House No. 192: Carved Encaustic House

House No. 192: Carved Encaustic House

encaustic on carved wood

3.5 in. x 4 in. x .5 in.

192/365; 07/11/11

Today's house is another encaustic piece, this time on carved wood, which was a collaboration with the Werepanda and his Dremel tool.

I drew the house with a thatched roof even though my friend Beth has me completely terrified of thatched roofing because she told me snakes like to live in them.

After I drew the house, Phil carved it for me. Then I started the process of gradually heating the wood in the oven and adding the wax in layers.

House No. 191: Spice Rack House

House No. 191: Spice Rack House

design and plans

projected size: 16 in. x 32 in. x 8 in.

191/365; 07/10/11

A few years ago, I read a review by Frank Bruni of the late restaurant Elettaria entitled A Doll’s House with a Spice Rack. I remember little more about the review other than thinking that I absolutely had to have a dollhouse spice rack.

The design is based on Second Empire architecture.

 

The interior is going to be lined with chrome wire racks that hold 4 oz. glass spice bottles.

Many advance thanks to the Werepanda, who will be helping me with the power tools.

House No. 174: Little Found Object House

House No. 174: Little Found Object House
found plastic game pieces and repurposed card stock on found wood scrap
2 in. x 2 in. x 2.5 in.
174/365; 06/23/11

I found this block of scrap wood in the street in front of my office building and the plastic game pieces in a closet that I was cleaning out in my parents’ old house. The card stock is another piece from my paper samples collection.

 

If anyone knows what game these pieces belong to, please let me know. I am very curious. I suspect it is some type of triangular dominoes.

House No. 122: Encaustic Panel House

House No. 122: Encaustic Panel House

encaustic on wood

6 in. x 6 in. x .25 in.
122/365; 05/02/11

For this house, I put the wood right in the oven and let the panel itself get hot before working the wax into it. I would not recommend this. It smelled, burnt a little, and kind of gave me a headache. Still, it looked cool and had a lovely glossy surface.

The wax was absorbed into the wood and smoked a bit, and the colors became very rich and concentrated. The colors also blended well, as you can see in the multiple greens used in the grass and where the door melds into the house color to create the front stoop.

I liked working into the negative space, such as the panes of the windows, as the wood started to cool. I gradually added lighter and lighter blues into the sky to build up the negative space and make it as interesting as the house itself. I love the way the layers create a rich surface.

House No. 96: Sleeping Beauty's Castle

House No. 96: Sleeping Beauty's Castle

wood, wooden spindles, wooden spools, chipboard, acrylic paint
10 in. x 21 in. x 8 in.
096/365; 04/06/11

The fairy tale houses continue today with another tale constructed out of objects from domestic work.

Luckily for me, my mom has everything and is willing to part with it for art's sake.

Say, for example, I wanted to make a palace for Sleeping Beauty out of spinning spindles (of course), not only would my mother dig up a whole basket full, she would ask me if there is anything else that I would like to take on my way out. As if her house were a shop.

Then she would convince my dad that he can part with one of the blocks from his childhood set (that also occupied my sister and me — it is a beautiful set of wooden blocks) because a dog had already chewed on it anyway. And that is where I got the supplies for this castle.

And it is one of my favorite houses so far.

See the golden tower? That is where Sleeping beauty lies asleep.

I love these spindles. Working with them is like playing a xylophone. The soundtrack of my working with them, all colliding together, sounded like the Fossils from Camille Saint-Saëns's Carnival of the Animals.  It's such a happy sound.

House No. 89: Tiny Tent

House No. 89: Tiny Tent
upcycled styrofoam thread spool, glue, repurposed paper samples and twine, toothpick
2 in. x 6 in. x 2 in
089/365; 03/30/11

I expect a wee band of merry players to exit this tent, wearing tights and shoes with turned-up toes and playing crumhorns, and hurdy-gurdies and rauschpfeifes. And sacbuts, but just because sacbut is fun to say. So, I guess this is either a tent for medieval minstrels or the members of Arcade Fire.

To get the full effect, try looking at the tent while listening, here.

House No. 88: Rapunzel's Tower

House No. 88: Rapunzel's Tower
thread spools, thimble, embroidery floss, acrylic paint
1.75 in. x 8 in. x 1.75 in
088/365; 03/29/11

Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair.

 

Here, I've created Rapunzel's tower and her hair out of repurposed domestic tools. Fairy tales and domesticity are typical bed fellows. Women's work, I suppose, would understandably lead to fantasy lives of princesses being rescued. The original tales seem to have additional caution against the fantasies themselves, with gory and sad endings.

The stories have limited options for women, and the female characters who attempt to break the mold are often punished for attempting to break from their molds. It's interesting that I hold these stories dear as sweet iconography while simultaneously being discomforted by the details and abhorring the lessons they teach to girls about female roles. (Though to be fair, a lot of that emotion is directed at the modern take on the stories (read: Disney) and their unrelenting and ubiquitous licensing and marketing.)

Rapunzel is a tale that features acquiescence to kidnapping, solitary confinement in a rather phallic tower (with no apparent place to bathe or relieve oneself, something that troubled me as a child), and a utilitarian fashion choice that would require a neck brace. Add to that the whole sexualization/power of hair angle (RE: Samson* and Delilah, &c.) and you have a Women's Studies dissertation in a story book.

*Interestingly, both Samson and Rapunzel's prince have their eyes gouged out after the hair cutting in their respective stories. Like I said, there is some serious essay possibilities in this story alone.

House No. 23: Shanty

House No. 23: Shanty

Repurposed scrap wood & wood glue

3 in. x 3.5 in. x 2 in.

023/365; 01/23/11

Today's house is the antithesis of yesterday's McMansion. Plus, it doesn't smell of fried food.

This was a collaborative piece. I designed, measured, and glued it together, but my husband worked the power tools. That's what she said.

It's rough and tumble, this little shanty, but I think it's sweet. The wood has so much character on its own.