I had started before.

I got the right glue and followed the suggestions of so many of you...

I wrapped the pipe cleaners with layers of cotton batting for the arms and legs

and rubbed the surface with a watered down glue to "cure" the cotton so it would not unravel.

They are a little stiff but they are holding together!

And then I made their hair...

And suddenly they look.....

Ready to take on the World!

(Please forgive their nakedness....

I did not get to the clothing yet...)

Do you think they have Plans...?

And I have also made a Start on Another Large It-will-take-me-forever part of My Castle Dollhouse!

I decided it was High Time I painted the ceiling of the Great Hall! And in my usual way, I really thought I might get it mostly done over my Vacation! (Don't Laugh!)

But here you can see the beginnings...

The ceiling is removable from the Castle (fortunately!) 

and I have painted the base coats of the design...

I know, you will think it is extremely Gaudy...

But they Loved color in the Middle Ages...

and by the Time I am done.... It will be....

well, we will see what it will be when I get there!

Each arched "Window" panel is to be filled with the portrait of a Different Saint...

Here you can see I have begun the undercoats of the first couple...

And I am testing it in place to see the effect of all that COLOR...!

But it is Nighttime.... so we have to see it by Daylight...

But first I have to add more Details to the Saints.....

They are still a LONG way from done... 

but you can start to get a sense of their color and proportions...

And here you see it in place... In Daylight...

Really, just barely a Beginning....

Why did I think I would get it nearly Done?

And as if THAT wasn't enough, Dear Readers, 

I have to confess that I got Completely carried away...

I started an Entirely NEW Project....!

But it is one that I have Dreamed of for a LONG Time....

It is a Conservatory kit....

Oh so many Bricks......

And perhaps I will be using up leftover Great Hall tiles....

But will need to make many more....

Oh, What Have I gotten into...?

Chasing these Dreams.....

So Many New Beginnings.....

No End of Details, Details... Details!