Why write a book about making Faerie Houses?
There are in
fact several answers that are true for me. Let me first say that there are a
lot of good fairy house building books out there already. However, I noticed that
most of those books fell into two categories: either they were compilations of fairy house artists such as myself and were
thus good sources of inspiration, or they were written with children in mind. It seemed that the books written for adults were reluctant to show how to actually build a house while the books that were written more for kids, or for adults who were
guiding kids, focused primarily on building temporary structures outdoors...which is a GREAT way to get kids outdoors, to be sure! There were
also books dedicated to fairy furniture and fairy costumes- which were also
lovely and very inspiring, and while a few tutorials could be found, it seemed that
in general, house builders were keeping their secrets to themselves. All of this is to say, there seemed to be a niche that was waiting to be filled.
In my 10 years of making these creations, I have been asked numerous times if I gave workshops so I knew
there was a segment of the population who wanted to learn how to make their own little houses. Trouble is, organizing a class and leading people successfully
thru a workshop takes a lot of time and is a specialty in itself. Also, these
little structures, while simple-looking take more than a few hours to make, many more than can actually be fit into a day class even for the craftiest of students. So making
a book to show people exactly how these things are built felt like a calling of
sorts.
But there is another reason to write this book: young people, especially
those who like to build on a more advanced level and who may have a penchant
for architecture might find a way into learning about designing with nature in mind if
they had a practical guide to how this is done. So I wrote this for the present
generation of talented crafts people who want to learn the specific ways to build these structures in deep detail, but also the budding architects out there who are keen to take their
cues from the natural world and let their fresh imaginations soar.
The book starts like any good craft book, speaking briefly
about tools and materials.
Then a few words about collecting materials in the wild is
in order because we do need to learn how to collect in respectful and sustainable ways so we don't hurt the natural world we all love and need.
And then we just dive into how these houses are put together, and I show just about everything…from bases, to roofs…windows and doors…wallpaper and
lighting…all of it.It's a builders bible, really...just on a very tiny scale!
I tried to give readers a good foundation in basic skills
and techniques so once they are mastered, you can go on and apply your own
brand of style and whimsy and build with confidence.
I’ll share more tidbits from the book here on the blog as
time allows. But for now, let me just say that in the book I will show you how to build the
house that is shown at the top of the page if you’d like to learn how!
If
anyone would like to take advantage of a good sale, Amazon is selling the book now
and you can find it HERE (along with a very nice pre-release sale price).
But wait, there's MORE!!!!!
Yesterday I got word that the 2017 Amber Lotus wall calendars are out! And they are my best collection yet!
Here is the image that was used for the cover:
And for my fans in Canada, here are Amazon Canada links:
Wall calendar HERE
Mini calendar HERE
And finally, if you'd like to order directly from the publisher, (and give us a bigger %) you can order directly from them HERE for the wall calendar and HERE for the mini calendars.
Welcome back!!!
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