House Plant

 Now for something completely different - a walnut house in a planter!

The idea came to me when I saw the beautiful hand turned bowls made by Tom Frey. The bowl I've used for this piece is cherrywood, with a natural rim.

The house, as always, is made from a real walnut, with acorn caps as roof and awnings. It's supported on oak twigs from our yard, and embellished with bits of dried grapevine.  The tiny landscape inludes agate pebbles from the southern shore of Lake Superior, collected for me by friends who were vacationing there.

One of the real pleasures of what I do is receiving unexpected gifts of natural bits and pieces from friends and family who have seen the walnut houses and think I might be able to use some interesting pebbles, tiny shells, fragments of bark, driftwood or fungi. I'm so grateful to them! It's helped me to build up quite a collection of wonderful things, which I dip into all the time.

The interior has a cozy bed, tables and a comfy chair; a shelf over the door holds books and dishes.