I continually amuse myself by the mix and match of cultures and materials as I study this project, trying to make sense out of my Vision.* The first tea house was fine, and I loved the little sliding shoji screen doors that actually slide, but the second attempt in red looks more like a barn than a Japanese shrine. And, the "stain" warped the craft sticks, so it's beginning now to look like a red outhouse in the backwoods of my home town.
In this one, I am using Japanese fabrics on the inside while the outside is beginning to look like a 1920s protestant church. Would that be clapboard?It doesn't matter. What I am learning about is structure. As I construct these models, The Vision continues to build in my mind.*
The miter box and tiny saw are essential for making these window frames, even though it takes patience to cut the soft wood without chewing it up. It takes more patience to wait out the gluing process.
*As
you might recall, The Vision began with some scraps of fabric. I
thought they'd make a cute little curtain in a miniature Japanese Tea
House. This turned out to be true.However, what was also true was the rest of The Vision which continues to grow.
I find the materials easier to handle and definitely cleaner than dealing with gourds, which you have to grow, dry, clean and cut, and gourd dust is nasty and toxic. These sweet soft woods, on which I can use many of the tiny gourd tools, are very satisfying materials.
Which
leads me back to The Vision. The very fact that I love the materials
leads The Vision on, with various names throughout the process, from
Shrines for Humanity to Shrines to the Divine. So far I have seen a tiny
Shaman's Tipi, an Ornate Mosque, a Humble Chapel in the Woods, An
Episcopal Steeple, A Shiva Shrine, A Tibetan Temple.I don't know where this will take me, but the journey certainly is fun. Pack a basket, bring the wine. We're on a road trip.
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