Weeks of stormy weather seemed to dictate the direction of our current nature table. Credit also goes to this one hundred year-old German folktale The Story of the Root Children by Sibylle Von Olfers that provided the basic ideas for creating the dolls and inspiration here.
This is the story of the "root children" living beneath the ground, with Old Mother Earth making colorful clothes for them to wear in the spring as they emerge as "flowers". The insects and the wind guide them along their journey as they travel through the seasons.
It's a simple, visual story about the cycles of nature. Mother Earth gathers up her harvest of "children" and puts them all to sleep for the winter, and this is where we've picked up the story in our diorama:: Summer is over and Autumn is moving toward Winter.
And here is kindly "Grandmother Winter" (my version of early winter) before Old Man Winter moves in and really lowers the boom with snow and ice!
Our dolls are made from pieces of wool, felt, and cotton. The lower half of their bodies are weighted with barley so they stand alone nicely. The arms are wrapped wire that can be posed or made to hold objects. (This older IKEA media cabinet makes a great display area).
How fun that must be for you and your daughter! I love it*
Posted by: Toni | November 06, 2005 at 01:00 PM
Your "Root Children" diorama is so sweet - Thank you for passing on the info about the Audrey Wood book - I'm going to look for it at the library for my grandgirls. By the way any luck finding "The Borrowers" yet? My younger daughter & I read all of the Borrowers series from our local library, years ago. We made little Borrowers shoebox rooms - we had fun, but not nearly as artistic as your dioramas!
Posted by: Terri | November 07, 2005 at 11:57 AM
We have the Audrey Wood book- it's really wonderful. My littles and I have been reading Ursula LeGuin's "Catwings" books. I think we'll do the "Spiderwick" books next.
I loved "The Borrower's"; I still have my copy!
Posted by: lk | November 08, 2005 at 10:34 AM