February 28, 2011

Miniatures Monday: Dolls that are the Cat's Meow!



South African Miniaturist Lianda Sutherland enjoys creating her own figures and scenes - but with a difference. As a pet lover, Lianda enjoys making figures that, well, are the "cat's meow." (Pictured above: Cats in Indian dress. Love the detail!)

Don't let the cats fool you, though. They were too "cute" not to show here, but yes, Lianda also created an amazing scene featuring Yorkies. See below. (And yes, now you know: the dogs do run the place! )

This mother of three not only creates her own porcelain figures from start to finish, but she's also teaching workshops. You can see details at her Kelirosh Studio blog.

Most notable is her scene of a soldier being knighted based on that famous Renaissance flavored painting, The Accolade, (1901) by Edmund Leighton, but in her version, the participants are all cats!

"It is also my favourite period in history," says Lianda. "The cats started about two years ago when I had this idea wanted one cat to do a 1920's glam scene, a lounge singer... I started to play and walla, we had a cat which I was delighted about, then like typical cats, she multiplied, and now I cant remember life without them."





The king below, dubbed "King Arthur Piss-cat," wears royal garments hand-made by Lianda, including the creative knit chain mail. The helmet is made from FIMO clay as is the sword's blade. The rest of the sword is a charm she "found somewhere on my travels. Love beading shops!" (Oops, looks like the King's had a little too much wine!)



Another fun historic scene: mice in Tudor times... (don't even think about fleas and the plague!) And yes, this isn't the end of her animal scenes... "I love the animals in rooms, because they are different. Watch this space we have our first family of dogs coming out very soon, and then there will be the giraffe, and the mind boggles. Now I want an animal hotel..."




The proof: dogs are king of the castle. (You thought otherwise?)

Thanks, Lianda for sharing your fantastic work!

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