Miniature Scenes and More by Ryan Monahan
What’s your earliest memory with miniatures?
Honestly, I think the earliest memory I have is visiting a family friend’s house where they had a scale model of their home. It blew my little mind; I recall running around checking if they included all the details like the garden hose or the house number… I really was fascinated. I had to be about 8 or 9 years old, I’m guessing.
How did you first get started making miniatures yourself?
Beaver Suit’s Unique Miniature Photography
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Where did the idea for Beaver Suit come from?
Just a twinkle in a little brain cell that came to fruition as all creatives will understand! More than his character, I hope to show what living in the moment is all about. Beaver Suit does everyday things and enjoys them all. He is very Zen I suppose! What is also important to me is that he makes a smile happen, even for a very brief moment!
How many Beaver Suit characters are there in total?
Miniatures by Thamer Alcigeary
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What’s your earliest memory with miniatures?
At first I was watching stop motion animated movies. I liked the rooms, all the places and small things, so I started working in miniatures.
I started working on miniatures in July 2014. I’ve developed my skills quite a bit over the past year, but I don’t sell any of my miniatures.
What inspires you?
I’m inspired by old rooms.
What is the most memorable miniature you have ever seen?
Miniatures by Alamedy Diorama
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How did you first get started in miniatures?
My story with the miniatures started when I was very young. I started reading at the age of 5 and that enhanced my imagination a lot. Since then, I always dreamed of making scenes that I had previously imagined in a small scale. Six years ago, I found by chance some kind of Balsa wood and immediately I decided to build my first project. It was a small farm scene. I searched the Internet for some help, but I didn’t know what it was called. Finally, I found the word “miniatures” and I was so happy to know that there are a lot of miniaturists around the world. I started to make friendships with these artisans and gradually my work began receiving attention. I started a Facebook account two years ago, and now I have more than 5,000 friends and followers from all around the world.
Musée Miniature et Cinéma Director Dan Ohlmann
What are your earliest memories with miniatures?
As a child, I was very attracted to miniatures. I especially liked to create mini interiors of wooden huts, hunters’ homes with all their furniture and utensils. I was building works perched on real branches, and soon they became tropical forests. I built small streams that became big rivers. I was six years old and my pleasure was in search of maximum realism. I never put figures or figurines in my spaces because it totally interfered with my desire to create a “visual illusion.”
Miniatures by Hernán Buljevich
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How did you first get into miniatures?
I started working on miniatures at university as I became interested in scale models as a way of representation. It was then when I realized what my future would be. I began to work with constructive details, and created replicas of existing places that I liked. Over time, I acquired experience and thought that my greatest accomplishment was the way I could pass down the essence of a place and its charm—whether a house, a restaurant, a bar, a historic building, or any kind of space, front door or interior room—into a miniature.
Miniature Rooms by Robert Off
When was the first time you realized you had an interest in miniatures?
I really enjoyed painting lead soldiers as a child. I transitioned from soldiers to miniatures. I used to paint the eyeballs and eyelids of the soldiers – all such small details. I was always interested in miniatures actually. I remember seeing a bar scene at a miniature shop and thinking it was quite interesting. I loved museums and the dioramas there. It doesn’t make a difference to me what scale a miniature is in, as long as it tells a story. Everyone has a story, and people like stories. I know I certainly enjoy stories.
Feel Big Live Small
organized by Elan Smithee
with an essay by Rachel Nuwer
on view at apexart
now through Saturday, May 17
291 Church Street, New York, NY
A little (mini) excerpt from the press release:
Dioramas and miniatures are used in the field of architecture to preview a vision, in cinema to create a fabricated world, and in workshops as a means for children to process traumatic events.
Feel Big Live Small explores dioramas and miniatures as well as our fascination with all things small, both as a technical feat and a psychological relationship.
Miniatures by Minivenger
What types of miniatures do you make?
Right now, I mostly make food and packaging minis in 1:12 scale. Lately, I’ve been creating miniature figures and dioramas.
What materials do you use to make miniatures?
I use polymer clay for food miniatures. I also use all different kinds of materials when I make non-food items.
How long have you been working with miniatures?
I started making miniatures a few years ago but stopped for about a year because of my second pregnancy. This time around, I’ve only been creating for 1 year.
Least understood by the masses is my preoccupation with all things miniature. Have a little look around to see the big picture.
In hopes of spreading the good word about a great mini, I launched @dailymini on Instagram in the winter of 2012.
The brand has since been met with great enthusiasm and delight by fellow miniacs. I’m fortunate enough to feature a new miniature each day and am thrilled to share my beloved minis with an international audience. I’m most of all humbled by the community’s response and the amazing range of mini submissions received on a daily basis.
