The Heart-Held Cottage
12:10 PM |
| The Heart-Held Cottage Watercolor and Ink Stillman and Birn Bound Beta Sketchbook 5.5 x 8.5 inches |
While I don't set resolutions, I am all too aware of how easy it is to lose forward motion and the last two weeks were brutally long as I struggled to get past the flu. In January.
I'm sure you can imagine what that did to my forward motion. Gah!
I could feel my frustration and stress levels jacking up higher and higher as I thought of my "to-do" list languishing at my desk. Nothing was getting done!
Since stress is not conducive to healing and I wanted to be over that flu YESTERDAY, maybe even the week before, I knew I needed to offset the rising aggravation.
Welcome to my escape mechanism—the Heart-Held Cottage.
This cottage only exists in my heart, my imagination and my sketchbook. It's based on a number of small houses I've seen over the years—part playhouse, part Hobbit hole, part Elven home, all fun.
And while I'd love to claim the idea as my own, it's actually a take from Cathy (Kate) Johnson's fantasy journal. (If you have a Flickr account, you can see her fantasy journal set here.)
Over the course of the last two weeks, I sketched out the little cottage and then decided to add the floor plans.
Note: I am not an architect nor am I all that interested in reality in the form of physics and such. I was interested in escaping! Below is the first and second floors:
If you enlarge the images, you'll see little splatters of turquoise and scarlet on the pages. This is because these are the last pages in my bound Stillman and Birn Beta sketchbook and well, color happens in the most unexpected places.
One of the fun things about creating a place to escape to is that I get to:
- Decorate it the way I want. No need to take anyone else's opinion or tastes into consideration—unless I want to!
- Use color schemes that I wouldn't normally use in my home.
- There is no clutter, no dust bunnies, no messiness—again, unless you want it!
- Problems go away. They don't/can't exist in a place like this. When I'm at the cottage, life is wonderful and just the way I want it!
- I can add my favorite possessions or things I'd like to own. Tired of something? I simply change it!
- I never have to clean or put anything away. It happens magically!
- I'm never rushed here. I have all the time in the world to paint, sketch, read, garden, cook, visit with a few friends, observe nature and pause to enjoy life.
I'm thinking this won't be my last foray into creating an escape as I thoroughly enjoyed creating the pages over the last two weeks. When I got tired or fell into a coughing fit, I set aside my journal and then continued as the spirit moved me.
And, yes, it really did help to lower my stress levels!
I agree with Virginia Woolf that it's important to have "a room of one's one." I just decided a whole cottage was even better!
How about you? Ever need to escape life's pressures? Do you ever run away in your sketchbook?
16 Creative Thought(s)
This is so cute. I've never thought about drawing out my cottage. I did, however, create one out of ceramic pottery clay. I hand-built the house and added rooms (it was so fun--but hard figuring out how to do the roof with a loft bedroom). Then I started making furniture out of clay...it is so cute. I loved doing it. I haven't looked in my little cottage in a while. I think I'll take a peak!
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like sooooo much fun! And I bet it's as cute as can be.
DeleteOoh, what a good idea, Laure! I'm going to draw mine in a few minutes - and it will probably be the first of many :-) Can't wait to get started.
ReplyDeleteI look forward to seeing what you create, Mo!
DeleteI would love to do that, what a great exercise to escape from life and recharge your batteries. My imagination is already choosing the soft furnishings :)
ReplyDeleteLynne
Lynne, it was odd (to me) how it became very real in my mind. Truly enjoyed the exercise!
DeleteI love it! It's a darling cottage both inside and out. I have designed a Tiny House based on plans from Tumbleweed Tiny Houses company. I thought it could even be real someday so I have planned it with real stuff I've searched out but I've sketched and collaged in my Home Sweet Home journal a lot too. I did this before I got to California as a means of hoping for the future when I didn't know if I'd get here or not in the forseeable timeframe. It really does help! I hope you are feeling much better by now but that doesn't mean you have to stop dreaming in your tiny cottage. It's great any time life is giving you fits!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Timaree, I'm feeling better. I'm getting stronger with each day. It sounds like you're way ahead of me…I'll have to check out Tumbleweed—sounds fun!
DeleteDo I ever escape into a sketchbook. No one bothers me when I am creating. A great escape. I love the way you travel and escape into your sketchbooks. This reminds me of a plan I have to convert a dull looking house built into the side of a hill (remember when that was popular?) and make it look like a hobbit house. :) I think that would be so cool.
ReplyDeleteI've always thought Hobbit House were the coolest. Sounds like you've got the perfect project!
DeleteDarling cottage, and what a fantastic idea. I have a Pinterest board with photos of favorite homey things, and a notebook with pictures cut out of magazines. I remember as a child one of my favorite things to draw was my future dream home, though of course I did not do as detailed a sketch as you've done.
ReplyDeleteIt was kind of like that, KJ, putting those types of dreams down on paper instead of just collaging the images in a notebook…long before the days of Pinterest!
DeleteVery cute cottage, and I'm glad it helped your stress level. Hope you're over that nasty flu by now!!
ReplyDeleteTHanks, Cheryl, I'm getting there. Oh so slowly, but progress all the same.
DeleteLove your 'escape mechanism'! Love your 'I get to' list for your homey Heart-held cottage. Another one to add is that it didn't 'break the bank'.... it didn't cost anything - budget was no object. Glad to hear that you enjoyed designing it and that it helped you get healthier.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed hearing about it as it reminded me of floor plans I drew as a child and dollhouses.
Good one, Claire, no it definitely did not break the bank!
DeleteLet's talk!