Miniature Front Door
Nothing lasts forever.
When I was young, like one year old, we moved to Prince Albert. I have fragments of memories of that house, school and friends. Some genuine memories and others, synthesized through photo albums and stories. We moved back to Moose Jaw when I was around five years old. Whether it was a camping trip or a visit to our cousin, we would often make our way back up north to P.A. from time to time. An obligatory drive-by of the "Old House" was part of any trip back. Dad would slowly drive down our old street, and we would gawk through the car's back windows, noting any changes the new owners had made to the property. Then Dad would take our car down the back alley to see the backyard where we had spent the bulk of our summer days. This ritual continued for years. The house would change: new siding, a fresh coat of paint on the shed, a paved driveway, and so on.
The last time we made the trip to the old house, driving down the alley revealed a new addition to the back shed. The words "F**k You" had been spray-painted in big letters across the side of the shed facing the alley. I can't remember the colour, but in my mind it stands out in bright orange. It wasn't directed at us, but in a way, it felt like it was. Interest in checking out the old house waned after that.
Nothing lasts forever, and you can't expect the things we leave behind to be locked in amber as you left them. This sentiment is the origin of this project. The front door of the house my family moved into in Moose Jaw when I was five years old.
Anecdote
Lights: How hard could it be?
I thought adding lighting to this would be a nice addition. I picked up a set of battery-powered fairy lights from the dollar store and trimmed it down to just two lights. One in the porch light and one in the porch.
I was a little nervous about wiring everything in. Once I had installed the lights, I was constantly checking that it still worked. Glue in the base; make sure the light still works. Dry fit the painted background; make sure the light still works, and so on.
The last step of this process was to glue and nail the back panel on. At that point, there was no getting into the wiring to fiddle around. The back went on without any trouble, but I noticed that the top of the windows was a little wobbly. I didn't want to glue it from the front as it could end up looking sloppy. Nailing it from the side seemed like the best option. I drilled the holes first to make sure the wood didn't split... Checked that the lights still worked... Nothing, I figured I had nicked a wire when I drilled the pilot hole.
I was in a panic. This was a gift for my Dad; I had made a door on the back so the batteries could be changed. Do I just say, "The lights used to work but don't anymore, pay no attention to the door on the back"? The back panel was attached well, and if I tried to pry it off, I could wreck something else. I didn't know how I was going to fix this thing. After I composed myself, the decision was made to try to pry the front open to get at the wiring. It was wobbly anyway, so maybe it would have enough give.
Luckily, it had just enough play that I could get at the wiring. My guess was correct; I had nicked a wire with the drill. Where it was cut meant that I had to add a length of wire and solder it on both sides. I don't know if you are familiar with dollar store fairy lights, but the wires are tiny, like 0.4mm. After soldering some of the tiniest wires I have ever encountered, I checked if the lights worked... Success!
I was so relieved. The functional light is a nice little touch that really brings the whole project together. I knew I could fix it one way or another. But if this approach hadn't worked, it would have been hours of work, partially dismantling the project and potentially breaking other components.
The Process
Work in Progress
Material Choices
Painted interior
Wood Construction
The illusion of deph
I knew I wanted the bulk of the piece to be made of wood. The real door and glass framing are painted wood. I wanted the grain to come through. A lot of tongue depressors, popsicle sticks and random wood I had lying around found their way into this project.
Material Choices
New Techniques
In another project, I discovered that using gloss varnish on cardstock makes it an even more versatile material. It replicates the look of leatherbound books without too much texture. Or, like here, where I used it to create the look of an old, beat-up metal mailbox. I finished it off with some faded numbers printed on paper and lightly brushed with silver. And some chalk pastels dabbed on to create a pock-marked corroded look.
Painting the interior of the porch was a daunting task. I haven't painted... like a painting, in years. I've painted lots of sculptures, but that's mostly just highlighting details that already exist. I was happy with how it turned out. It's not perfect, but that's ok, since its obscured by the extrior.
Material Choices
If I had any patience, this could have been easier. The challenge: make a light fixture that can house a mini fairy light and channel the wiring through the base. The execution: create a mold of a sculpted fixture with Easy Mold. Then use UV resin and slowly turn the mold, while curing the resin. Needless to say this made for some very inconsistent attempts. They were either too thick on one side or there was holes. After about three tries, I finally got a usable. to finish it off I used a toothpick to dab dots of UV Resin and cured them in batches, about three at a time.
Patience is a Virtue
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