Tag Archives: Wilsonia cabin

Wilsonia and Mineral King

While working on the book The Cabins of Wilsonia, sometimes people would ask why I was doing a book on Wilsonia iwhenI have a cabin in Mineral King. These are the top three reasons: 1. cabin communities matter; 2. I call my business Cabinart; 3. I like to document and portray the good things of Tulare County. *

But did you know that Wilsonia and Mineral King are tied together by the cabin that I married into? 

In the spring of 1983, (2 years before I met my husband Michael), his family cabin in Mineral King blew up and burned down. It was next door to the Mixter cabin, whose permit had expired and was ordered by the Park to be torn down. 

Over the course of the next 2 years, my husband pursued rebuilding his cabin and also the possibility of buying the Mixter’s cabin and turning his empty lot over to the Park to satisfy the law. Lots of red tape, lots of bureaucrats saying no, and then someone knew Someone who knew SOMEONE, and permission was granted to exchange his bare lot for the Mixter’s cabin with its expired permit.

While I was working on the book, Neal Mixter and I became friends. I gave him all the paperwork from Michael’s cabin exchange so he could study it and learn if there was a way to apply this experience to Wilsonia. He and other hard-working cabin folks went to endless meetings, and eventually they made a plan.

Maybe this is the reason that the Park has made its offer to exchange their unused cabins for private vacant lots. Maybe it isn’t, but I like to think that Michael’s experience with the Mineral King Mixter cabin and the Park got the ball rolling.

The Botkin cabin, formerly the Mixter cabin, Mineral King

*4. I already did a book on the cabins of Mineral King, called The Cabins of Mineral King; 5. I love to draw; 6. Several cabin folks in Wilsonia asked me to do a book on Wilsonia

Simple One-Story House?

Not one-story.

I looked up “cabin” on my Mac. The dictionary on my computer has fairly useless definitions as far as our discussion is concerned.

Cabin may refer to:

  • Beach cabin, a small wooden hut on a beach
  • Log cabin, a house built from logs
  • Chalet, a wooden mountain house with a sloping roof
  • Small remote mansion (Western Canada)
  • Small, free-standing structures that serve as individual lodging spaces of a motel
  • Cottage, a small house

Forget that. Where’s my real Webster’s dictionary?? Mine was published in 2004 rather than 1935. Oh good grief, look at this: “A small, simple, one-story house.”

That’s it? Au contraire! (Is that how you say “You are wrong” in French?)

Too stylish to be considered “simple”.

A few folks checked in on my other blog with their thoughts on what a cabin is. One suggested “primitive”; another said a place to get away from every day life; someone else put forth the idea that a cabin is a state of mind. “Non-fancy” is a good description, and another added gave a description of an ideal cabin. She used the word “spare”, which could mean an extra home or it could mean without clutter. (I’ve seen some pretty cluttered cabins, and I have lived in a cabin when it was my only place of residence.)

To be continued next week (and feel free to share your thoughts on what makes a cabin in the comments, under “Leave a Reply”!)

What Is a Cabin?

This pencil drawing probably fits most common ideas of what a cabin is.

On my other blog, Cabinart.net, I have been writing occasionally about what makes a cabin. Of course you are invited to go there to read the posts, (Cabin Thoughts, Part 2, Part 3, Few More, Final) but I thought I’d refine the thoughts a bit directly for Wilsonia cabin folks. (Over there I post 5 days a week, as opposed to the weekly posts here.)

It began with a discussion with my friend (the one who taught me how to use InDesign so I could make The Cabins of Wilsonia) about what it is that makes a cabin. My art business is called “Cabin Art”, so one would think that I would know how to define the word “cabin”. Alas, one would be wrong about that!

We had an old dictionary at the cabin, so I looked up “cabin”. The 3rd definition said, “A small, rude hut”.

Clearly the word “rude” has changed in meaning since the dictionary was published in 1935. I looked up “rude” and saw “Poorly constructed”.

Alrighty, then. A cabin is a small, poorly constructed hut.

But is it? 

Nothing small or poorly constructed here!

I’d love to hear your ideas about what a cabin is – email me at cabinart@cabinart.net or better yet, comment (use “Leave a Reply”) on this post so others can join in the discussion!

Place of Honor

A friend recently sent me this photo.

What a place of honor! Of course, it could have been just set up for a photo shoot, but still. . .  this cabin looks to be the perfect combination of rusticity with elegance. And knowing my friend, I’m sure it is fabulous!

You too can have your own fancy looking book called The Cabins of Wilsonia. (But you’ll have to find your own table-top easel.)

 

Kind Words

A few weeks ago, I received an order from someone I’ve never met for several copies of The Cabins of Wilsonia. 

It is always good to know how people find the book, so I asked this customer. Here is what she said:

I had been reading about your book project for awhile in the Wilsonia Times newsletter. We hadn’t been able to get to the cabin for a few years, but we were finally able to go last week. Someone bought a copy of your book to keep at the cabin and that is where I read it, which was perfect.

I love the writing and the sketches are exquisite. I like how you combined sketches of cabins with architectural details and elements of the natural surroundings. It really captures the essence of Wilsonia. I ordered a copy for myself and some for my daughters and for friends who enjoy going up there with us. Thank you so much for taking on that project and executing it so beautifully. 

Aw shucks. Thank you, Lisa! Thank you for appreciating the variety in the drawings, all the efforts I put into showing details and backgrounds and getting people to tell me about their cabin experiences. My goal was to “capture the essence of Wilsonia”, and it means a ton to me that the book does that for you!

A Few More Quilt Squares As a Means of Distraction

 

The Wilsonia quilters have about 25 painted quilt squares hanging around the community.

I showed you about 10 or 12 so far. Here are the final 3 to distract you as we all hang around wondering when The Cabins of Wilsonia will arrive.

painted quilt square

The colors are not true here. It is actually purple and teal, and teal is my FAVORITE color. So, as much as I love blue, I’m sorry you cannot see the accurate colors of this square. It was the first one I saw on my last visit, courtesy of my hostess.

painted quilt square

I can’t believe I missed this one on my travels! (Thank you, Gus for taking these 2 photos for me.)

painted quilt square

I want to sit beneath this square (diamond?) and knit. The originator of this square and owner of this cabin has a wonderful sense of style!

NOW is the book almost here??

Fancy Drawing of a Plain Cabin

 

There is a very sweet woman whom I have never met, but we seem to have become pen pals. We write notes to one another about Wilsonia, particularly about the upcoming book and about her cabin.

She asked me to draw her cabin, and let me know that it is very plain but means very much to her.

Because it is so plain, and because there are more cabins than I could possibly fit into the book and have it be interesting (that is for another post), I opted to not include hers in the book.

She is gracious and kind and honest. She bought 4 books in spite of the fact that her cabin is not in it, and then asked me to draw it for her.

You can see it doesn’t have many details architecturally:

wilsonia cabin photowilsonia cabin photo

I photographed it at 2 separate times of day, looking for the best light and best angle.

She asked for a collage, which shows different angles, views and details, all in one drawing.

I came up with 2 ideas, both quite pleasing. Now the ball is in her court!

Wilsonia cabin sketches

Do you have a preference?

Nothing to See Here, Folks

 

Several cabin folks in Wilsonia have asked me to draw their cabins. One wasn’t built yet, one is very plain, and one is almost impossible to photograph or see.

Today I’ll show you the one that is almost impossible to see because of the wall of cedar trees. I tried and tried to find the right view for the book and finally said to myself, “Never mind! This is too hard, you cannot include every cabin anyway, so just move on.”

wilsonia cabin photo

wilsonia cabin photo

Just move on, folks. There’s nothing to see here.

But wait! There must be something. I did several sketches from different angles, scanned them, and wrote to the cabin owner. No word back yet.

cabin sketches

You can see these are just sketches as opposed to drawings. Scribbly, loose, lots of trees pruned or removed, missing detail. . . good thing the owner knows I can draw.

Now, I just need to hear from him so I can begin the actual drawing.

There is one I like the best and hope he picks. Do you have a favorite angle?

Who Wants a Book About Wilsonia?

 

commissioned pencil drawing

When someone wants to self-publish a book, one of the biggest puzzles to solve is who will want to buy the book. If someone wants to publish a book traditionally, that is probably the most important question too.

Let’s answer that question about The Cabins of Wilsonia, an upcoming book about cabin life in a mountain community, told in drawings and quotations from the residents.

1. People who love Wilsonia

This could be people who have visited, who have a cabin, who used to have a cabin, who have friends with a cabin or who wish they had a cabin.

Surprising fact: many cabin folks have asked if their cabin will appear in the book. If it doesn’t, or if it doesn’t appear in the way that they think it should, they are not shy in letting me know they will not be buying a book!

2. People who love cabins

Did you know there is a website of beautiful cabin photos called “cabin corn”? (Not really called that, but I didn’t want to type the second word which actually begins with the letter “P” – you figure it out!) There are people who just love cabins and small homes and mountain living.

3. People who love pencil

This book will have 276 pencil drawings. There are people who love to draw, people who love pencil drawings, people who love detail, drawing students past and present.

4. People who love local information

There are people who buy all books of local history. The Cabins of Wilsonia is not yet a history book, but it will be some day. It is a look at life today in a cabin community in Tulare County. The folks who collect information about this place we live are likely to want this book.

5. People who love me

Ahem. This last one is a little embarrassing. However, my friend Mark used to tell me (because his Dad used to tell him), “If your friends and family won’t do business with you, who will?”

And now you know who comprises the market for the upcoming book, The Cabins of Wilsonia. Do you fit into one of these categories?