I'm excited to be heading to Maine for the Guild School today. A whole week of friends, fun, learning new skills and loads of miniatures - what could be better?
I may be able to post while I'm there; but if not, will give a full report - with pictures - when I return.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
One more thing
I usually know when a project is finished. There always comes a point at which there doesn't seem to be anything to add. (Renoir famously said that he knew his painting of a nude was finished when he wanted to slap her bottom!)
I finished the little cottage and sent off pictures with my application to teach at the Guild School next year.
But...every time I looked at it, it just seemed to "need something". I decided to put it away overnight and take another look the next day. Usually when I do this, I realize I have been over thinking things and leave the piece as is; but this time I knew right away what I wanted to add. Here is the finished piece:
The weathervane is the cherry on the sundae, so to speak. It's a brass etching from Scale Link, a British company. Here's the inside of the cottage:
Of course, a garden shed might be full of tools (ours certainly is!) , but I thought it would be more fun to make it a place where the gardener could take a break from work and have a cup of tea. Notice the table made from a barrel.
Saturday, June 5, 2010
The Guild School
This week I'm getting ready for the IGMA Guild School, which will be held in Castine, Maine June 12-19. http://www.igma.org/guild_school/index.html
It's a great event! Imagine a whole week spent with a large group of peopple who share a passion for miniatures, in a beautiful little town on the coast of Maine. There are classes (I'm taking Mark Murphy's Japanese tea chest class), seminars and demonstrations, an auction, a sales night and a lobster dinner.
Way too much fun!
This year, I'm giving a seminar on how to make a 1:144 scale version of a real house. I'll be using as an example the house from Manchester, MI that I made from May 27-July7 last year (see blog archive.).
I'm also submitting a proposal to teach a class next year. The project will be "Gardener's Retreat" - tiny garden shed based on small buildings I saw in Castine last summer.
It's a little more weathered looking than my houses usually are, but that look seemed appropriate for a garden shed. Here's the interior:
There will be more furniture, of course.
"Finished" pictures by Monday.
It's a great event! Imagine a whole week spent with a large group of peopple who share a passion for miniatures, in a beautiful little town on the coast of Maine. There are classes (I'm taking Mark Murphy's Japanese tea chest class), seminars and demonstrations, an auction, a sales night and a lobster dinner.
Way too much fun!
This year, I'm giving a seminar on how to make a 1:144 scale version of a real house. I'll be using as an example the house from Manchester, MI that I made from May 27-July7 last year (see blog archive.).
I'm also submitting a proposal to teach a class next year. The project will be "Gardener's Retreat" - tiny garden shed based on small buildings I saw in Castine last summer.
It's a little more weathered looking than my houses usually are, but that look seemed appropriate for a garden shed. Here's the interior:
There will be more furniture, of course.
"Finished" pictures by Monday.
Friday, June 4, 2010
A Busy Month
I haven't posted for a while, but I have been busy!
My first project after Chicago was making a number of 1:48 scale flower arrangements for a truly magnificent house in that scale made by Frank Madder in the 1950"s, which has been acquired by the Toy and Dollhouse Museum of Kansas City.
Unfortunately, I can't post pictures because the arrangements are property of the museum, and I can't publish photos without their consent. If you happen to be in Kansas City, be sure to visit the museum - they have a wonderful collection, which includes some of my Baby Houses and one of my earliest walnut houses. http://www.toyandminiaturemuseum.org/default.aspx
It was fun to work in a larger scale for a couple of weeks. I enjoy quarter inch scale, and sometimes do personal projects in that scale, just for fun. It was also a great chance to try working with HO scale flowers which, although reall on the large side for HO (1:84 scale) worked brilliantly for 1:48. There were a few parts that I think I may be able to use in my scale. Since they were kind enough to let me keep the leftover materials, I will be able to play around with them to see what I can do.
My first project after Chicago was making a number of 1:48 scale flower arrangements for a truly magnificent house in that scale made by Frank Madder in the 1950"s, which has been acquired by the Toy and Dollhouse Museum of Kansas City.
Unfortunately, I can't post pictures because the arrangements are property of the museum, and I can't publish photos without their consent. If you happen to be in Kansas City, be sure to visit the museum - they have a wonderful collection, which includes some of my Baby Houses and one of my earliest walnut houses. http://www.toyandminiaturemuseum.org/default.aspx
It was fun to work in a larger scale for a couple of weeks. I enjoy quarter inch scale, and sometimes do personal projects in that scale, just for fun. It was also a great chance to try working with HO scale flowers which, although reall on the large side for HO (1:84 scale) worked brilliantly for 1:48. There were a few parts that I think I may be able to use in my scale. Since they were kind enough to let me keep the leftover materials, I will be able to play around with them to see what I can do.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
