Shirley D’Andrea unleashes her creativity through fairy house building

A Menlo Park resident of 50 plus years, Shirley D’Andrea took watercolor classes from Steve Curl after retiring as a family therapist 15 years ago. “I painted until there was no more wall space,” she said. “I couldn’t see any point in having them all stacked up!”

But Shirley’s hands are evidently not meant to be idle. After checking out a book from the library about fairy houses written by Sally J. Smith, she immediately started building them.

“They hold my interest,” she said. “It’s the mixture of fantasy, design and the fun of creating them totally from scratch.”

The houses are now scattered around her home as well as sprinkled throughout her spacious backyard. To make them, she collects redwood and eucalyptus bark and occasionally sends away for other building materials.

What she’s going to do with the houses, she’s unclear. “Maybe I’ll just build until there’s no more counter space to hold them!” she said with a smile.

Photos by Linda Hubbard (c) 2018