Christa's Artistic Visions in Miniature

Dutch miniaturist Christa Chayata has a skill for making the two-dimensional come to life.

Remember the mystery painting I featured previously?

That charming painting, which she calls "Snotnose," was the basis for a scene that Christa created using her skills in making and dressing miniature dolls.

Christa says she had always admired the painting and was fortunate to receive it after the owner passed away. As a child, she could look at it for hours - "I was a bit of a dreamer," she says and laughs.

Years later, the painting again caught her imagination as she started to wonder how it would look in miniature. So, she set to work and recreated the scene in 1/12th scale (1 inch = 1 foot) using porcelain dolls. She dressed the dolls and constructed the scene.

Here is the painting in its original format.

Christa chose to use the same tones when replicating the scene in miniature below. Cute, isn't it?



** Be sure to come back tomorrow to see how Christa made and assembled the dolls for her miniature scene.


Real Life in Miniature

If you think that can't be surpassed, take a look at a project Christa recently completed. This time, she duplicated a real-life scene featuring the stunning actress Nicole Kidman from the 2001 film, Moulin Rouge.

Like the beautiful costumes from the award-winning movie Titanic, Moulin Rouge's range of Victorian costumes are indeed a miniaturists' and costume maker's dream come true.

Take a look at this picture from the movie, then check out Christa's version.



She got the elements of the beautiful costume and the setting down to the smallest detail. All that's missing is the wall behind her to make it seem even more real.



You can view that scene and other costumes in the YouTube video below.



** See part 2 of the YouTube costume video.

How Do You Develop Your Characters?

Author Morgan Mandel's recent blog post about a neighbor's barking dog, and a cat in the window, got me thinking about the things you see that influence your fiction - or should.

Being a good writer means being observant. An idea can start with something as simple as a headline, a news story, or a photo.

How about your neighbors or neighborhood? Or those around you? One story I wrote started with a memory of an old, stooped woman usually dressed in black who lived in a creepy stone building. As cruel as kids are, the little old lady was known as the neighborhood witch and no one wanted to go near her house.

Next time you don't feel like writing or are a little "dry" on ideas, try people watching. Sit in the library, bookstore or café a while (it's okay it's research, ha!) and chances are, you'll see someone interesting that will fit into your book or story.

A character chart can be used as an idea file for characters. Jot down (or draw if you're talented) the characteristics of people you see as you're sipping your tea or coffee. Use the ideas to build characters. See sample character list below:

Character Ideas List

Height, body size:

Facial Characteristics:
Eyes

Nose

Glasses or?

Facial Hair, style, color?

Wrinkles?

Skin tone, marks:

Hair color, style:

Clothing:


Characteristics: (Quirks, actions, etc.)

Distinguishing or other marks: (tattoos, scars, etc.)

Speech: Inflection, pitch, patterns

Mannerisms:

Other:
----

** YOUR TURN: What are some of your favorite idea generating spots? How do you develop your characters?

Mystery Art - Can you ID it?

Do you know the name of this painting or who painted it?

I'll share details related to the painting later, but I wanted to see if anyone knew anything about the art as neither I, nor the owner, know anything about it.

It's a charming painting, showing two young children in costumes, the little girl wiping the boy's nose. I've included the actual painting (cropped down) and a darkened version to show the details. I have something special I want to share with readers once I find out more about the painting. Thank you!

First Dog Bo Obama, a Portuguese Water Dog

The White House finally has a first dog again.
Bo, a Portuguese Water Dog has arrived at the White House!

The 6-month-old dog, a gift from Sen. Ted Kennedy, was "re-homed" after another family gave the dog up. No reason given.

"Porties," as they're called, are high-energy dogs, a breed of Water Spaniel.

No problem there. I'm sure with two young girls as owners - and with the excitement of the Obamas' all getting their first dog - Bo will get plenty of exercise and attention.

Miniature Rooms in Unusual Containers

Rhode Islander Fern Rouleau is an avid miniaturist who never runs out of ideas - especially when it comes to constructing miniature rooms. (Pictured: KFC Picnic)

While she's built her share of roomboxes, she's not afraid to go "outside the box." She prefers using boxes and containers that some of us might throw away or usually have entirely different uses in the beginning.

That's the fun of miniatures, says Fern: "I like to put my minis in roomboxes that are unique, like ice cream shops in sundae cups, etc. I love working on miniatures. I love creating new things and new scenes."

And yes, she did use an ice cream tub to make an ice cream scene. (Pictured: Ice cream shop in Baskin Robbins container.)



Or how about that miniature picnic - set in a KFC bucket? Of course, the miniature version has its own bucket of KFC chicken, too. (Pictured: KFC bucket interior.)



The amusing thing is that Fern's "taste" for unusual miniature settings does have its advantages. (Pictured: Sweet Shop in cookie container.)

"I made the chocolate scene because I am a chocoholic and it was an excuse to eat chocolate," she says and laughs.



"The same for the KFC... I was really in the mood for chicken that day. I made the Baskin Robbins scene and didn't have the top of the sundae cup so I went to Baskin Robbins with the scene to show them so I could get a top. This was right after the CSI show about the miniature killer and the people working at Baskin Robbins really looked at me weirdly!"

** See more of Fern's miniatures at her website.

** See photos of the CSI miniature killer rooms.

Happy Easter!

A Happy, Blessed Easter to all!

Free Miniatures Stuff!

I bet that got your attention. ha!

Well my friend Katie at Katie's Clay Corner is giving away a ton of cool stuff for her birthday! (Happy Birthday too!)

She's got miniatures, clay bowls and other items, her great art, fabric and more. All you need to do is comment at her blog message here. Have fun and wish her Happy Birthday!

Starry Night, Michelle Obama and Sam's Fashion

With all the talk about Michelle Obama's fashion style, Sam from Searching For A Starry Night, A Miniature Art Mystery, and her friend, Lita, wanted to share their views on fashion.

"Sam, here. Me and my bff Lita, sorry, I mean my bff Lita and I, wanted to talk about clothes and stuff.

"Gee, I don't know much about fashion. Lita's the one who knows what looks good. I think that's because she likes to look nice for our friend JJ. (He likes her!)"

"He does not," Lita insisted. "I just like to look nice."

Sam shrugged and continued. "I don't have time for dressing up. Most of our time's been taken up trying to find that miniature Starry Night painting, (the one the book's named for), before my Mom really flips out.

"I'm not into that fashion stuff. Jeans, shorts, that's 'fashiony' enough for going fishing. Not that we had the chance to do much of that! Not with Lita being so chicken and all. She's still spooked after touching that creepy old folder that Petey dug up. (It's all in the book.) She sure won't touch some slimy old worm!

"Okay, I admit Lita scared me. She's so dramatic... I felt terrible about her being so upset about finding that folder. We've been friends since we were little and we both hoped we'd always be bff's, you know?"

"Maybe," Lita said. "But I keep tellin' you to ditch the T-shirts."

"Why? They're comfortable. I like this shirt. The dog's cute, don't you think?"

"Yeah, looks like Petey. But you said my new shirt was cute. I told you to try it on in blue. It'd look good with your red hair."

"Auburn," Sam said and smirked, "not red, never red. I said I'd think about it but... it's too girly for me. That kind of stuff looks good on you. Not me."

"You too scared to try it on?" Lita asked. "Admit it."

"Scared? Look who's talking. She-who-won't-go-fishing."

"Aww, c'mon, Sam. I told ya, I didn't want to ruin my new shirt. My mom would kill me."

"See? Who needs fashion?" Sam said. "You won't do anything cuz you're afraid of messing up your clothes!"

Lita sighed. "Okay, you win. Now, can we go get some ice cream?"

Sam smiled. "You bet. Hey, you sure you want to? Last time you dripped ice cream all over the front of your shirt!"

"You ever goin' to let me forget that?"

Sam smiled. "Never. Isn't that what friends are for?"

** Read more about Sam and Lita (and Petey, too!) in Searching For A Starry Night, A Miniature Art Mystery from QUAKE. Get it on Kindle, too.

Crime TV, Is it Too Real?

A recent post about Law & Order, writers and reality at Poe's Deadly Daughters got me thinking about the continuing fascination with "reality TV."

I don't mean fun "reality" shows like "Dancing With the Stars." (Love it!) I mean shows like Law & Order," "NCIS" and other cop/crime shows where the realistic or "reality based" stories seem to be getting, well, too real.

I can't remember who it was, but I thought I'd heard that one star had quit Law & Order because the crimes were getting "too" real. I was a L&O fan, watching most of the spin-off's until the five-day-a-week shows got to be too much. And the one thing that I've noticed from not watching it regularly now is the increasing amount of gore.

The old TV news adage, "if it bleeds, it leads," seems to have become the byword for all the crime shows. L&O has its bloody closeups, or worse, it seems to have crossed into an almost perverse delight in re-enacting a crime. One show I watched had me thinking how attractive the killers could look to someone who was off-balanced or mentally unstable. Not a good thing. It creeped me out.

That show, of course, isn't the only one guilty of overdoing the blood. Other shows I liked like "Criminal Minds" or NCIS with its gruesome autopsies (and never mind CSI's scenes as well) have me cringing, looking away, closing my eyes, or sometimes just switching channels. Not what the stations wanted, is it? And I admit being a horror and Stephen King fan.

As I enjoy writing mysteries, I like crime shows. I like the twists and turns as the case is solved. But I guess I'd prefer a little more Agatha Christie instead of "Nightmare on Elm Street."

The other side effect, I fear, is that all that blood day and night, has desensitized a lot of people to the true horrors of crime, or made it seem "not real." (Like kids who think they can fly because they saw Superman or whoever do it?) Or is that the intention?

** Your Turn: Is TV becoming too gory? Is the constant stream of crime and murder on TV shows and the news desensitizing?

Eye Candy: Pretty Little Lady Miniatures

Today, I thought I'd share a few of the little "lady" items I finished in the "Shop 'Til You Drop" class Thursday at the Tom Bishop International Dollhouse Show in Chicago.

There were so many items to finish that I am still working on the trim on the chaise and decorating the clothing boxes. There's also a bra and panties set to make, a lace-front shirt and a pillow. I have a couple things to do to the folding screen also. I will post more photos when I finish.

(The shoes were fun and easy to do, made with suede paper. The shoe base is a "sandwich" of a leather bottom, index card and a suede inside. The bows are teensy fingernail decorations. The shoes even had little Fimo clay heels! Neat, huh?)

I love the tower of boxes! And the suitcase was easy but effective - simply gluing straw over a wood block, then add a suede strip handle and tiny gold sticker pieces for hardware. (The stickers look like tiny rectangles and come in strips.) The bag is vellum with the teacher Cindy Crane's own art reduced and printed on it. I'm gong to try that with the vellum I had (and didn't know why I bought!)

Unfortunately, I didn't get back to the show itself, but I am going to contact a couple vendors to buy some things since I've now got a bug about making some more items like the mini purses and shoes!

I will say one thing - recession? You wouldn't know it!

Though I know a few people who are holding their wallets a little tighter (myself included), you would think that nothing had changed judging from the number of people who were taking classes. There were at least 10 small workrooms (maybe more as I didn't count them all) filled with at least 10 students each on Thursday, though the more expensive house/roombox classes did have fewer students.

But still - even the pricier classes had at least six students. And there were more people coming in for the Thursday evening classes. Given that most classes were more than $100 (with the house/room classes in the $400-$800 range) - plus many of those people and teachers were staying at the hotel, a good deal of money was being spent. It will be interesting to hear from the dealers if they saw any difference in spending and if the crowds seemed to be smaller compared to previous years or the same. Anyone want to share their views?