A Nasty, Horrible, No-Good Day!

Yesterday the wind was howling around the corners of our house, the pinion trees were dancing in a St. Vitus frenzy and the cat refused to go out.  Above it all the Sandia mountains loomed in their majestic way as though to say, "this too will pass."  Something like what Ruth Bader Ginsburg said, "A great man once said that the true symbol of the United States is not the bald eagle; it is the pendulum, and when the pendulum swings too far in one direction, it will go back."  She went on to say that there have been bad times throughout out history, but there are always reason to hope.  I am hoping for better times in our country and less wind on the mountainside.

  I had planned to work in the yard, trimming away the winter wizened branches and foliage of last summer's glory, but instead began planning my next miniature project.  For an upcoming "Small Works" show at St. Mark's, I plan to make a miniature cooperative art studio.  I think a sculpture, a painter and a potter will share this space.  The potter will be isolated with a french door from the larger open space to keep the clay dust down!  I am imagining large, faux steel and glass sky lights and brick walls.  There will be a sleeping loft for that bad boy painter who has been thrown out by his wife.  Are you seeing it?

I have been collecting images of studios for inspiration and making little tiny things to go into it.

Here are two different sizes of masking tape for the painter and a little square which I mocked up in paper for size, but will be made of wood.  On order is a cunning little miter box so the painter can construct his own frames...

And just to challenge my newly acquired skills with a slightly large miter box, I plan to try to duplicate this little potters wheel...

Well, so much for dreaming!  Here are some updates I made to Hogwarts Castle over the last year, during the time I took a lengthy sabbatical from blogging.

 Stonework has been added to the exterior.  There is a new window in the Great Hall and the Potions Lab and the Chamber of Secrets are now in the dungeons beneath the Great Hall. I purchased some wonderful dolls, furniture and accessories from a collector who was downsizing to add to the Castle which prompted the construction of:

 Minerva McGonagle's bed chamber because I had to find room for her transfigured self (notice the cat looking to jump on the bed).  I still need to cut windows into this space and add some light fixtures to reduce the gloom.

 The little Quidditch trunk is here because I have not yet made a miniature Madam Hooch.  McGonagle was quite a strong Quidditch player in her youth and continues to be very interested in how her house does in the competitions.  The lace on the canopy and pillow was tatted by my great-grandmother Anna Ogden Womack and my sister Rosalind used it to create the bed linens.  This bed was not completely put together when I inherited it from Rosalind, but fortunately all the sewing was done.  I updated it to Gryffindor colors.

The matching sofa, chair and ottoman, I purchased at an antique store on Central in Albuquerque along with many other little pieces for $20.  The little red tables are from the Dollar Store. They are pretty rough and need a lot of sanding before you can paint or stain them, but by far the cheapest dollhouse table you will find anywhere.  You will see more of them in the boys and girls dorm rooms in Gryffindor Tower.  My sister, Rosalind, made the rug from a kit. 

Honeydukes has two new proprietors.  I sold the Halloween display from it to a a friend who collects miniatures, so now there are only Christmas and Easter items for sale.

  

 Snapes Potions Lab had to be doubled in size to provide support for the upper stories of the castle, so he now has a study/bedchamber at the far end.  Once the battery operated LED lights I ordered arrive, I will figure out how to partially screen his bed from the classroom area.  For now, I need the natural light to be able to see all the parts of this space.

I was so inspired by Hagrid, Professor Flitwick, Hermoine, Draco (incorrectly identified by the seller as Ron) and the two little witches now running Honeydukes that were part of my big purchase that I have now tried my hand at doll making.  I really enjoyed sculpting the dolls, but cannot say the same for sewing the little tiny robes.  I am not a great seamstress to begin with, and sewing on a 1/12" scale is tedious and frustrating!  Even worse is trying to make wigs that look somewhat close to real. Back to U-Tube to watch those tutorials again!

  Madeye Moody in the tan pants was the closest to being finished except for his hair.  However, Sati, our mean little cat has made off with his head.  She thinks she is the queen, but I wasn't aware she was channeling the Red Queen.  One leg of Snape's trousers is cut out and modestly draped over him, as he, and all the dolls are anatomically correct.  Professor Sprout needs gray hair, which I do not yet have, so will have to see if any of my friends will donate some at their next haircut.  Planning to use my own hair for Snape and doll hair for Trelawney since her hair is so wild.  Lots to do still. Be aware, if you make your own miniature dolls that you should not attach the arms until the clothes are on if you want to avoid breaking something.  Madeye's arm will need some Skelegrow as I ill-advisedly sculpted him all in one piece.  A special thanks to my friend, Vicki for providing the velvet, silk and leather scraps I have been using. 

Coming up in future posts, you will get a sneak peek at the partially constructed classroom tower, the nearly complete Gryffindor tower, and Hagrid's Hut. 

Beware! The Chamber of Secrets Has Been Opened..er Created in Miniature

Image via http://movieuppic.blogspot.com/2012/04/harry-potter-and-chamber-of-secrets.html

Months ago, I began to create a Chamber of Secrets to go into the dungeons at my Miniature Hogwarts.  A busy spring and summer meant I never posted photos of it.  Here is how I went about creating the Chamber in 1/12" scale.
First I made a screen shot of a photo of the scary face from which the basilisk emerges.

Photo via http://movieuppic.blogspot.com/2012/04/harry-potter-and-chamber-of-secrets.html

 Then I scaled it to fit my back wall and began to build the face on it with Sculpey...

This kept everything to scale.  You can see where I ran out of gray clay and switched to brown.  Not to worry, everything will be painted after baking the Sculpey.  You can't tell in this photo, but there is a sheet of parchment paper over the photo so that I can bake the head separately. 

 Under the brow there is some crumpled tin foil so that I did not have to use an enormous amount of clay and it would bake more quickly.

Checking scale with my little Harry Potter doll.

Painted the floor blue then installed the walkways.

And the pool in front of the face.

 Hmmm, the arch blocks the view of the face.  Will need to cut the top off and move it up!  Notice the not yet painted snake heads in the water.

Arch fixed so that there is a better view.  The lighting is provided by little LED fairy lights run along the floor.  The battery pack is hidden just to the right of the Chamber's door, which I still have not finished.  Struggling with the foam core holding the weight of the Sculpey carved snake hinges.

 Keep forgetting that I have not painted the snakes in the water.  Should I make that very scary Basilisk from the movie?

Hidden Treasures on Route 66

For years, my husband and I have driven through Flagstaff, Arizona on our way to rafting the Colorado river through the Grand Canyon.  Always leaving late (due to never learning that it takes days of preparation, not just one to get ready for a month long rafting trip) and rushing back for either work or other obligations, we breezed by a sign east of Flagstaff marked "Walnut Canyon National Monument." 

This August, however, when my daughter and I were looking for ways to break a long road trip with my two seven year old granddaughters into more manageable chunks of driving times, I remembered my friend Cheryl talking about a wonderful archeological site just east of Flagstaff, Arizona.  What a great place!  If you are anywhere near, you should take the time to stop.  A short (ten minutes) drive off the freeway brings you to a modest building which serves as the visitor's center and does not give you a clue from the outside about the delights you will find as you hike down into the precipitous canyon.  Not to worry though, you hike a grandmother-friendly trail (as long as you can manage many, many, many steps with rails which keep you from pitching into a death spiral.)

  

 
 I fully admit to keeping well away from the drop off edges of the trail, even when fairly flat!

 Across the canyon, you can see more cliff dwellings.  I suppose you can visit those as well if you are related to a mountain goat.

 We spent a lot of time at the signs because the twins like to read everything for themselves.

 You are allowed to go into what remains of the rooms, but not to step or put your hands on the walls.  I had to bite my tongue and remind myself I was no longer a school teacher or a park ranger as some visitors apparently could not read the signs.

 

Proud that my grandchildren followed all the rules.

 We were close to the gentleman in green who was really fascinated and took hundreds of photo.  I was much too busy watching my step to take a lot, but tended to focus on the incredible diversity of plant life in such an arid place.  No wonder these ancient folk chose to live in this canyon.

At the end of the trail, we had circled around an island of homes on a pinnacle of rock in the middle of the canyon and faced the daunting array of switched back staircases back up and out of the canyon, very glad indeed that it was a cool rainy Arizona day.

 A welcome bench about 2/3's of the way up.

Yes, that is the path from which we came over my left shoulder...barely visible!

Review:  Interesting, wonderful signage, fairly accessible for young and the no longer young with bad knees, breathtaking views, and very friendly and well informed rangers.  My granddaughters who visit all bathrooms gave them an A+. 

Time Travel at St. Mark's Episcopal Church

Wondering where I have been?  Having recovered from the week long Harry Potter Camp in late June, I plunged at once into preparations for the Marketplace based Vacation Bible School hosted by St. Mark's in cooperation with four other Episcopal churches in our Deanery.  We traveled back in time to the first century to see what life was like shortly after Jesus' death and resurrection.  Thirty-two preschool and elementary aged children spent four days with the 40 or so youth and adult leaders who helped to recreate another time and place.

 

Tasting typical figs, plums and olives, typical foods of early Nazareth.

Learning to make pottery dolls and animals.

 

The Mosaic Shop was very popular!

Unlike in Jesus' time, both boys and girls learned to write their names in Hebrew in the Synagogue School

 

 

No one was too grown up to try a donkey ride!

 

 

Making baskets proved a challenge..even for the adults.

 

Lucky me, I was in the booth next to the bakery, and got to taste every loaf as it came piping hot from the oven.

 

 

Some of the older boys are repairing the cutting board broken in the bake shop.