Castle Room : Details

Todd Kreuger at his sales table at the Chicago International Show this past April. Check out the great sleeping Dragon on top of our Castle Room.

Todd made the wonderful candles in the Tree of Life niche.

Castle Witch: completed

What does this ancient crone want from her minion? I wouldn't want to be him.

Todd Krueger made the dwarf and the other wonderful items surrounding my witch.  In the next few days I'll be posting close-ups of the details in this scene.

By the way, it's great to be back. My garden and yard look terrific but it's time to get back to miniatures.

Isabella and her baby in bed

This lovely bed was made by Nicole Marble and dressed by Judee Williamson of Williamson, Walton - Marble specifically for Isabella and her baby. You can see this piece at the Chicago International Miniature Show April 20, 21 &22.

Castle Room

 This is my latest attempt at something new.  I coated a wooden room box kit with paper clay textured like stone walls to create this Castle Room.  I'll dress an ancient sorceress in white and grey.  Todd Krueger is making some figures and gargoyles and supplying a table full of books and other sorceress tools to complete the scene.

The detail shows one of the wonderful wall torches made by a British artisan and the bat detail under the gargoyle's lair ledge.

This piece will be shown at the Chicago International Show next month.

Isabella and her baby

 This tender scene is one I particularly like creating.  The nightgown is very simple.  Two squares of fabric make the bottom of the gown.  Sew strips of lace together for the bodice.  To make the sleeves sew the lace insert in the center of a piece of fabric about 5 inches long and 3 inches wide.  Then cut two sleeves from it placing the insert down the center of the sleeve.

Cat & Dog Steps

Does your miniature dog or cat need help climbing onto the bed at night?  These fun cat and dog steps were made by Nicole Marble of Williamson, Walton Marble.  

Nicole asked me to paint the steps for her. It was a challenge painting on a flat surface.  I'm used to painting my sculpted porcelain cats and dogs, like this rolling cat.

Happy Solstice

May you find Joy and Peace in each day and share it with all you meet.

{Some years ago I started taking watercolor lessons.  I hope you enjoy this latest effort. Size: 12 x 16 inches}

Christmas Village Close-up: the center of town

Houses, shops, the Town Hall, a church and Nativity make up the center of the town.  I always like to include a river and bridge.

Christmas Village Close-up: School House

This is my favorite part if the village scene.  Usually the Schoolhouse is blue, but I wanted to try painting it in brick.  Making a snowman is one of my favorite childhood memories of winter.  Enjoy!

Christmas Village scene

Occasionally I get to design an entire Christmas village with my miniature houses. Enjoy!

Ballerina: Estelle in progress, part 3 - Complete

To finish off her costume I added an iridescent silk bow and a little bling. She's ready to dance!

Ballerina: Estelle in progress, part 2

 The foundation for the ballet costume is the leotard.  I use bias cut silk satin ribbon stretched over the torso and cut to size and shape.  This is glued to the porcelain with a very thin line of Tacky glue at the edges of the fabric.

To form the under skirt two layers of silk tulle were gathered at the top edge, pinned into soft pleats and steamed to hold their form.  ( I covered a 1/2 inch dowel rod with cotton batting and fabric to make a "shaping pole" )

Ballerina: Estelle in progress, part 1

Estelle's body is porcelain. I sculpt the torso separately from the legs.  After the legs and hips are sculpted they are cut apart for ease in firing the porcelain.

To attach the porcelain parts I first insert a heavy wire armature and glue it in place with epoxy.  This is covered by Milliput, a fine epoxy based sculpting compound available from Mirco-Mark.

The first steps in costuming a ballerina are the silk shoes and the basic wig.  A bun and trimmings will be added to the wig when the costume is complete.
Note her hands are protected by cotton batting.

Witch: Crystal

 Crystal holds a baby pet dragon in one hand and her wand in the other.  The mother pet dragon is at her feet. (The dragons are cast in resin.)

I used salt dyed, striped and sheer silk to create her costume.  The tips of her sleeves and skirt petals are weighted with garnet beads.