Even though yours truly is included among this magnificent group of artists, it is a wonderful article and I feel grateful to be included.
Now, back to work.
...but it can also be a closet, of sorts. Google it and you will probably find some pretty good images of what one looks like. Anyway, a few weeks back, when it was way too cold to work in the garage on doll house "one" (the Tudor), I had happened to be flipping through Brian Long's book "The Authentic Tudor And Stuart Dolls House", trying to get some inspiration.
It was there that I came across the garderobe. I decided it would be small enough to build on my work table in the warmth of my basement. I also had enough leftover bits of balsa wood/masonite board lying around and it could make a nice addition to the house. Plus, it was fairly easy to build. Yes! I could manage this.
So, I begin to build.
Some of the materials required.
Now, you won't be able to see ' inside' it as it's a bit of a 'fake' ; but, I
do plan to put a door or a curtain, in front of the spot where it's
located on the inside part of the room. That way, who ever is looking at it, will just have to use their
imaginations as to what might be going on.
A few weeks ago, we were on a lovely Sunday drive outside of Toronto checking out the fall colours. They were glorious, let me tell you! We (that's Pete and the Boychild and me) decided to stop at an antique market in Glen Williams, where I spot this beauty of a dollhouse. Another fixer upper. Resistance is futile...so, $20 dollars later, it's coming home with us.
A few days later, as I have decided that it definitely needs a new roof, so I tear it off.
The siding, I have decided is too modern for my taste; so I spend the next two hours tearing that off as well, until it is just the bones.
A new friend found within...
I look upon my "demolition" work with great pride. Talk about a great stress reliever...now just to figure out what to do with it...
Hello Guido.
I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed the recent mail art you sent. As always, I love your work and I am always intrigued by the titles you give them. They are a wonderful mystery and I do love mysteries.
Thanks again and see you in the mail.
Louise
...and more...
When I last left off, the rescued dollhouse was now stripped down and roofless. Much has changed since then. Thanks to my husband, Pete's help ("It's just like fixing guitars!") it now has a lovely new roof:
Using the old roof as a template for the new one.
the "nasty crack" above the door has been repaired:
Very nasty, isn't it?
A dab of some wood glue...
...and some drying time
It also has been shellacked both inside and out, so it can be painted, and the brickwork can be added:
I removed the staircase temporarily...
...so I could shellack the interior.
I also decided to make it a Tudor styled house, which required me to spend some time mocking up a design on my computer. You got to love those photo programs!:
Now, I it's time to add some "woodwork" to the outside:
So, things are cooking along nicely...I may even have enough done that I can take it into the house from the garage before the cold weather hits (or I just go and get a good pair of thermals!).
...mail art from "lazybunny Amo" of Shanghai, China.
I received this Friday from Amo and if I had to put an emotion to it, I would give it "ecstatic" with it's bright colours and lovely use of organic shapes. I was certainly ecstatic to receive it, so thank you Amo for sending it to me.
Unfortunately, I missed the deadline for the Emotion mail art show that Amo is putting on in Shanghai, but you can find more information about it at: http://mailattack.net/
Do check it out!
*May contain a possible "Downton Abbey" spoiler...you have been warned!*
I received this very handsome fellow in this afternoon's mail from Angie Cope, who informs me that he was created during a flurry of art activity while Downton Abbey (season 2) was on in the background. Now being quite a fan of the series, I applaud Angie's choice of background sounds and humbly thank her for sending me such a thrilling piece of mail art. More thrilling then finding out that Shirley McLean is slated to play Cora's mother in season 3; I honestly can't wait to see her up against Maggie Smith's Dowager Countess...but, I digress...
Anyway, Angie, thank you once again for this piece. It's a beauty and certainly has the Downton spirit within!
Back in July, I got a message from my good friend, Dorothy:
"I 'rescued' a doll house for you today. A neighbor was throwing it away so I carted it home for you. That is, if you want it."
Yikes! Of course I wanted it. I messaged her back telling her so and would make arrangements to pick it up a few weeks later. At first, I thought I might need something larger then my Ford Focus to transport it home, but after getting the dimensions, I figured it could fit in the back seat with a bit of creative maneuvering.
Home we go!
Did I happen to mention that I had no idea what it looked like or what I was getting myself into? Although, it was in pretty good condition, it did need a bit of a clean up, so that was the next business at hand as it was pretty dusty and full of cob-webs. Nothing that a Shop-vac and a bucket of vinegar water can't handle. The house cleaned up nicely. Dust and cobwebs gone.
One thing I did notice as I was cleaning it up, was that many of the shingles and the veneer strips were coming off as the glues (they used 3 different kinds) that were used had dried up and lost their stickiness. When I had showed it to my husband, Pete, he felt it would probably be a good idea to just strip the shingles and veneer strips completely off.
Right.
The following day, with a couple of different scrapers and my bare fingers, I proceeded to rip it all off. Some parts were easier then others as some of the stuff was held in place with rubber cement.
But, other parts used other types of glue, which was next to impossible to strip off and was just a mess. Ugh.
Once again, I consulted Pete about this conundrum. "We should take the roof pieces off and just cut other ones, it would be quicker" was the sage advice I received. Goodbye roof. Hello, Home Depot, where we went that afternoon to purchase some fresh pieces of masonite.
So, here it is, stripped bare, which gives me the freedom to do what I please with it...and with so many more choices...
After having a really miserable Saturday (Car accident. Not my fault.), I was ready for some big time fun and Fan Expo just seemed to be the ticket for it. And, speaking of tickets, even the 40 minute wait in line couldn't dampen my spirits (although in hindsight, I will probably purchase my tickets ahead of time online next year.).
Q & A with John Barrowman
By the time we got inside, we headed to Hall G (with many thanks to the friendly staffer, who looked it up for us in his program.) to attend the Q & A with John Barrowmore of Torchwood and Dr. Who fame. I have to admit that this was probably my main reason for attending, being a huge fan of both series and we were not disappointed. Mr. Barrowman is nothing short of charming and engaging. He is a fine storyteller and has a great attitude when it comes to his fame. Listening to him is pure joy. Yes, I am gushing and, hell, I will not apologize for it. Here is a short excerpt, one of many, from YouTube:
After the Q & A wrapped up, Siri and I s-l-o-w-ly managed to make our way out and onto the Con floor as it was ever so busy. Not to complain, but maybe the organizers of this show can not make the "foodcourt" part of the Exhibitors area as it just takes up too much space and getting around it is kind of impossible (Just a suggestion for next year. That's all). But, I digress...
Some of the many t-shirts available.
Anyway, we spent some time checking out the Exhibitors area, which has anything and everything one can ask for in Sci-fi, Horror, Gaming, Anime, Comic swag, Steampunk Jewelery, medieval weapons, Latex masks, items for Cosplay etc. It's kind of overwhelming really. As I was saying to Siri, there was almost too much cool/geek chic. Where does one begin?! My favorites though were the t-shirts that were cleverly ironic: "Neville Would Have Done It In 4 Books" and some of the "Game of Thrones" ones. I ended up purchasing one of those along with a lovely hand tooled leather sketchbook from a very nice vendor from Calgary (me: Hey! Do you have a website, if I want another one? Him: No, man, we're Hippies. But, we'll be back next year!).
But, then it was time to head to our next destination: "The Steampunk Author Panel: Words Driven By Steam". Siri, I should mention is a "writer" (and I mean of stories, books, etc.), where I would never make such a claim. Realistically, I realize that if one wants to learn to write in a particular genre (or write at all), one will not learn this in a 45 minute panel. But, it probably would have helped to have had a moderator on the panel, to keep things focused and flowing. Otherwise, the panelists did have a lot of interesting ideas about what writing "Steampunk" was about in relation to their own works and recommended a great resource in the Steampunk Scholar, Mike Perschon.
Our last few hours were spent strolling the Exhibitors area that we had missed, as well as checking out some of the friendly folks in the Community booths (Toronto Steampunk Society and The Doctor Who Society of Canada, to name but a few.). There were some really great displays as well; The Frankenweenie Exhibit"; The "Back to the Future" DeLorean; Some great Daleks; Lego's Lord of the Rings Character and Superheroes.
Hey! Christopher Lloyd had to get here some way!
Gandalf, in Lego, my precious...
One of the joys I get out of going to events such as this, is the Cosplay. I had a great time looking at all the cosplayers and their brilliant efforts they put into their costumes. Most were pretty magnificent, but I have to say the one cosplayer who did the "Weeping Angel" from Doctor Who was a favorite.
Holy crap...
...Don't Blink!
FanExpo Canada is big, busy and offers a lot to do. It could probably benefit from a bigger venue (Perhaps adding the "North" part of the Convention Centre to it?). I realize this blog has only scratched the surface of all the things that were going on, but, for the short amount of time I spent there, it didn't disappoint. I look forward to attending it again next year...
O.k. I admit, this blog was originally suppose to be all things created on my iPod Touch when I started it, using it as an electronic sketching device (wordy, huh?). It seems that this blog now has become somewhat, er, schizophrenic in nature and it's more about just be posting things that I find interesting in a quirky sort of way.
My current obsessions are the Dr. Who television series, Mail-Art, Steampunk and Cornell Boxes. No kiddding...
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