A shrine doesn’t have to be religious. We all have something we revere, a pet, a family member, nature, a holiday or even a favourite car.
Inspiration
Find inspiration for your shrine in the architecture and decoration of churches, reliquaries, mosques, Shinto shrines, or any other lavishly decorated object. Don’t forget that the Taj Mahal is also a shrine! Look in books or online for photos.
Sketch it
Make a rough sketch of the main features of your design. Think about the stamps and textures you played with.
Decide on the size
I want to hang mine on a specific wall so I put a piece of paper there and sketched out the size and the proportions that looked right to me.
I advise that your maximum dimensions are not bigger than 18x18x8cm (Height x Width x Depth). Bigger than that will be quite difficult to assemble.
Get out your ruler and transfer your measurements to your design. Begin with the back wall. It is the easiest because it won’t have any sculptural details. Start there and then figure out the side walls and the front. Stop there. Don’t worry about the roof and the base. We’ll work that out in class when you assemble the walls.
Make a pattern on card or heavy paper.
Transfer your building design to a heavy piece of paper or card.
We’ll build the basic structure of your Shrine in your next class.