The desire to construct
miniature replicas of familiar objects is at least as old as
the earliest civilizations. In Egypt, India and China, archeologists
have unearthed carvings, sculptures, and models depicting soldiers
and servants, boats and bakers, waiting to come to life and
serve their masters in the nether world. Other objects were
obviously created as toys and artistic expressions of everyday
life. The functional and aesthetic value of small objects is
deeply rooted in the human consciousness.
Today
the term 'miniatures' is most often associated with dollhouses
or room settings and the tiny people, furnishings, and accessories
used to construct and embellish them. But any object, which
is greatly reduced in size, is a miniature and the variety of
objects modeled by artists and hobbyists is boundless. Ships,
aircraft, trains, military vehicles, cars, trucks, farm equipment,
military and fantasy figures, dolls, horses, and buildings are
built and collected with the help of thousands of artisans and
small industries which supply them with materials, parts and
finished creations.
Some
of these objects are scale models others are just miniatures,
what's the difference? A miniature is significantly reduced
in size but not necessarily in proportion to the original object.
A miniature painting is the size of a photograph instead of
a normal sized canvas. But a scale model is constructed so that
all of the details are reproduced in a chosen proportion to
the original. Most dollhouses and accessories are made in one-inch
scale i.e. one inch of the dollhouse is equal to one foot in
the real world. This means that the model is 1/12 of the size
of the original. Some dollhouse artisans work in smaller scales,
1/24 (1/2-inch scale), 1/48 (quarter- inch) or even 1/144. Model
railroaders use other names for scales: HO scale is 1/87, O
is 1/48, N scale is 1/160. Military and ship builders have their
own common scales. In general, the larger the real objects the
smaller the scale (a 1/12 model of an aircraft carrier is not
going to fit in your apartment!).
My
own experiences as a miniature artisan will hopefully provide
an example of the motivation and techniques used to create our
small worlds. My involvement in miniatures began several decades
ago when my son asked me to build a train layout. As often happens,
his interested waned in proportion to my growing zeal. I first
built simple plastic models, moved to complex and expensive
'craftsmen' kits and finally began designing my own scratch-built
models. I was working as a folklife consultant documenting historic
buildings and supervising an apprenticeship program in traditional
crafts. Two aspects of my world collided and I began to produce
models of folk architecture, first for fun, and then as items
to sell at craft shows. Initial successes forced me to develop
new techniques as the demand for my work increased and I slowly
evolved from hobbyist to professional and from model-builder
to sculptor.
My
current technique involves carving a structure from a block
of plaster using dental instruments and miniature carving tools.
I make a rubber mold from this sculpture and then cast reproductions
in gypsum cement- a modern version of the chalkware miniatures
first made by Pennsylvania Germans artisans over 200 years ago.
My creations portray the rich heritage of vernacular architecture
of the Mid-Atlantic region.
Small
Things Considered
Vintage
Miniatures
