Clouds.......

Illusions I Recall.....

By Now you must be aware, Dear Readers, just how much I enjoy it when the Sun shines into my little Mini Worlds! So it was that on Saturday morning early I was able to catch the Sun shining briefly on the Cloud Palace before the day advanced and became cloudy and snowy! Here on Terra Firma we are vulnerable to the moods of the Clouds, but in the Cloud Palace (when it is completed, you understand) it will be sailing On top of the Clouds... and therefore should be able to expect an Endless supply of sunshine! But until it is completed, I will have to take my luck with the sunlight.... and so I have grabbed the moment to take some pictures....

Can you see how the sunlight casts a lacy shadow 

through the pattern on the window pane?

And since it is morning, Blue has set out the tea and cupcakes....

 

 

She is expecting some Visitors soon.... 

and she wants to be ready!

But since they are traveling from a Long Way Away....

She has to be very patient....

This morning she has to eat the cupcakes by herself.....

Because the Palace is still being worked on.... 

there are more paintings to be done...

So everything has to be cleared away and the room taken apart....!

Here you can see the beginnings of a pair of 

low planters to sit under the windows.

Here we have to test them in place again.... 

and you can also see the added clouds at the top of the walls....

I didn't want the Clouds to appear to end at the corner of the wall....

It is just an illusion... but I wanted to create more depth...

It needs more work before it will look right.

And since none of the parts can be glued in place in this house 

until I have completed the decorative parts, I also made a start on the upstairs!

It is really just a little space under the eaves....

But I wanted it to look as though you were sleeping on top of the clouds!

And because I wasn't done with the planters....

I painted one with another Dragon........

And the other with another Lake and Teahouse scene!

And then I had to add some butterflies....

Because there was a Lovely quote on Birgit's Blog...

by Novalis who wrote (something like this...)

 "He who can hear the butterflies laugh knows how the clouds taste...."

Which caused Flutterbeary to say that 

"Butterflies are always giggling and the clouds taste sweet...!"

Which caused me to think we needed some Laughing Butterflies here in the Cloud Palace!

And then we need to see how they look all together....

The giggling butterflies....

The dragon planter.....

The teahouse planter.....

I still am not sure what plants to plant in them...!

And the Clouds in the sky overhead.....

still in need of some softening around the edges.....

 

And the Clouds in the attic.....

And the whole room.......

And the whole house.....

So you can see, Dear Readers,

I have been painting....

 But its Just the Clouds Illusions After all.....

Oh, wait.... can you hear the butterflies laughing?

The Collections

A Moment of Insanity....

What Exactly does One Collect, Dear Readers, if One is a Naturalist residing in a Tree House? This a question that has tipped me a little over the edge of Obsession in this Project! To begin with, the items have to be Tiny... Relevant to the Characters.... Visible..... Displayable in this already crowded room.... and by the very Nature of a Collection.... there must be more than one! Besides the Books that one expects to find in a Library, I have imagined this Naturalist (with a slightly Victorian sensibility) would gather the fascinating specimens of the Natural World around him.... perhaps beginning with the Rocks and Crystals of the Earth....
Here below you can see a particularly Splendid Amethyst Crystal mounted on a silver stand.....

(This is a beautiful little crystal of mine, which appears Huge in this scale!)

And it should be joined by a Quartz crystal..... not as perfect a specimen....

 

And then perhaps we should include this piece of an Amazing Crystalline Mineral... 

the name of which Escapes me..... but which is just too fascinating to leave out.....

And Then perhaps we should venture into the Agates.....

And assemble the smallest and Flattest examples we can find...

And fit them into the Drawer of the Secretary Desk......

Because they Must go Somewhere......!

And the Drawer still closes!!!

And the Finer specimens will be displayed on the Mantelpiece.....

Where they make Quite a Statement..... 

like Mystical Guardians....

Or crammed into the dark corner of the topmost shelves....

Where it is barely visible... behind the flickering candelabra.....

 

But that is just the beginning, Dear Readers....

The Rocks are followed by the Flora.....

And there is Nothing the Victorians liked so well as a Good Terrarium....

 

Placed under a Great Bell Jar......

With Mosses and Ferns.....

Set on a perch near a window.....

Where the plants might see some sun.....

 

And if we are collecting Flora..... 

Surely there would be some Fungi as well.....

Tiny little "lace-cap" mushrooms.....

(with due credit to Amy Gross for the Inspiration....)

 

 

These are made from paper and lace....

 And set within a Bell Jar.....

 

And perched upon a Bookshelf on the open door.....

 

Where the Bell Jar is all but Invisible...!

But we Cannot stop there, Dear Readers......!

The Collector's Passion jumps from one life-form to the next....

Surely the Lepidopterist must have his day.....

These Tiny Butterflies are painted by me on transparent drawing vellum... 

and here they are cut out and glued to sewing thread (to form the bodies..)

And here they have been glued to "invisible" nylon beading thread.....

Which is stiff enough that they will appear to be Fluttering above the surface....

 Of the Tiny little "reflecting pool" that is the base......

A Tiny little Pond......

In a Bell Jar.....

 

(Such a Victorian Vignette...!)

 

 (Yes, I Did find a smaller gelatin capsule...!)

Can you see how Tiny this is?!!!)

 

 Who could blame us for wanting it to sit right in the Middle of the Library Table!

(So difficult to Photograph!!!)

Is it Possible to have Too Many Bell Jars...?

Somehow.... I don't think we're done yet with the Collections!!!

Definitely a Moment of Insanity...!