Day 2, Rik Pierce Class

Most of day 2 was spent putting paperclay on the interior walls. First though we had to weave pieces of Bristol board into a basket type pattern for the "wattle". The wattle is used to hold the plaster onto the walls. After we had secured our "wattle" to the walls we added the "plaster" or paperclay. The paperclay was rolled out thin and then placed over the walls. We then used our clay tools to cut out the piece of paperclay that went over the wattle. This left a part of the wattle visible and gave a slight feeling of neglect to the house.

We were then able to work on the area around the fireplace. We painted and glued some beams in place and accented the walls around it. Some people chose to brick then entire wall, some part of the wall and others left it blank. I decided to add some "delft" style tiles surrounding the fireplace. I wanted the designs to be very small and delicate so I used a toothpick instead of a paint brush. I'm pretty happy with the result, although the tiles should probably have gone on the interior of the framing. Well, I think that was most of what we did on Day 2. I'll update more soon! Day 3 is assembly day!

"Detailed by Lenor Johnson" from workshop page at philadelphiaminiaturia.com

  I'm here in Cherry Hill, NJ eagerly awaiting the Philadelphia Miniaturia show!
  This past week I was extremely fortunate enough to take Rik Pierce's, "English Thatched Cottage" class. Rik was an excellent teacher and the class was worth every.single. penny.  My classmates were excellent as well, and we had a lot of fun. Even though the basic structures were all the same everyone was really able to personalize them and make them all different.

 Just about all of our supplies were laid out when we got into class the first day.

Looking up at the front table it was a bit daunting to think that at the end of 4 days we would have a little cottage of our own. Amazingly it did happen, even if there is still a little bit of work to be done. 








  Much of the first day was spent prepping the wooden beams, and painting window boxes and the brick hearth. We also assembled the bay window.

 
I'll be posting more on the progress in a little while so be sure to check back for more!