Holiday Stocking Stuffers: Medal Earth Models

During the holidays I was given one of Facinations Metal Earth models as a stocking stuffer. The Himeji Castle came in three 4" sheets of laser cut steel.  I was excited to begin building this incredible castle while having the time off on vacation. 
The original castle located in Japan was built in 1333and is the regarded as the finest surviving example of the prototypical Japanese castle architecture. It is also known as the White Heron Castle because of its brilliant white exterior and is supposed to resemble a bird taking flight. It has had many alterations over the years and today it remains in its completed form for over 400 years.

 

The model is made from 77 individual pieces with 50 unique pieces that fit together perfectly using tabs and a pair of needle nose pliers. It took me about 3 hours to complete although I will admit that I was watching the Back to the Future Trilogy at the same time. It was so much fun that I purchased a few more of these models and have been busy creating them

The other models I have since built include : The Empire State Building, Chrysler Building, One World Trade Center, White House, Kennedy Center, Tarantula, Scorpion, Windmill and Star Wars AT-AT.

Salem Witch Museum

Housed in an old church located just off Salem Common is the Salem Witch Museum. It calls itself Salem’s Most Visited Museum although I cannot figure out why. Other than its imposing gothic exterior it has little else to offer.

It isn’t your typical museum filled with priceless one of a kind artifacts. No this museum is instead a series of two historical presentations. Its only artifact of any historical significance is reportedly an architectural header bean from the original 1692 Salem jail. 

The first presentation is done with the use of 13 dioramas built into the walls of a large auditorium. Visitors sit in uncomfortable chairs set up in rows on either side. As the lights dim each of these diorama’s representing the major events of the 1692 witchcraft trials are lit as a recorded narration of events is played. Like the story these dioramas are showing their age.

The second presentation is a guided tour partially given by a member of the staff and explores how witches have been portrayed throughout history. This presentation includes photos on the walls of various witches both real and created by Hollywood as well as more dioramas with pre-recorded audio played through the speakers.

The whole tour of the museum lasted about 45 minutes before we were unceremoniously dumped into the museums gift store filled with chachkies and other worthless overpriced trinkets. It was certainly nothing to write about or suggest to your friends and while they make the claim to be the most visited museum in Salem I’d venture to guess that is nothing more than a clever marketing ploy to get you in. 

House of Seven Gables (Salem, MA)

The Turner-Ingersoll Mansion built in 1667 was the colonial home to three generations of the prominent Turner family, then the family of a successful farmer turned seaman named Samuel Ingersoll and the entrepreneurial Upton family before  finally being purchased by Caroline Emmerton who would turn it into the museum it is today.

It is known as the House of Seven Gables and being the inspiration for Nathaniel Hawthorne’s book of the same name. Originally built for wealthy Capt. John Turner. The original structure was a 2 room 2 ½ story post medieval home sporting a massive central chimney. Over the years the home would grow. First Capt Turner added a new kitchen and lean-to and then later a spacious 2 ½ story extension to the front of the house including a new parlor on the first floor and bedroom on the second. The new addition sported higher ceilings and was finished to reflect the wealth of the family.

His son would eventually inherit the home and he too was a successful merchant trading with Europe. The added wealth of the family would lead to more renovations and a change in style. To maintain his position in the community he remodeled the house in the Georgian style and added many features such as wooden paneling inside.

When he died in 1742 he left to his son John III a fortune estimated at 3.2 million dollars in today’s money and made him the 3rd wealthiest person in Salem at the time. Very few changes were made to the house under John III and over the next 40 years the family fortune dwindled due to being a loyalist and heavy gambling.  The house too would fall victim and would be lost.

The home was then purchased by the Ingersolls who remodeled it once more and removed several of the gables, replaced the porches and added Georgian trim to keep up with the newer houses being built in Salem at the time. Samuel Ingersoll was a former farmer who had become successful as a sea captain and West Indies trader and married Susannah Hathorne.  It was Susannah who introduced her cousin Nathanial Hawthorne to the home. In 1851 he would write a book called the House of Seven Gables.

In 1883 with the Ingersoll family fortune lost the house was sold to the Uptons. With the popularity of the book and the fictitious Pyncheon family they allowed visitors for 25 cents per person to enjoy tours of the home.  The Upton Family also sold a line of painted souvenir chine  in a small showp on the Turner Street side of the home to attract patrons to their version of the Hepzibah’s cent shop.

In 1908 it was sold one final time to Miss Emmerton who had inherited a large fortune from her grandfather John Bertram a successful maritime trader. It was with her that the home was restored and through charity she established the home as a philanthropic charity focused on supporting and improving the welfare of foreign born workers who had moved to Salem and helping them transition by teaching them American ways of English, woodworking, sewing and childcare.

In 1910 he established the House of Seven Gables Settlement Association which operates the museum today. Visitors like us pay $12.50 per person for a guided tour of the home. With the history of the home behind us let’s now take the tour. Note that pictures are not allowed on the tour and while I did take a few I managed to find some of the others online.  Our tour started in the kitchen of the home and we were found ourselves transported into a 17th century kitchen whose hearth is complete with cauldrons, toaster and bedwarmer.

While we were in the kitchen area, we took a peek into "Hepzibah's cent shop". While not original to the house it was added to recreate the cent shop from the book to increase appeal of the home to visitors. It has been painstakingly recreated right down to the last spool of thread, curl of ribbon, and gingerbread elephant

 

From the kitchen, we next passed through the door into the dining room. You can tell from the ceiling height that it was part of the original 1668 dwelling. Our guide made mention of the paint in this room. It was a vibrant green called "verdigris". It was made using copper and would have been a very expensive paint in the time. The room also featured a portrait over the dresser of a younger Susannah Ingersoll, Nathaniel Hawthorne's second cousin and fourth owner of the house.

To the left of the fireplace in the dining room is a small arched door that when opened looks more like a storage closet then the entry to the secret staircase mentioned in the book. It too was not part of the original design of the home but was added in keeping with the book written by Hawthorne.

 



For those looking for a bit of adventure we were able to climb the stairwell 2 ½ stories. It was a snug fit for sure but each and every one of us on the tour made our way up the rickety stairs to the attic room of Clifford Pyncheon.

Next we made our way into the attic which retained its original appearance and was setup as an example of where and how servants might have lived in the house. Our guide describe this as the coldest room of the house depending on the season. She also explained that the crumbling wall was an early example of horse hair plaster used as insulation. It failed to work well because of the severity of the temperature changes and crumbled.

Next using a diorama/model our tour guide demonstrated how the house had changed from its original structure to the mansion today with the many modifications and additions. She also took the time to explain which of the peaks formed the 7 gables.

Next we visited the Parlor chamber with its high ceilings and ornate bed with linens.  It was where the Capt. after gaining much wealth in 1677 made one of his many additions. Such a room and bed in these times was very unusual and demonstrated great wealth.



Next we descended down a more formal stairwell and headed to the Hall. It was the most formal room in the house and is where guest would have been entertained.  On either side of its fireplace are identical doors. The one on the right reveled an elegant built in cabinet functioning as a bar. Its intricate carvings and choice of color would certainly have displayed the family’s success.

This room marked the end of the inside tour. Our guide next took us outside to visit the ground as we made our way to the red house across the elegant courtyard.

The Nathaniel Hawthorne Birthplace is now immediately adjacent to the House of the Seven Gables, and also covered by the admission fee isn’t where it once was. Although it is indeed the house in which Hawthorne was born and lived to the age of four, the house was sited a few blocks away on Union Street when he inhabited it.

Today its original location is a parking lot and the building would have been lost if not for the hard work of the association. The Nathaniel Hawthorn home is a self-guided tour. We didn’t spend much time here as the rooms were pretty bare with the exception of some period furniture and anecdotal bits of information. It too had a beautiful hearth in its kitchen with all the wears you would expect to have found in a home of its time.

Once through this small and modest house we returned to the grounds where we enjoyed the view of Salem harbor from the front lawn. We also took some great pictures of the Houses from the central courtyard.

On March 29, 2007, the House of the Seven Gables Historic District was designated a National Historic Landmark District. It’s an amazing home with an even more amazing story. It is a must visit for anyone making the trip to Salem.

Starry Night @ Palettes

After a fun day with the niece and nephew at the Lego Americana build your own North Church event I was still full of energy. In a last minute what to do on a Saturday night decision Grace and I decided we would get our paint on at Palettes Natick. This particular class was their Starry Night Painting Class where we would do our best to try to replicate Vincent van Gogh's famous painting.

We arrived at 7:00 and found they weren't prepared for our late registration but they said it wasn't a problem and to give them a few moments to set up a spot for us. They sent us to the back of the store to grab an apron and visit the paint station.  The paint station is where we and everyone else was busy building out paint palette. Every shade of paint we would need and the amount was carefully listed for us to make painting a breeze.  When we returned to our station we found two blank canvases, three paint brushes each and all the other tools we would need.


We settled into position and chatted with our new painting neighbors while everyone else finished getting ready at the paint station. Next our instructor Anna got our attention and began explaining the process for those like us who had never been.  It started with us sketching out our canvas and all the major components of it from the landscape the stars and the tree.

Once we finished the sketch we began work on the stars and the sky getting the movement figured out and the swirls positioned. Then we began layering paint slowly but surely until the whole sky was covered in shades of blue with white. next we worked on the bright starts and the bursts of color that make them show so well.

Once the sky was well covered we shifted our attention to the streak of color along the horizon I wanted mine to be brighter and more hazy then the rest of the sky. I wanted it to glow like the setting sun. Next we worked on the dark tree in the foreground. On my first pass it was leaning badly but I managed to correct that lean and add what I thought was a pretty good amount of depth on a largely dark object.

The final part of our painting was the village and rolling hills. My hills definitely need more attention but my village some of the ladies were joking looks like a Thomas Kinkade with the lights on. I don't think I captured that look but I could see their humor.

I could have used another hour to finish it up but they do allow you to return on Sunday's for their open paint free of charge to finish it up. I might just have to do that. All in all it was a great time and everyone was friendly and fun. I will definitely have to return again sometime soon.

 

 

Above is a step by step of my work and below is the finished product on the left and Vincent van Gogh's original Starry Night on the right for comparison. I am certainly not a master artist and we were told to take a little creative freedom.  I am pleased with how it came out. I am not so sure I will hang it up since it doesn't really go with my decor but it was a fun night with a great friend.

 

Below are just a few other pictures we took along the way. There were other more goofy ones too but I don't need to share everything.