The Artist’s Studio – introduction

I’m ready to announce my next building project: The Artist’s Studio made from the Loft kit from miniatures.com (this was their 2012 Creatin’ Contest kit).

I’ve wanted to make an artist studio since I began making miniatures in 2009 since I’ve been an artist all my life. I learned to paint with oils when I was very young, which is probably why I think of them as “finger paints” now. My grandma used to take me to art classes in the city when I would stay with her. I then moved to pastels and later in college learned to work with watercolors and acrylics. In between, I discovered a love of sewing and photography, so I’ve always had creative outlets in my life.

There are two great miniature art studios from which I drew my inspiration. The first is by The Thomases, who are masters of realism in miniature. Their Rooftop Artist’s Studio can be seen in the second gallery in this link. I love the siding but most especially the shape of the building itself. That wall of windows…sigh. I love the bare bones interior finishes…the rustic floor, exposed beams and wiring conduit.

A more recent build has the same siding, general shape and wall of windows. This one is Nell Corkin’s Summer Studio, created in tiny 1:144 scale. I love the similar qualities this build has to the one by The Thomases, but that garden setting really sends it over the top for me.

To start, I have already gathered a number of lovely miniatures to include in the build. First, Lyssa and I did a swap this past year. She sent me some of her wonderfully made artist miniatures including this easel and one of her lovely small paintings.

She made two crates of canvases and specialty papers.

I picked up an assortment of metal miniatures from Sir Thomas Thumb at the Bishop Show. The palette was a free gift at the 3 Blind Mice Show one year, and this second easel was a free gift at the recent Wee “c” Miniatures Show. The table is currently a refugee from the Newport but it might find a home here, too.

And, let’s not forget the whimsical cabinet by minisx2 on etsy. It’s just so fab!

The vase and book were lovely gifts from Minismodernas. The rya rug was a gift from Glenda at Peppercorn Minis. The flooring is Greenleaf vinyl tile and the paper is 40’s Farmhouse by Recollections (Garage Sale theme). The paper and rug might end up in the project, too.

Or, I might go for a cleaner look with solid papers and let the structure and furnishings take the spotlight. The cabinet came from Daphne at A Miniature Obsession, and the plant on top is a gift from Fran at FranMadeMinis. Cora you met last week. :D

I have a lot more in my prep box, but I am going to keep it all under wraps and reveal as I work. I’ve got some killer ideas up my sleeve.

When I first saw the Loft kit, it immediately reminded me of the shape I wanted for the studio. Just a quick layout in dry fit.

There will be a bathroom…

a living area (the Navajo rug won’t be staying, but there will be a rug here)…

and a painting area. In making the angled front wall of windows, floor space will be added in the front.

There will be some alterations made to the kit pieces (including making the whole thing shorter) and we’ll be ready to break ground once the Heritage is complete, probably sometime in January 2013.

Why did I not build it this year to enter the HBS contest? Mostly time. I chose to build The Aero Squadron Lounge for the Greenleaf Spring Fling contest and had the Heritage still to finish. I’m also delaying The Brownstone to build the studio, because The Brownstone will require a lot of bashing like the Heritage.  After the lengthy Heritage build, I need a relatively smaller build in between. Of course, I don’t know if the deck I have planned could be considered a smaller build.

However, there’s a new contest in the miniature community over at Little Victorian and entrants have until May 5 to finish and enter. That might cut it close for me, but I do have the long, cold winter ahead. So, why not? But, I won’t be keeping everything all secret for this one…you get to come along for the ride.

Now, who’s ready for a modern art studio?

Categories: The Artist's Studio
November 17, 2012 | 0 comments

Blue medallion rug – introduction

I found this beautiful rug on Jorge Cubells’s blog, and he was kind enough to upload a larger picture so I could stitch one for myself. I will be using colors very similar to his. I mounted a piece of 32ct Jobelan on a wood frame, and my threads are all from my existing stash…though I do need a better dark green than the one I have. The background will be ivory – DMC 712 – which I will do most of after the border and medallion are in place. I want to limit the chances of the ivory being soiled as I work on the darker designs.

Update 9-9-2012: I noticed a small issue with the pattern. It seems there is a column missing from the middle of the design on the pattern I downloaded, so there are two lines of stitching missing in my rug as I’ve stitched it. From Jorge’s photo, I see the violet flowers are uniform all the way around, but on my rug as I followed the chart, my middle violet flower is smaller than the two on either side…and the blue decoration in the border runs together where there should be a space between them. I realized it was off when I taped the pattern together but thought it was just a design element. It wasn’t until I looked at the photo of the finished rug again that I saw the pattern was off.

But, I am not starting over after 34.75 hours of work! Unless you are familiar with the original, you don’t even notice. Looking at my rug, nothing appears obviously off; it just differs from Jorge’s original. I still love it, and I am forging ahead!

Categories: Needlework - French knot rugs, The Artist's Studio
August 23, 2012 | 0 comments