Which Way to Sleepy Hollow?

It’s the 1700s and you’re traveling on horseback through the mysterious, foreboding woods of the Hudson Valley. Night is falling and you need to reach your destination, but the rambling route you’ve taken has you turned around. The sounds of the beasts and birds all around you turn your skin to gooseflesh. Just when you think you may not find shelter for the night, you come upon a lonely signpost, and you don’t know if it offers relief or heightens your anxiety.

Was the raven you heard in the night calling out a warning?

This is the idea behind the project Michelle and I worked on this week. A miniature signpost set at a fork in the road between Sleepy Hollow and Tarrytown, New York, at the end of the eighteenth century. Something an itinerant school master like Ichabod Crane may have come upon in his travels.

The signs were laser cut, but meticulously sanded to look rough-hewn.

Of course, we didn’t use the same methods to construct this as the craftsmen of the eighteenth century might have. We used laser cutters, rotary tools, a drill press…and magnets! We wanted the ability to rearrange and reposition the signs on the post, so we came up with a method of attaching them with magnets.

A handful of gourds for your Halloween enjoyment.

Because that particular part of the country at the time was comprised of more wilderness and farmland than bustling city, we knew we had to reflect that with the objects found at the foot of the signpost. That meant sculpting some seasonally-appropriate pumpkins and gourds.

Field grass, wildflowers, and leaves indicate a nearby meadow.

But this being Sleepy Hollow, we would’ve been remiss if we hadn’t included at least one Jack-O-Lantern, glowing mysteriously in the night. Who lit that fire remains a mystery, but there it glows, as either welcome or warning to the weary traveler.

Be careful, traveler, which path you take.

As a final message to anyone venturing toward the hollow, an ominous black bird sits atop the post. What does he know about the path the sign point so? He’s not saying. So at this point, traveller, at this fork in the road, the journey is yours to continue. Watch your back. And keep an ear cocked for the sound of distant horse hooves approaching.

If you want to see us put this miniature diorama together, you can watch the video at the link below.