fairy forts

Fairy forts are a great way to arrange natural materials. One of my art students has been making fairy forts for several years. She keeps remaking the forts and collaborates with other neighborhood kids as the fairy village changes and reacts to natural disasters (like rainstorms and winter) and whimsical reorganizations. The materials -- moss, gourds, coconut husks, birch bark, shells, and rocks -- work like building blocks and must, according to the groups strict rules, be found and not purchased. They forage and gather materials as part of the creative process and have a mossy spot in the park and a birch tree in a neighbor's yard which are of particular interest. Domesticating nature on a miniature scale is appealing to these students, but I understand that the story is less important than the architectural delight they take in making new structures. Yes, these huts and hammocks are inhabited by fairies, but no one seems to worry much about specificity. They are aware that at some point in the future the village will be visited by a local dog or toddler.