Reading the Fantastic

The big word for 2009? Twilight.

While vampire stories used to be strictly considered horror, lines between genres seem to be blurring. But Stephenie Meyer's Twilight still didn't make the top 25 with fantasy readers. (It came in at #31.)

According to this list of the Top 100 Fantasy books, the real favorite was -
Ta da! The Lord of the Rings, which ranked at #1.

I admit, I didn't read many from the list either. How many did you read? (Well, seeing the movie counts for something, right?)

Here's the top 10 Fantasies with older and some new authors:

1 Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkein
2 Harry Potter series, JK Rowling
3 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkein
4 Wheel of Time series - Robert Jordan
5 A Song of Ice and Fire - George RR Martin
6 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
7 The Belgariad Series - David Eddings
8 Wizard's First Rule - Terry Goodkind
9 Magician - Raymond E. Feist
10 His Dark Materials Trilogy - Philip Pullman

** Your turn: What's your favorite fantasy book? (Or movie?)

Replicating a Scene in Miniature

Dutch miniaturist Christa Chayata shared some photos showing the steps she took in duplicating a favorite painting from her childhood that she calls "Snotnose."

Follow along to get an idea of how to pose the miniature dolls and plan your own miniature scene.

1. Choose doll faces that resemble your photo or painting as close as possible. (These doll heads are porcelain, 1/12th scale (1 inch=1 foot)

2. Pose and position the dolls so you know how they will look.


3. Fashion stockings and shoes using natural fabrics like silks and cottons that will glue.





4. Begin fashioning clothing by shaping fabric around the doll. The girl's skirt is formed and glued.


5. Drape, glue and sew pieces of cloth where applicable to form the boy's costume.


6. The boy's costume completed, hair is applied for his wig and his hat attached. The girl's hair is applied, and the dolls posed in final positions. Add props.

Thanks to Christa for sharing her fantastic project!

* Visit Christa's blog.

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.