Saxon Church (Dark Ages) -- COMPLETE! Interior pics, page 3

[Mason]

A fantastic project, and taken to a great finish!
Loving all the little details, they really take it to the next level.
 

[mikedemana]

Thanks, everyone! Definitely the most involved and intricate building I've created. Thanks to everyone who gave advice and encouragement along the way.

After I finish the interior, I think I'll do a couple of the Acheson Creations medieval buildings. I picked up 4 at a recent show. Then, I'll start my next scratch-build: A Celtic monastery inspired by Skellig Michael, a UNESCO site off the coast of Ireland.

I'll add pics of the interior when it is complete....

Mike Demana

[mikedemana]

And here they are, seen through the eyes of our rustic priest who comes to the "big city" to tour the new church.

The Portico Entrance


Overview of the Nave


The altar in the Nave


The tapestries on the wall and the gravestones set into the floor of the Nave


The rounded Chancel attached to the Nave


If anyone is curious how I did any of it, be sure to ask...! It is now officially complete, though I still have to get around to adding a page about it on my own website.

Mike Demana

[Mason]

Great stuff, Mike.
Fantastic attention to detail.
 

All the extras really bring it to life.
 

Tell us the secret of how you made the tapestries.
Please!
 

[Mjolnir]

Fantastic work

[Constable Bertrand]

  wow those soft furnishings do wonders in pulling the church together. And the grave stones give it a really good ' lived in' vibe. Nice work!

[Sardoo]

This is astounding! Very well done! 

[Christian]

Wow! I love it!! 

Yes, do tell us how you did all these wonderful details

[Blackwolf]

Cracking stuff

[magokiron]

Great stuff, Mike.
Fantastic attention to detail.
 

All the extras really bring it to life.
 

Tell us the secret of how you made the tapestries.
Please!
 

+1

Great work!

Thanks for sharing.

[mikedemana]

Thanks, everyone! Sorry that I haven't replied for awhile....I'm on holiday in Iceland at the moment. The tapestries were easy. I searched the Internet for good pics, downloaded and photoshopped likely ones. Then I took them to the local print shop and had them print them in color on high quality, linen paper. Cut them out, paint the back with white glue and you're done!

I'll cover the wall sconces and candles next post....

Thanks again for all the very kind comments...

Mike Demana

[Alcidas]

Yes this is a beautiful piece of work Mike. Excellent!!

[mikedemana]

For the wall sconces, I went to a local craft store, Hobby Lobby. I found some "hook and eye" clasps in the sewing section. I bent the hook or the eye -- not sure because I don't sew -- so that it's two projections were at a 90 degree angle. That gave me more surface to attach it to the wall. I glued the prongs that were going to attach to the wall to a piece of thick cardboard so they had even more surface area. I then glued on the aged metal cup like pieces (from the craft store bead section) you see in the photo below onto the prongs with Tacky Glue. Two were glued down to hold candles, while would cover the prongs that would attach to the wall. I hope this is making sense.



For the candles, I bought something from Hobby Lobby called "Floating Candles." They are little tiny wicks that look remarkably like white wax candles. They even squish up and can be trimmed and shaped. I put a bead of tacky glue in the bottom of the bowl and pushed the wick down onto it. It mushroomed out nicely at the bottom when given a bit of pressure to give it more of a stable base.

http://shop.hobbylobby.com/products/floating-candle-wick-kit-167270/

For the curtain, I went to the local fabric store, Jo Anne Fabrics, and found a likely spool of ribbon by the foot. I trimmed it to size and folded it in half, gluing it together with tacky glue. I then used gold jewelry links you can buy from a craft store by the bag as my curtain rings. I pierced the ribbon with a thumb tack, inserted the rings through the hole and tacky glued it into place. The curtain rod is a simple piece of piano wire trimmed to the right size. The rod rests on two screw eyes -- like the type you put on the back of picture frames. The ornate end pieces of the rod are beads from the craft store. Those same beads form the candle sticks on the altar.



The altar table is a piece of balsa wood with two of the "hook and eye" pieces for legs. The altar cloth is simply a snipped piece of fabric heavily painted with white glue, and then when dry, painted white. The cross above the altar I got from a pack of charm crosses from the craft store. I glued it onto a piece of balsa wood again (figuring the lighter the wood, the more the glue will make it stick to the wall).

The statues in the corner are simply 1/72 plastic figures of a preacher and a woman with a baby. I painted them to look like statues. I should have made a more ornate base, or given them a gloss coat or something. I am not 100% happy how they came out.

Did I miss anything? Sorry I don't have step by step WIP photos for things like the wall sconces. I was playing it by ear and improvising when I created them.  Feel free to let me know if anything doesn't seem clear...

Thanks again for all the kind words...!

Mike Demana

[mweaver]

Wow!  Seriously nice work there!!

-Michael

[MODman]

hirst arts molds is where i started, lovely piece this, and i know you have had fun doing it