Miniatures & Gardening ... A Delightful Merge

A very popular subset in the miniatures world is scale gardens/conservatories. One of my all time favorite artitsts is Lady Jane who does absolutely stunning garden scenes. Funny, the same holds true for the category of Gardening (full size!) and interest in creating real gardens and scenes in miniature using live plants and flowers.

Each year, the city of Philadelphia host the world’s oldest and largest indoor flower show presented by the Philadelphia Horticultural Society. The PHS hosts over 265,000 horticultural and flower enthusiasts and features large scale gardens ranging from elaborate landscaped displays to garden club and individual entries of a prized horticultural specimens The theme this year is “Celebrate the Movies,” with inspiration from the films of the Disney and Pixar studios.

The PHS also hosts “Miniature Settings,” a celebration of the miniature garden art form. Miniaturists, miniature gardeners and other miniature aficianados submit miniature setting based on the show’s overall theme which will be judged for miniature craftsmanship, horticulture (sizing, grooming) design synthesis and distinction. Each miniature scene is placed in the Miniature Display Wall to be viewed by thousands of admirers throughout show.

This year I'm excited to be bringing the PHS experience to those who cannot attend! Join me live on the World Wide Web on Monday, March 2nd from 10am to 3pm when I'll be hosting and posting directly from the flower show. I'll be sending out live tweets, facebook posts and Instagramming directly from the venue and conducting interviews with event participants and artists (to be shared later in the week!)

See you there!

Six Miniaturists to Follow Right Now

There is talent, and then there's TALENT! Over the course of time I spent initially setting up my new shop, I really wanted to make sure I searched out a broad range of interesting, high-quality, super-artistic miniatures for my customers by artists who are super-talented. These artists are from all across the globe and not just in the United States since talent has no boundaries.

Here is a short list of some of those artist I encourage you to look into, if you don't know who they are already and follow them either on social media or through the various shows produced around the world. I'm excited to say I have work from some of these artists available for sale in my shop and invite you to take a look at the offering.

Maritza Moran

Where: United States

What: Hand Painted Furniture and Upolstery

Why: Her delicate and delicious flowers drawn on silk fabrics are absolutely dreamy!

The Hairy Potter

Where: United States

What: Extreme Pottery

Why: His one inch scale pieces are masterful, detailed and absolutely stunning!

Hernan Beljevic

Where: Argentina

What: Pub/Bar Replicas

Why: His use of various materials to achieve absolute perfection in fine scale miniature

Genziana Belle

Where: Italy

What: Wicker

Why: Intricate, amazing and painstaking detail makes these the must-have pieces for a roombox or scene!

Maria Jose Garcia

Where: LugART Petite Spain

What Shoes/Handbags

Why: Fanciful, runway-worthy pint sized fashions for (very) small feet and hands!

Emma @ParisMiniatures

Where: Paris France

What: Food&Deserts

Why: Tiny treats stir all the senses in scrumptuous and delectible detail!

Vintage Roombox in Miniature

There is a special place in my heart for vintage roomboxes. I found this one in particular on one of my absolute favorite sites called 1st Dibs (www.1stdibs.com) which sells a fantastic selection of art and antiques including old dollhouses and other decorative objects in miniature.

This roombox is from the 19th century and built in the Netherlands. It features an exceptionally delightful kitchen scene with a copper tea pot, a gold-framed landscape painting and what looks like a brass bed warmer hanging from the side wall! I also really love the warm blues and greens this artist used as well as the black and white checkered flooring.

I just look at these pieces and think about how much love, care and attention it took, throughout many years, generations and multiple centuries (!) to keep the it safe and available to be seen, enjoyed and marved at!! This is a testament to miniatures as a valued and appreciated decorative art form meant to survive for the continued delight, excitment and education of those who are fortunate to see it. #obeytheminiature