STONE ROUNDHOUSE

Inspired by mythological wizarding huts, this model is less about the magical realm and more an exercise in model-building processes. To construct the roundhouses, I cut cardboard tubing and sculpted tower doors out of clay. I attached the doors using glue, covered the remainder of the towers in clay, and once it was dry, carved the brick pattern and windows. I then painted the structures and fitted each tower with a paper cone roof. I cut and attached wood shingles to each roof and then painted the buildings.

To create the hill the roundhouse is perched on, I carved foam and reinforced it with wood dowl rods. I then covered it in paper mache. While the hill and steps dried, I twisted cloth stem wire into tree frames and used spackle to attach them to the hillside. When the hill structure had dried, I painted it by layering dark colors like black and brown with light gray tones.

To create the foliage, I covered preserved reindeer moss in Mod Podge and foliage powder before attaching clumps to the tree frames. I also tore and painted foliage sponge to create dark green bushes, which I attached to the hillside using glue. Finally, I dabbed Mod Podge onto the roofs, tower sides, and the surface of the hills before sprinkling the wet areas with foliage powder to give the landscape a mossy effect.