A magazine article on my miniatures work in DollsHouse and Miniature Scene

A lovely new interview and article (with lots of photos) on my miniatures work in natural materials appears in the current March issue of  DollsHouse and Miniature Scene! Paper or digital copies of the magazine can be ordered here: www.dollshouseandminiaturescene.co.uk
Many thanks to DollsHouse and Miniature Scene and especially to Carl Golder, editor, for his interest in my work! 
Here's the cover with a photo of my work in the upper right corner of the page.

Reflections

If you have read some of my earlier posts you will know I have a fascination with the surface of water and the designs to be found there-- like the fleeting evidence of passage traced by waterfowl or the dorsal fins of ghostlike carp in shallow water. The following photos are a series of abstractions made earlier this week with the camera's zoom at greatest power, focused on the surface of a small pond in the Jardin des Plantes.

On that same day I sat and drew by the water's edge and noted on my sketchbook page "I draw beneath a faint and colorless sky, my dreams more clear than the watery winter light, graphite on cream-- an uneasy alliance that will blur with time into a perfect mirror of this day." and "When I am outside nature always says to me 'This is the right place, the perfect time, the right body, the right life'...All is peace."

I also chose to leave a gift, a sort of offering to the natural world and the sense of wonder it inspires. I tucked a tiny fae bed and table with teacup, pipe and candlestick into a small cave inside a rocky hillside grotto-- a sheltered spot, yet in plain view--if one is looking.

fae bed

grotto where the bed is nestled in a tiny cave

So far the only detectable activity has been that on two days the little pedestal table had been moved--the first time simply knocked over, the second carried a foot away and almost out of sight in the narrow tunnels that stretch into the earth of the hillside. Obviously I had invaded someone's home so yesterday I moved both pieces to a more easily visible spot on the grotto rocks a few feet away and will return tomorrow to see what has transpired...

Urban Fae

I have begun to make a new series of miniature faery furniture for my Etsy shop, Pandora Jane. These pieces are part of the "Urban Fae" series and they combine my love of natural materials with the equally fascinating world of the found object (already an important part of my larger scale works).

"Lurking beneath the alley's spindly saplings or along the sidewalk where a dandelion breaks through concrete to mirror the sun, crouched at the edge of a pigeon's nest in the niche of a cathedral arch or among the window boxes on the 5th floor, they are the urban fae, those who have chosen to live in this most human of environments and offer subtle encouragement to the natural world. These fae can be a bit tricksy to deal with, although contrary to much popular belief they are not adversarial to humans. They do have a difficult role to fulfill and at times there have been incidents...
They are experts at blending human cast offs with materials from the urban natural world to create imaginative homes and furnishings. This chair represents a prime example. It combines the remnants of a blue enamel pan, broken crockery bits and a rusted bottle cap with twigs, mica, lichen and a duck feather from the city park. The throne measures 18 centimeters high to the tip of the feather x 5 cm. wide."

And another urban fae piece, a bottle cap, pottery shard and twig chair and tea table.