The Fairy House Gets a Door

The Fairy House was progressing nicely, even without a clear idea of what I was doing. To watch how I got to this point click here for Part One, The Fairy House Opens for Business and  here for Part Two, The Fairy House Roof Takes Shape. 
After the roof was secure and the walls were totally stable the pieces made to be the original walls, currently being used as support for the new walls, were moved away from the House and circled to form a garden wall. The space between these and the House was filled with used potting soil from pots that were being redone, bringing the soil level almost to the bottom of the door frame. (In this photo the roof has been resurfaced, but the gable area has not yet been done. This part of the process was explained in Part Two.)

The door frame is a found metal piece that at one time had probably held a 4 inch square tile, a sort of small trivet. It had been embedded in the concrete when the front wall was made.

My good friend and ceramic artist Donna Lemongello had offered to show me how to make ceramic tiles...she knew I loved ceramics but that I knew nothing about how they were made. After two sessions in her studio I not only had my door (and some pieces for another project) ready to be fired, I had a new respect for the art that Donna creates.

Here are the pieces at an interim stage. Wood grain was applied to the large door (and several smaller ones made for future use) by setting a nicely grained piece of scrap wood on the wet clay and striking it sharply to make an impression. When the door was finished and fired, tiny gold hinges and latch hooks were added and it was installed. Some clean up finish work still needs to be done.

Steps were now made to mark the space where a path will eventually lead to the front door of the Fairy House. For the time being simple stepping stones made of extra mortar mark the general location.

The original tower piece, made back in Part One, was mortared to the second piece made when the height of the House increased. The tower has yet to be completed and sited in its final location.

Cleanup, the path, tower completion, a flag for the tower flag pole, a few more wall pieces to finish the back half of the circle. Yes, there are several things that remain to be done. Landscaping has only just begun. In the next few months I expect to be able to finish much if not all of these details. And I think I'd better do that soon. Because I have an idea or two for the next House....