Welcome to the first Midweek Miniatura for autumn 2010. It’s a preview of some of the fantastical delights to be found in this international exhibition of miniature art and artistry. Round about this time of year there are miniatures flying about all over the place.
First up is a brand new exhibitor, who, as I write this, is giving up a day of her life to sit in an aeroplane to get to England from Western Australia. Meet Kathy Brindle
a mother of seven children, now grown up, which gives Kathy the time to make miniatures, which she has done for the last 28 years, although she says she has always played with craft. Kathy is the author of a book, Make your own Miniature Flowers. Here are some of hers:
Kathy makes other minis too, perhaps she was thinking of her trip when she made these:
I hope she brought slightly larger ones with her, preferably crammed with minis. Kathy is an enthusiastic member of the international online miniaturists’ group, Green Sock On Left Foot On Tuesdays. She is Guardian of the Koru, which is the start of the Fern Unfolding. If that sounds very Down Under to you, it might be because Kathy is a New Zealander by birth.
We wish her a happy trip and now you’ve had the heads up I do hope you’ll visit her stand. Miniatura has a number of very far flung exhibitors; you don’t have to do much research about the cost of plane flights to know they’re doing it for the love, not the money, so do take the opportunity, while Kathy is here, to say it with flowers.
Occasionally far flung exhibitors just can’t make it but, by special and rare, arrangements with the organisers and willing fellow artists, their work comes without them. This show U.S. artist Viola Williams’ dolls will be found on the stand of Carol Chinn who makes cold porcelain flowers. Here is Emmy Sue, who is very small to be flying here on her own.
Miniatura has always been a great doll show. One of the regulars is Teresa Thomson, unusual miniature cloth doll maker, who will be bringing this limited edition Georgian couple
from the 1770s when horse and carriage to the next town was about as far as anyone got. Just as well really, I can’t see that skirt fitting into the average long haul flight seat very well, though if you are visiting the NEC by plane, she could go back with you, as she’s 12th scale and will fit in a carry-on holdall quite nicely.
However you’re getting there, the diary dates are 2nd and 3rd October at the NEC Birmingham England, full details as always on the Miniatura website.
JaneLaverick.com – your shrink-to-fit window on the world of minis.