Thank you dear Friends
My trip to the enchanting gardens of Warwick Castle gave me the opportunity to gather ideas for my diorama
As I mentioned before, the first pictures will be a shot of Regent Street showing the front of the Mansion with the side garden and its fountain and will be set in the early morning with the little milkboy delivery.
The street will be decorated according to the season which will be a late Spring early Summer and I need to dress the hedges, trees and pillars of the front porch accordingly.
Setting up an atmospheric decor is easier said than done and those of you who have followed my work since last year may remember that I embraced the thought of an Autumn themed diorama with my previous experience of customizing trees, hedges and lawns dating back to the mid seventies as a child when I was creating a model railway ! I remember pouring myself a glass of Merlot, putting a CD of Mary Poppins on and sitting at my preparation board covered with newspapers, with a tube of sprayed glue and two varieties of Early and Late Autumn blended Tufts and Clusters ( purchased in a Model Railway shop )
Needless to say that I first managed to glue my own fingers in a unspeakable way, but with the cheerful help of grape juice and Mary Poppins songs, I started getting a grip of what I was aiming for.
Here are a few pictures of the results of my attempt at creating a decor on the Autumn theme last year ( with familiar Autumn activities such as grape and apple harvest, wine making, pumpkin pie, toffee apples an preserve making and finally an Autumn Fair on Regent St ) :
Autumn Harvest - a Victorian Tale
In the above pictures, I attempted to recreate the softness of a Autumn day which has a colour and a light of its own, but Spring is about brightness both in light and colours so I will have to aim accordingly in the shades of green and flowers which will cover the trees, lawns and hedges.
My initial thought is about an early morning milkboy delivery who this time who will not be greeted by the Cook by the kitchen door and will find instead a "in the garden" sign...so he will make his way towards the garden accordingly to find the familiar household Staff working in the vegetable garden picking up vegetables like salads, carrots and tomatoes and gathering strawberries.
I would like to take the viewer on a journey from the picking of the vegetables and fruits in the garden back to the kitchen with preparation of the food and finally the serving of the feast in the evening.
Then the remaining part of the diorama will be set with a view towards the conservatory of the Mansion from the gardens and needless to say that I was inspired by Warwick Castle's formal gardens, roses and topiary not to forget the peacocks who will also grace the gardens of my happy little Victorians.
The gardens will include a vegetable plot with turf and soil, a formal garden with low hedges, an elevated lawn area surrounded by brick with a few steps including a removable central fountain and where the afternoon high tea will be served with every yummy delights you may imagine, and a summer pavillion in which the evening garden party will take place with the serving of the feast in the hopefully magical atmosphere created by fairy lights.
You may ask me why a removable fountain in my elevated brick garden ? The reason being that I was inspired by outdoor Shakespeare Plays performed at the Botanical Gardens and I thought it would be just the right thing to spice up things a bit in my diorama ! I first thought of something like a "Midsummer Night's Dream" with fairies and elves but on second thought, a period costumed play such as "The Three Musketeers" and the dramatic entrance of the comedians fighting from the balcony of the Mansion down to the gardens and then on the stage would be nice. The Leading Lady will be a famous Victorian Actress arriving in style at the Mansion and creating a stir by demanding her own dressing room...
So here I am, dear Friends, with plenty of exciting ideas and just one tiny challenge, how to give them life on a 1.5 meter x 2 meters long board ?
My recent trips are really giving me a lot of inspiration not to forget the dioramas, creations and decorating tips you inspired me since I joined your World !
I will update you with my progess as I will get along...
Karim
