Miniatura

When did you start making?

As a child I used to enjoy making miniature things, particularly insects. However growing up, life took over and I became a freelance photographer. When the pandemic struck and work disappeared, I started making miniatures again as a hobby.

What inspired / inspires you?

I just hope that when people look at my work, it provides an escape from their worries and they can immerse themselves and find joy in my hand-crafted magical world. For a lot of people, miniatures are associated with childhood and nostalgia for toys and playfulness in a time when they had no responsibility. I like to remind people to keep that sense of fun in their day to day life in some tiny way.

What was your first make?

When I started making miniatures in lockdown, my intention was to build my dream home. For some reason, I started with the bathroom, I think because it’s a place of privacy and solitude in a time when we were forced to be alone.

If you sell at shows what do you like about that?

This will be my first show so I am very excited to share my creations with the public and get feedback about my work.

Where do you do your work?

I have taken over the dining table in my lounge which my boyfriend is not very happy about. It has a beautiful bay window with lots of natural light coming in and of course is completely surrounded by my house plants. The plants give me inspiration for my work whilst also making it a happy place to be as I spend so much time in my dining room workshop.

How long does it take you to make something?

I am definitely getting much faster at making things and I have learnt many new techniques. When I make house plants, I paint each individual leaf so no two are the same. I pay special attention to plants that are difficult to look after where maybe some of the leaves are damaged. So each plant takes at least two days to complete from start to finish.

What special skills / tools / materials do you use?

I use air-dry polymer clay to make my plants and other natural materials like coffee grinds for the soil. I don’t use any specialised tools and do everything by hand. For my other miniature work, I like using any scraps of rubbish I can find.

Any funny stories?

Not so funny but a cute story – we have a beautiful ginger, grumpy looking cat called Natsuki who loves to spend time with me whilst I’m creating my miniatures in the lounge. She is my little helper and is very gentle and caring and has amazingly never tried to knock over or break any of my creations….yet.

What research do you need to do?

To make all my miniature plants, I do a lot of research into their characteristics, what amount of shade/sunlight they need, how easy they are to look after and what different varieties there are. I believe it makes my miniatures more realistic and an added bonus is I learn better care for my own real life plants!

What other craftspeople do you admire?

All miniature artists are amazing, especially ones that make super realistic models.