Mississippian Indian Village (1 Viewer)

[Ken & Ericka Osen/H&A Studio]

Hello All,
A few of you have asked what we have been up to for the last couple of months. For one, we have been working on the new figures for W. Britain, but the real demand on our time has been the creation of a museum model of a Mississippian Indian village for the Alabama State Archives and History Museum. We just returned from delivering the model on Thursday the 19th and we thought we would share some images of the work with you.
A view of the village from outside the palisade wall...

 

[Ken & Ericka Osen/H&A Studio]

The model was made in 1/50th scale and is 6' in diameter. All of the components were made here in our studio.
Here is a view of the corn, beans, squash and tobacco crops outside the village wall. Also note the cane growing to the lower left.

Here is a view showing the defensive wall with bastions and the staggered entrance. The walls as well as the buildings were made of posts set into the ground with small branches called wattle woven between the posts. A mixture of mud and grass was smeared into the wattle forming the walls.

 

[Ken & Ericka Osen/H&A Studio]

The bastions in the wall were used to defend the compound against hostile tribes. These were reached by ladders and spears or bows and arrows could be used to advantage from these positions. Notice the ancient game of chunky being played in the center of the compound.

looking into the village...

 

[Ken & Ericka Osen/H&A Studio]

Here we have just arrived first thing in the morning and have just removed the model on it's transportation frame from the trailer. The Archives and History Museum is located in a wonderful building built after WWI in downtown Montgomery Alabama directly across the street from the State Capital.

An overall shot of the model...

As staff members arrived to work they gathered around the model.

 

[Ken & Ericka Osen/H&A Studio]

37 figures and 4 dogs were sculpted for this model. I used the same material I use for all of my figures, a two part epoxy putty. The same material was also used to add the textures to the building, that were framed up with wood.

Here I am painting some of the figures.

To give you a size reference I took a picture with a quarter for comparison.

 

[Normandy1944]

Ken

what a masterpiece
AAAA++++++


Harrie{bravo}}

 

[Ken & Ericka Osen/H&A Studio]

Everything had to be fabricated here for the model, including the pots and the baskets. The pots were based on photographs from the museums collection of original examples and turned out of resin. There are only a few of the types shown in these photos.

A sampling of pots and baskets painted and ready to add to the model.

 

[Ken & Ericka Osen/H&A Studio]

A few more pictures of the model before we moved it inside...

 

[Ken & Ericka Osen/H&A Studio]

The transport frame I fabricated allowed us to move the model on it's side, into the building, onto the elevator and into the gallery on the second floor.

Once inside the gallery, the model was laid in it's normal position and the screws holding it in place were removed so it could be placed in the custom fabricated metal base made for it. Only three small shelters and 5 figures and a few pots were added after we set it in place.

The model in it's base waiting for the fiber optic light towers and museum glass cover to be installed. The sides will be formed Plexiglas in three sections and the top was made of non reflective museum glass in Germany.

 

[Ken & Ericka Osen/H&A Studio]

One of the building was made to represent a new construction. This allows visitors to see some of the details of construction.

the same building finished and in place...

The model under construction back at our place. Some of the sections were finished off of the base and then attached and blended in.

 

[lancer]

Unbelievable! Absolutely superb work. {bravo}} -- Al

 

[Ken & Ericka Osen/H&A Studio]

A few mores images for the day...
The Mississippians were a mound building culture and we included one at the river's edge for this small village. The decorations on some of the buildings are based on designs surviving on jugs and bowls from this period.

This culture relied on stone and flint tools, so trees were felled by controlled burning.

 

[Ken & Ericka Osen/H&A Studio]

Here we have a youth and and another young member of the village working on the palisade wall. The mud and grass mixture is applied by hand.

The men fishing with spears in the river are using a Weir. This was a series of wooden stakes that were placed in the river and small branches were then woven between them to create a barrier to trap or slow up the fish to be speared. Remains of some of these ancient weirs have been found in various locations in the US today.

Thank you for your kind comments... I hope all of you enjoy looking at these!
All the Best,
Ken

 

[Fusilier]

Sir, this diorama is simply beyond description. I can't think of enough superlatives to accurately describe how impressive this is!

Noah

 

[nysoldiers]

Ken and Ericka you are true artists!

 

[mikemiller1955]

Ken...that is really one of the nicest dioramas I have ever seen...

HUDSON & ALLEN STUDIO: When it Absolutely, Positively Has To Look Real!

You got that right!!!!

 

[thebritfarmer]

Sir, this diorama is simply beyond description. I can't think of enough superlatives to accurately describe how impressive this is!

Noah

I have to agree with you on this Noah!!

Thanks for sharing your work with us Ken & Ericka.

 

[Ken & Ericka Osen/H&A Studio]

Wow,
Thank you so much for the kind comments. This model will be the center piece of this new exhibit. The walls around the model will be lined with display cases filled with various items of material culture that have been excavated from sites in Alabama. The walls between cases, and at the end will be covered with custom murals depicting Mississippian culture pre and post contact. I will get some pictures of the completed exhibit when we return in August.
I thought I would post a few other images to point out some other details. Here a dug out canoe is being made. Suitable logs were selected and then shaped by controlled burning and scraping. Several extent examples have managed to survive in various parts of the country. For the model I selected a small section of branch and then removed the bark and burnt the top as tough it is in the process of being built.

 

[Ken & Ericka Osen/H&A Studio]

We built several work shelters for the village. Historic period images show traditional buildings such as these, including ones with elevated platforms and storage areas under the roof. We included this detail in one, including items stored.

the structures did not have chimneys and smoke left the building either by smoke holes in the roof, or possibly open gable ends. We included both examples.

 

[Ken & Ericka Osen/H&A Studio]

a few parting shots for today...

This was a fun project for Ericka and I to be involved with. We are looking forward to returning for the formal opening in August and will be sure to post a few images of the finished exhibit.
I hope to build a smaller NE Woodland Indian village section in 1/32nd scale sometime later this year yet too... one more thing to add to the list!
Ken