Other asian minis
Entry posted by Deb
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I didn't get pictures of the creation process of some items, but a close up picture is enough to see how they were made.
The geta (japanese sandals) were made from ovals cut from a shingle. I cut the tips off of toothpicks to make the platforms on the soles and glued red embroidery thread to the top in an inverted V to make the straps.
The bamboo door was a lot of fun to make. I cut bamboo skewers to the length to fit th door and then scored horizontal lines across them at intervals to make the bamboo joints. I passed each one thru a candle flame to give the colored markings and then used embroidery thread to lash them together. Three pieces of bamboo were glued in place (one at the top, one at the bottom and one diagonally) to firm up the door so it can easily open and close. I'll use chamois hinges for it.
While a futon frame isn't traditional in a house of the Edo era where tatami mats were used for flooring, I had an urge to make one anyway. I used basswood pieces cut to size, glued together in the frame form and painted black. The "feet" are bits of the basswood that were trimmed off and glued to the bottom of the frame. I spray painted the whole thing with clear lacquer and put the cushion on.
The fabric I've been using for the living area of the samurai summer house has some lovely caligraphy that I wanted to use for scrolls to hang on the wall. I fussy cut a couple of pieces and glued the top and bottom to mini dowels cut to fit and painted black.
The tatami sleeping mats are made from mini dowel pins and embroidery floss. To make them, tie two lengths of embroidery floss to the first mini dowel and put a double knot to hold it in place. The ties should be about 1/4 of the way from each end. Add a second dowel pin and wrap the treads around it one time and pull the end so the pin snugs up against the first dowel. Continue doing that till you have the length you wish for the tatami mat and tie off the ends. (a drop of glue on the knots will help to keep them secure) You can move the thread up and down on the pins when it's done to get it straight.
Tatami mats are rolled up and placed out of the way when not in use, so I rolled one and tied it with red silk ribbon to set to one side. Wooden blocks are used for sleeping pillows and I made these from sections of basswood cut to the right length and then used a dremel to grind in the curve.
The red pillows in this picture are for the formal guest area. The smaller pillow is an arm rest that will be placed on a raised holder.
Deb
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