Rustic in Blue

I remixed this Modern Rustic room with even more pieces from my swap with margaret_loves. 

I like the lift all the blue accessories sprinkled around brings to the room.  The Foo Dog statues atop the cabinet just may be my favorites.  The zebra print rug lies under a bowl full of all sorts of blue treasures (semi-precious stones and mirrored tiles).  They add to the bling of the disco ball. And, a blue etched-glass plate (a la Rement) brings even more bling.

The dandelion photograph (a postcard) brings real interest to the left side of the room.  A cb2 igloo chair receives an upgrade with the velvet cushion from Margaret's retro hanging chair.  Very comfy, I bet.  Mirror on the cube side table brings more bling while the pouf (a hacky sac) makes cushy alternative seating.

In the corner, a work area features a small, blue framed mirror, a British-themed mood board and an oversize hand (it's really an eraser in 1:1 scale).  Now the sculptures on the table send the message: one love.

Modern Rustic

I purchased two new miniature items and was excited to feature them in a scene.  I nabbed this awesome wood sculpture from PRD Miniatures during his holiday sale shortly after Christmas.  I so love the texture and the line of this little art piece.  It is also helping to feed my current obsession with gnarly wood.  

Image Source: PRDMiniatures.com

The asian-style cabinet came from a store I discovered using the search function on Etsy.  My Small House features both miniature furniture and accessories, some country and some transitional but the asian cabinet stood out to me as the real star.  It is very well made with sliding doors and opening drawers.  The raw wood appears to be finished with some sort of flaming technique and the metal accents pull the piece together.  At a price of $12.50 and under $ 4.00 for shipping, this piece was a great buy.

As seen at Etsy.com

I set up this scene in the first floor of the Hampton Brownston (the tea house) which I've staged and re-staged many times over.  I pulled in my PRD Miniatures love seat because the calf hair upuolstery makes the piece a bit rustic like the asian cabinet.  The colors of the Prove chairs also worked well with the cabinet.  I needed a coffee table and I felt that the acrylic one (thanks margaret_loves) kept the space from appearing too cluttered.  Since the wall beside the chairs was bare, I added a console table and accessories in white to bring a little bit of light over to that corner of the room.

Details: chairs by Reac Japan; love seat, rug and sculpture by PRDMiniatures; console table, storage box (beneath table), white vase(s), flowers and books from Dolls House Emporium; TV charm on keychain by Fred & Friends; scrapbook paper, wood side table, metal box (on table), silver vase from craft supply store; lamp and orange vase from Kaleidoscope House; laptop and telephone by Rement; teapot and frames from eBay sellers; 'Love' sculpture from party supply store; stainless bowl from Ikea; blanket, disco ball, coffee table, and rhinoceroses 'sculputre' from swap with Margaret.  Time to set up: 1 hour because I kept interchanging accessories as the pictures reveal.


Update/correction: TV keychain is made by Kikkerland

The Genius of Charles & Ray Eames

Image Source: USPS

Back in 2008 on what would have been Charles Eames' 100th birthday, the US Postal Service issued this set of commemorative stamps to honor the husband and wife design team. With 16 different panels, the set demonstrates the breadth of their influence and talents. I bought them immediately thinking I might some how work them into a miniature scene as paintings, like this.

Photograph by Doris Nathanson of Mini Modernista as
seen at A Miniature Obsession blog.

Fast forward to now, they still remain (safely protected) in the bottom of a drawer. I guess I wasn't sure how to display them without destroying the collector value of the stamps. Ugh! You can't have it all, right? Would I really want to sell or trades these stamps? Ah, no! But, they shall remain where they are---waiting to be showcased and appreciated.

 Image Source: (c) 2011 Eames Office

PBS also celebrated this creative couple with the documentary Charles & Ray Eames: The Architect and the Painter as a part of the American Masters series. It debuted last December but appears not to have an expiration date for streaming on the PBS website (what a treat). I really enjoyed learning about the personal and professional lives of the Eames couple. The film explores the 40 years that their studio, Eames Office thrived with productivity. It also includes archival film footage, photographs, ephemera, and even love letters. I didn't know that Charles was such a womanizer. Perhaps he always needed a new muse?  The film spans from the period shortly after the couple met through the death of Ray Eames.  It was an excellent visual biography so if you haven't done so already, check it out.

Contest Winners Among Us

Here's the online version of the print Hobby Builders Supply catalog. Source: miniatures.com

I came home today to discover the newest Hobby Builders Supply (Miniatures.com) catalog in my mailbox. I began flipping through to see what new sources of inspiration might leap off the page when I saw two spectacular, though familiar images. Mad for Mod of My Mini Mod Pod and Mini Dork of Modern Mini Houses are both featured on the third page of this catalog as part of the layout recognizing all the winners from the 18th Annual Creatin' Contest.  While many of us have seen the wonderful pictures on their blogs and Flickr, it's fantastic when the efforts of modern miniaturists are recognized beyond our niche community.  Kudos!  I'm so glad your work is being recognized by a broader audience.  By the way, just what will you purchase with the gift certificates you've each won? I can't wait to see the pictures. Hehe.

How Would You Remix the Arne Jacobsen MiiBox?

In honor of the annual winter festival known as Wondercool Copenhagen, the folks at Minimii challenged five Danish artists to create a custom design of an Arne Jacobsen MiiBox.  They have been on display in the Dansk Design Center (DDC) for the past month and will remain for the duration of the festival.  For those of you design enthusiast who are not familiar with this product, the MiiBox features a facade of the Arne Jacobsen house with dual purposes.  It is a 1:16 scale dollhouse but it can also be used as a wall mounted storage unit. Fellow blogger, Miniature Obsession would say the MiiBox is prime to be added to the lust list. I concur!

Above: MiiBoxes on display at DDC. Below:
the dollhouse in its original state.

The creativity displayed in this design challenge was diverse. There was a minimal, monochromatic approach submitted by Anne Black.  In sharp contrast, there was the over-the-top, downtown-chic graffiti style submitted by Lars H.U.G.  Some artistic treatments were holistic and many design features required involvement from exhibit visitors from adding drawings on the surface to pushing buttons to alter the space.

Above: "En fugl på taget er bedre end..." by Anne Black 
Below: The decorative treatment on STILLEBEN
 by Reckweg and Nordentoft transforms the house into 
a sculpture with no movable parts.

Markers and pens are attached to "Burn Down the House".

FUR-OVER by Kopenhagen Fur features vibrantly colored fur used as window treatments, poufs, wall and floor coverings.  The design is airy and open and it begs exhibit visitors to reach out and touch the fur!

FUR-OVER by Kopenhagen Fur. This house also includes
fur grass and fur plants.  The blue entry is my favorite room
in this house.

"Inside Out" by Sofus Walbom og Kastanje Andersen is adorned with circuit boards.  A command center of controls on the outside allows exhibit visitors to enjoy the lighting and musical sound effects wired into the house.  The bathroom features a striking light wall that I've only previously seen on ceilings of miniature houses.  It's certainly a feature to consider recreating. Altogether, these design features give this house a very futuristic and sci-fi film aesthetic.

"Inside Out" by Sofus Walbom of Kastanje Andersen

"Burn Down the House" by Lars H.U.G. is tagged decorated with graffiti and line drawings.  Each room is filled with items creating miniature exhibits unto themselves.  I wonder if the artist was influenced by the late Jean-Michel Basquiat or the Talking Heads (a band that released a song by the same name).  Ahhh the 80's...

"Burn Down the House" by Lars H.U.G.

At 400 Euros, purchasing the Arne Jacobsen MiiBox would break my miniature budget (pun indented), so enjoying this exhibit online gave me the chance to get my fix. There are more pictures featured at the profile for Arne Jacobsen Dollhouse on FACEBOOK (if you 'like' the page). I hope you've enjoyed this tour.  Leave a comment to let me know or share just how you'd give your own MiiBox the artist treatment. 

Note:  All images courtesy of the Arne Jacobsen Dollhouse profile on FACEBOOK.

The Power of a Portrait

The power of portraits comes from the fact that not only are they a good piece of photography or artwork in their own right,

Some interesting good portraits
in my home.

but when the subject of the portrait is known or an iconic figure, it can become a symbol or shorthand for all that individual represents.  The portrait itself becomes an icon.  (Andy Warhol certainly knew this.) I think that's why I enjoy using portraits in my miniature scenes and my personal space.

I reduced and printed photos of notable DC 
residentsand put them in painted metal frames.

When I was creating the tea house in the Hampton Brownstone (my first complete dollhouse project made in a piece of furniture from Ikea), I wanted to create the feel of a neighborhood spot that included all kinds of references to Washington, DC both past and present.  Beyond landmarks and places, I got the idea that there are also people faces that are just as iconic and synonymous with the Chocolate City Capital City as the monuments.  That's why I included a black and white photo of a famous mural of Duke Ellington and adding other accomplished Washingtonians like Addison Scurlock just served to enriched the entire setting.

Details:  shelf unit, dishes, tea pots and pitchers are all from Dolls House Emporium; metal tins from A Miniature Marvel; violin and green frame are magnets from a store in Durham, NC called Morgan Imports; ashtray is by Rement; 3-tiered server and metal frames are eBay finds; doll's hat and dress are by the Enchanted Pumpkin at Etsy.com

A creative space needs a big inspiration board, right?
Made from cork contact paper covering basswood slats.

The room just above the tea house, I set up as the studio (studio7).  It's a creative workspace, so of course it had to have an inspiration board.  This one is huge.  And just like the inspiration board in my own studio craft room, it's filled with portraits of interesting if not, dare I say it iconic people.  These portraits spill over into the display area as well.  So let's see, this portrait collection includes: Dorothy Dandridge, Romare Bearden, Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, and President Barak Obama.  What does that say about me those avatars (Shapphire and Amaya)? Haha!

Details: metal frames are scrapbook accessories by Making Memories found at the local craft store; metal tin is from A Miniature Marvel; low bookshelf from Dolls House Emporium; printer and fax machine are by Rement; cork contact paper and colored plastic box are from The Container Store; Jonathan Adler vases from Kaleidoscope House Accessory Set; doll's hats and dresses are by the Enchanted Pumpkin at Etsy.com

What's the Story behind this Face?

I truly appreciate art and photography but it was not until recently perhaps, that I realized how much the discipline of portraiture influences my aesthetic eye.  In February alone, I had several opportunities to consume appreciate portraiture.

Fascade of the San Francisco Museum of African Diaspora 

First was the visit to the San Francisco Museum of African Diaspora.  This award-winning structure features an incredible portrait comprised of numerous photographic portraits.  The work can be admired as a whole from the outside of the museum as I captured in the picture.  The Chester Higgins, Jr original portrait of the young African girl is captivating. The mosaic mural created from this photograph is even more powerful because it suggest the concept---we are all a small part of one common whole.  If you are in San Francisco make the time to check out this permanent exhibit. You can also appreciate it online.


A quick walk around the corner (that same day) to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art gave us the opportunity to check out the provocative, if not sometimes disturbing photographs of Francesca Woodman.  The exhibit is no longer at SFMoMA but the PBS Independent Lens series recently aired a documentary on the artist and her family.

Timothy Greenfield-Sanders exchanges a word with former
photographic subject, Governor Deval Patrick.
The Governor's portrait is just behind Greenfield-Sanders (ugh!)

Finally, this past weekend I scored the jackpot when my beau suggested we visit the National Portrait Gallery.  I not only got to hear Governor Deval Patrick at a reading (and signing) of his book, A Reason to Believe Lessons from an Improbable Life, but I also got to meet Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, the photographer of The Black List.  An exhibit which happens to include a portrait of Governor Patrick.  While I had seen The Black List documentary and found it enjoyable, I must say that the exhibit of the original photographic portraits was quite powerful.  The large scale and the variety of poses from subject to subject impressed upon me just how expressive portraiture can be. As a viewer, I felt invited into the subject's personal space. This exhibit will remain in DC until the end of April, so there's time for you to see it yourself.


A good portrait is more than just an individual posing for the camera.  It can convey the interesting aspects of a face. The right expression may make you consider, "what was going on just before the shutter opened?"  And, of course, the eyes can really draw you in and force you to ask that question, "What's the story behind this face?"