A little Tune...

In July I drove to Tune in Denmark with two miniaturist friends to attend classes at the summer school there.   First we made a stop at Egeskov Castle, a beautiful castle with wonderful gardens,  well worth a visit.  But the main reason for stopping there is because it is where Titania's Palace is housed.    Titania's Palace is a miniature castle which was commissioned and worked on by Sir Neville Wilkinson from 1907 to 1922 for his  daughter Guendolen.


I had seen Titania's Palace before when it was still on display at Legoland.  I think the castle is a much better setting for this wonderful miniature Palace.  Taking photos of the rooms was very difficult because of the glare from the windows on the protective glass.  My photos are therefore not the best, but I'll show you just a few anyway. 

Egeskov Castle
Titania's Palace (inside Egeskov Castle)
Titania's Palace, interior.
Titania's Palace, interior.
      Something in this little chapel below drew my attention...I have the same little book! Mine is a bit more worn, the velvet on the spine has almost worn away and the ivory cover is a bit chipped. But it is the same little book.  I found mine a few years ago on an antique market in France.  

Titania's Palace, chapel.
I have the same book!

In the evening we visited Ursula Dyrbye-Skovsted, who lives near Egeskov Castle.  We had a delicious dinner in her garden and very much enjoyed ourselves in wonderful company.  After dinner Ursula gave us a tour of her marvelous workshop and place of business ' Intarsia wood'  .  Wow, that was something else!  What a fabulous workshop!  The house and workshop are nearly 100 years old, and have maintained all the charm which the history of craftsmanship, passion and life brings.   Unfortunately I did not take any photos, but there are some on her website Intarsia ApS .

We left Ursula late that evening, and after a long trip with heavy traffic, relentless rains, roadworks and a detour we finally arrived at the school in Tune around 1:15 AM.  
It was all worth it though, as this was what we woke up to the next day:


Some of the buildings  and many seating area's of the school. 

My classroom.  This is where I spent most of my time the rest of the week (until 11:30 PM on some days!).

Not too bad ;-) 

Even during the occasional shower the view from my desk was wonderful.

 My teacher for both of the classes I took was Bill Robertson.  Here he is showing us a technique on the metal lathe.

During the first class we worked on making a wine decanting machine.  The machine holds a wine bottle which can then be slowly tilted to separate the wine from the sediment.  
My machine is not ready yet, although I did make most of the parts.   I am waiting for some tools to be delivered to me so I can finish it.  

 I had only once, very briefly, turned metal on a lathe, so basically I was new to the lathe.  There was a lot (!!) of measuring involved.  We had to turn three or four of each length so that we could pick the two most similar to use.  I made a few mistakes, so I turned more than required but that's all good experience. 
All the parts are screwed together, so we had cut nuts and bolts too.  So cool when the parts you have turned actually screw together!  As I said, my wine decanter machine is not ready yet, I'll write another post when I have finished it and show you how it all comes apart.

My second class involved more work on the lathe, in wood mostly this time.  We made a set of campaign chairs, the main feature of these of course is that they can be taken apart easily for travel.
 

The front legs of these chairs were turned on the lathe.  Trying to get four legs to look the same takes some practice!  Again, I did not finish the chairs, but that was not my goal.  My goal was to get acquainted with working on the lathe, and that I did!

It was very hot that week, so the last night of school my friends and I went to the beach for a swim.  Well you can see my friends' interpretation of 'going for a swim' ;-)  To be fair to them, they did go for a swim. 

After spending a leisurely Saturday in beautiful Copenhagen, my friend and I returned home on Sunday.  We spent the last night at the school as well which was rather spooky as we were the only two people there.  No staff, no teachers, no other students, just us two.  We had quite an eventful night with alarms going off and running into the security guard in the dark...but that's another story ;-)

For us Tune was just wonderful.  We will be back!

Comments

  1. What a string of treats, Josje! Titiana's palace is wonderful...boy would I love to see that someday... And that class looks like it was great too!

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    1. Oh it was fun and I learned so much! I hope you'll be able to come this way (or rather, to Denmark) and see Titania's palace. Thanks Doug!

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  2. Hey Josje, what a beautiful post! So lovely to hear your news and see these wonderful pictures. I've always wanted to see this mini palace. Your class looks like such fun, I'm so pleased you are well and having fun.
    Hugs
    Si

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    1. Thank you Si! It was a great summer, miniature-wise ;-) Come to Denmark next year, it's not that far. How fun would that be!

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  3. What a great idea to concentrate on turning both metal and wood! Love to see that a summer school trip to Tune is a lot like the Guildschool, but in Europe! Must put it on my to do when I retire list!

    Btw, your friends had absolutely the right idea about 'going for a swim' :):) swimming is for fish and wine for people ;):)

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    1. Haha yes, they sure did enjoy their swim ;-)
      The school in Tune is modelled after the Guild school. Just a few minor differences. The time classes start for instance, much more relaxed in Tune. Although relaxing is not what we were doing in class, that was hard work! But fun. And it is relatively close, especially when you compare it to Castine. Definitely worth returning to. Hopefully you'll be able to go there one day soon too.

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  4. Hi Josje
    What an eventful week. The pictures of the palace within the palace are wonderful...it looks such a beautiful place to visit. Your lathe work is amazing, I can barely get to grips with my dremel to drill holes lol :)
    All the best
    Vivian

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    1. Thank you Vivian. Well the lathe work is not as difficult as is looks, you just need a good instructor to tell and show you how to do it and then it is a matter of practise, practise, practise (and measure, measure, measure). I'm sure you could do the same!

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  5. Tanto el castillo como el mini-palacio son una maravilla. El recinto de la escuela se ve estupendo y la aventura que habeis vivido genial, pero lo mejor es lo que habéis aprendido, envidiable.

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    1. Thank you Isabel. I agree, the techniques I have learned are the best thing of this week!

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  6. Dat klinkt en ziet er uit als een miniatuur paradijs. Gaaf hoor, zo'n mini vakantie. En Titania's palace lijkt me ook prachtig om eens in het echt te zien.
    Dat zwemmen op die manier zou ook mijn idee zijn, wat is er mis mee haha.

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    1. Haha Inge, je bent niet die enige die zo van zwemmen houdt ;-) Ja Tune was een succes. Leuk gezelschap, goede locatie, lekker eten en nog miniaturen maken ook. Erg geslaagd.

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  7. Beautiful setting for the classes, and your lathe work is excellent, they look identical!

    Sarah :)

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    1. Thank you Sarah. Wel nearly identical, not quite, but I'm very pleased with my first try!

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  8. Now I am convinced that all of Denmark is a charming doll house!

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    1. ;-) Denmark is a charming country, with lovely people too. It has a great mix of the old and the new, fantastic old architecture (and old culture obviously) and ultra modern design. And a great history in story telling of course.

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  9. I have nothing but Amazement and Admiration for All of the things that you do and the museum quality of work that you produce!
    Looking at your posts is like reviewing a Master Class of________ ( fill in the blank) !

    elizabeth

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    1. Ah thank you Elizabeth, you are so kind! I still have so much to learn....

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  10. Wow, Josje! What a wonderful opportunity! The care and precision you must have to work with the metal is just Amazing!!! It looks as though you got a lot of practice with both the metal and the wood! I really admire your skill and patience! To make all the mini parts... even the screws!!! Really incredible!
    And it looks as though you had a lot of "Adventures" as well.... so good you had friends along!!!
    I wish I could see Titania's Palace up close and real.... it is one of those Doll Palaces that is just beyond compare! Thank you for sharing the pictures!

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    1. Thank you Betsy! Yes it was fun and a great learning experience. Something I hope to expand on once I get my own lathe. Cutting the screws is not that difficult, you just need the right tools, but what fun it is when things actually screw together!

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  11. What a beautiful setting for a school. It is a gorgeous building!!! I love the three sides of windows. You must have great light in that class room.

    What fun to learn how to turn metal using an engraver. I have always used a piece of steel that is held in a vise and the dials on my lathe to do the cutting. Which means you are using both dials at the same time. All the smoothing with my files and then polishing with all grades of sand paper. I have never turned tiny parts any other way. So I would have loved to learn how to do it that way.

    The decanting machine is a wonderful piece. I have seen Bill's finished one. It will look great in your house.

    I haven't seen the finished campaign chairs. I look forward to seeing your finished. I am sure it felt a lot different cutting the wood after having turned metal. :-)

    That is so cool to find you have the same little ivory book that is in Titania's Palace! I think you also have some duplicate item from Queen Mary's dollhouse. Records and hrmmm I have forgotten the other pieces. WHAT LUCK to have found those.

    I am so glad you had such a good time. Thank you for telling us all about it. I am looking forward to seeing your next post. XXX

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    1. Yes that classroom is the best one in the school, so I was lucky to be in there with that wonderful view and light.
      We did turn the parts with steel cutting bits in a kind of vice and then using both dials to do the cutting, but the fine tuning was done freehand. You should try it, it's not that difficult. Use a T rest to support your chisel and then use your left and right hand as you would your dials (well, more or less).

      The campaign chairs are not really my style, but that doesn't matter. It was the techniques I wanted to learn more about. I need a lathe to finish them, so hopefully I will get one soon!

      You have got a great memory Catherine! Yes I do have a record (and some canned goods) which is also in Queen Mary's dollhouse. I find it so incredible I accidently found these items, only to dicover later the same items are in famous dollhouses! I should do a little post on this, shouldn't I?

      Well, the summer holidays are over here, (and so it seems is the summer weather) so back to the regular routine, which involves more time on miniatures and a blog now and then.

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  12. This is quite the beautiful and inspiring post! The pictures are really great. And the work you did looks perfect! I'm anxious to see the pieces finished--- .

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    1. Thank you Linda! I hope to get a lathe soon so I can finish all the pieces. I never thought turning on a lathe would be so much fun and give you such a broad range of opportunities to make miniatures. Two of my friends who were really anxious about taking this class also are total converts, even against their own expectations.

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  13. Hello Josje,
    What a wonderful trip. The pictures are just gorgeous and that dollhouse divine! Your work looked beautiful...what amazing skills you have acquired...I hope you will show us the finished chair when it is done.
    Big hug,
    Giac

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    1. Thank you Giac! Yes I will show everything when it is ready. Which may take a while as I don't have all of the tools yet, but hopefully soon! It was a great trip. I wish I could take you all with me next time, it is so much fun!

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  14. Un buen viaje y maravilloso profesor. Las herramientas son muy importantes para esos trabajos. Me gustará ver cuando lo terminas.

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    1. Thank you Clara. Yes, quite right, the right tools are so important! I hope to get some soon ;-)

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  15. Hi Josje,
    So glad you finally posted something about Tune. It sounds like another wonderfull place for miniatures.
    And working on the lathe looks like a reall challenge but you've done a wonderfull job.
    Thanks

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    1. Yes Jeffry it was fun and a great place to learn more techniques. You should come next year!

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  16. I'm sure the trip was wonderful, it sounds great and looks beautiful! I think Tatiana's Palace is much better suited in a castle than in Legoland too, what a contrast ;). It's like the Nightwatch being exibited in Duinrell, haha! I would love to see Tatiana's Palace someday myself! Metal on a lathe, I would never have thought of that, although it makes sense (guess I just thought all metal is cast or something..). Must be difficult, but you are doing very well with it I can see, but no surprise there! Haha, I can only imagine the situation with the alarm and security guard, sounds like fun! Looking forward to the finished chair, but so far, so very good, as is the wine decanting machine.

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    1. Haha, nice comparison Monique! It is funny how we sometimes have no idea how things are made. But yes, many things are made by turning metal, not casting. The basic technique is not that difficult, the difficulty of course lies in getting your tools to do what you want, or what you envisioned at least ;-)
      Oh yes, it was fun. We must go back next year. Hopefully!

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  17. What a great trip! Appreciate the close-ups of the lathe and your turnings. Giggled at your reference to your spooky night - had a similar goose bumps experience while dorming one summer many moons ago at the Cité Universitaire Paris o_O Thank for taking us along to Tune, wish I was there!

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    1. You're welcome Alison. Ah spooky nights in school dorms is something neither of us would like to repeat I'm sure! ;-)

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  18. Thanks for the post and those great photos, I have always wanted to see this dolls' house! it is in a beautiful castle too!

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    1. Hi Andy, yes they're both beautiful. I hope you'll be able to go there some day. It was worth the trip!

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