A Day in The Life - A Miniature Life.

"The reinvention of daily life means marching off the edge of our maps." Bob Black

I have a feeling if you are like me, you march off the edge of your map daily.  By that I mean, we start off with one project and by the end of the day are way off the trail.  A long way from where we started.

I wake up thinking about miniatures and pretty much go to bed the same way. This usually entails what I plan for the day and then what I never got to that day.

I was working on some chairs recently that I wanted to reupholster and had all of that spread out on one work table.

 

Choosing fabrics for several pieces had me stumped so I looked for a distraction.Then some tea sets I had ordered caught my eye. These were meant to be made up into magically pouring tea sets like this:

Oh, and there's some finished chairs. Here's another one:

*The customer who won this on eBay said she was disappointed with the "quality of the chair" (Bespaq) because "it's light weight and cheap and small (again, Bespaq) and not worth what I paid for it. "I thought it would be oversized and not so cheap looking" (once again perfectly scaled Bespaq).  I told her to return it for a full refund. Never heard from her again. When this happens I have to think they were trying to either get  a partial refund or a full refund and then get to keep the piece. Not. But I digress and am off the path again, as you can see.

So there are the tea sets:

They are commercial pieces that I bought online or on eBay and the quality varies widely with one set being much too big for 1:12 scale. I have an order for a magical set but couldn't decide which to start with and ended up not starting.

BUT. Someone had inquired about a dormouse in a tea pot and I had just gotten this new modeling compound called Bees Putty from Germany. I sculpted this mouse in the too big tea pot because sometimes too big is just right. And the Bees Putty is pretty neat stuff.

"Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?"
"That depends a good deal on where you want to get to", said the Cat. Alice  

I looked back at the tea sets, thought the silver tray was too big and thought maybe it should be painted to go with some Italian pottery I had done recently:

 Actually these were another wandering when I came across some turned wooden pots and some larger terracotta pots I got in a lot on eBay. Because I wanted the strawberry planter in the lot.  (Which I broke as soon as it arrived.) I came across them many a time and finally came up with something to do with them while trolling Pinterest.

So the tray got a coat of gesso. Black gesso. I do love the black stuff. 

I never went further with the tray because I got distracted again. I put away the fabric and tea sets - getting pretty crowded on all 3 of my work desks - and decided to clean up the whole lot. I probably don't have to tell you that once you start that 25 other projects present themselves. 
 Please tell my I'm not alone. Post your wanderings below.  

Miniature Spring Cleaning.

"A bright person can always think of something better to do than housework" - Ruby L. Barnhill

I am certainly one of those smart people. But it's time for spring cleaning again, (already) and this time my attention has turned to spring cleaning my doll house.  Oddly, its the only doll house I own, well, except for the haunted one in the garage.  But that's a another story for another time.  Anyway, I did indeed clean up the house by pulling everything out room by room and rearranging it back again.  A lot less intense than real spring cleaning and a lot more fun.

Since I had everything out I thought I would photograph everything, since I had never done that before and so might as well share it here. I don't keep much of what I make so this house is full of the work of others.  Stuff I love and made fit in the house.  This was, of course, all collected after my disaster .

I started with the children's room.  The house only has 4 rooms and an entrance hall, staircase and a hall on the second floor.  There is also a room in the turret and an attic.

Children's Room in The Doll House

 I got the house finished in a trade for one of my Noah's Arks.  I painted the whole house and replaced some of the wallpaper, but this room is the same as it was when it came to live at my house. It had a few owners before me.

Dolls by Feathers Lace and Clay

 I found the bed at a show in Westchester - boy I miss those shows.  The artist was on her way out of miniatures and was selling everything at great prices.  The trunk was made by Alan Waters, an amazing artist from Australia who also dropped out of miniatures. We became friends and he made a lot of special things for me but are gone now (see disaster). I should really get more photos of that because it is really special.  The little boys are both by Gudren Kolenda of Feathers, Lace and Clay.  She is one of my favorite doll makers.  The rug is by Classic Carpets.  The rocker is a Chrysonbon kit that I bashed.

English Hand Carved Rocking Horse

Artisan Made Children's Toys

The rocking horse is from the UK, purchased from Eileen Godfrey, where I used to get a lot of spectacular treasures and there are more in this house.  I made the stick horse, the only piece of mine in the house.  The pencil box is by Alan Waters. Paint box by Lawrence St Leger.  Would you believe the paint tubes hold real paint and the caps twist off?  The stacking blocks are by Terre Fernandez.  ABC book by Barbara Brear .  Both of these gals are wonders at what they do.  The castle is by Jeanne Abil.  Goat pull toy is by Barbara Logan, again, another wonder who unfortunately dropped out of the field.  The teddy is one who escaped the disaster and is by Emily Farmer, a wonderful bear maker.  The horse pull toy by master wood carver, Linda Master .  The bird in the cage actually flaps its wings and I think it might be another St Leger. Oops. The carved bunny on wheels is made by me... 

"My idea of cleaning is sweeping the room with a glance."  Erma Bombeck

And yes, I dusted and swept and shook out the carpets.

The wash stand is an artisan piece but I don't recall the artist.  The Beatrix Potter pieces are early Karen Markland and are porcelain.  The pitcher and bowl and all the matching pieces are reproduction pieces of those that were made for The Queen's Doll House and they are stunning.  I wish I had more.

 

This charming little desk is signed R.R.Moos and is just perfect for a kid's room.  Mother Goose book by Terre Fernandez.  Watercolor box by St. Leger. 

These are the art work that hangs on the walls.  The ship is by Linda Master who is an outstanding painter.  The needlepoint was done by my own husband who was fascinated with Sharon Garmize's work and bought a few kits.  That was the only thing that interested him at miniature shows.  Go figure.  The poppies painting was done by June Field. I like having original art in my doll house even though no one really cares if they are prints. 

I think I will do this house one room per blog.  I like the idea of having a record of this here and dear, Blogger, please do NOT disappear.  If anyone recognizes pieces for which I do not have the artist named I would appreciate the information.

Please comment and tell me about your miniature spring cleaning adventures!!

THE POETRY OF MINIATURES

"Sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in your heart".  Winnie the Pooh

How wonderful is it to stumble upon a item of tiny perfection?  Any miniature collector knows just what I mean.  It's that moment when you discover the quintessential representation of maybe even a common everyday item replicated in diminutive form.  And somehow it takes your breath away.  Here is a recent one of mine snagged on ebay for a song.  How the whole world missed it I have no idea. The stars were shining on me that day.

The Perfect Miniature Tea Set on Tray ~ Artist Unknown

 Not everyone gets this. 

 Maybe because they are too busy to stop and notice something that small and that perfect.  It takes a special sort I guess and I am one.  This tiny tea set is wheel thrown clay with a lovely, earthy green glaze.  The pots have perfect fitting lids and the tiny cups and saucers are the true and perfect 1:12 scale.  If you did not see the lemon in the photo, you would not know it is miniature.  It came from the UK and I wish I knew the artist.

 This is Realism in Miniature.

At it's best.  And to happen upon just the most perfect tiny thing is a huge part of being a miniature collector.  It's the thrill of the hunt.  The discovery of, until that very moment, exactly what you wanted.  It might not even be something you were actually looking for but you know when you see it it has to be yours.

 It's poetry you can touch.

The perfect miniature piece or setting or diorama can evoke a feeling or emotion just like a poem.  They are lovely little bits of art to me and many and I think the world needs to stop and have a better look.

I subscribe to a poem a day newsletter by Samantha Reynolds  and a recent one reminded me of miniatures.  With all due respect to Samantha, if I plug in 'miniatures' for 'poetry', you'll see what I mean.  And I thank Samantha for that.  I think she just might agree that in this case, they interchange.


The Dharma of Poetry 

Poetry isn’t meant to educate you
or make you laugh

it isn’t meant to motivate you
improve you
or mend
your heart

it might do it all anyways
poetry is like that
ambitious
for a little guy

but it isn’t the rumble
in the centre
of it all

every time letters are stitched together
into a poem
it is simply
a polite request
to obliterate the fog
that tricks you
into numbness

look
look

there are a thousand ways
to see each simple thing
an eternity
of newness
with each blink.

Tell me your miniature 'poem'.  What's the perfect tiny thing for you?