flowers for Mom

Today it's Mother's Day.

A special day to celebrate the important place that mothers can have in our lives, even at an older age. Cos although we grow out of their care when we move out of our parents house, a Mom never seems to stop caring. They continue to worry when we encounter misfortune or they care when we're in trouble. Whether we're 12 or 42, we will always be their little girl or boy. Whether we like it or not :) I'm blessed to have not one, but two Mom's. My own biological Mom and my Mother in law, that has become my second Mom over the years. To thank them for the care and guidance that they've given (and still give!) there is this special day. And that's today; Mother's Day. But for me they deserve that respect and gratitude e-ve-ry day of the year!






For instance last December, i expressed that by giving my MIL two clematis plants for Sinterklaas. (the Dutch equivalent of Christmas) I'd bought them  at the Arnhem dollhouse fair from Templewood Miniatures, run by Kathryn and Alan Gray. They make fantastic laser cut kits that are a treat to work. To add realism and depth, I've painted extra colors to the leaves of the flowers and plant, and made the pots they are in. The results are two climbers, rambling the walls of her Zaanse Dollhouse, full in flower and with still a few buds. 

Enjoy Mother's Day

flip the floor

I've had some time this weekend to spend on the portable stand. I've made a simple demountable base to raise the floor a bit and at the same time hold the back wall upright. One side of the wall I've opted for marble paneling. I've painted a beige marble that would match the wallpaper I'd chosen.

Cut it into tiles, and marbled a matching top trim and the plinth.

Glued them on some sturdy cardboard and that will be become the lower half of one wall. 

Still the upper part to do, but then one wall will be finished. I'm thinking of doing the other side with some sort of wainscot too. Something like the room box i'd made earlier?? Or as counter-balance it could be a sleek stark wall? Hmm, not sure yet. Depends on the combinations, cos....

The floor has parquet on one side and black and white tiles on the other. You can swap 'm round in a second, just like is possible with the backwall. Giving this display 4 combinations in total. The parquet has had it's third coat of oil now and it's looking better with each new one. 

What a change a flip of the floor can give!
Wish it was that easy in real life :)

more nautical babies

Buying the starfish (see the latest post) was a real exception cos i definitely prefer to find the nautical miniatures that Mother Nature washes up on our shores. All for free, and whit out killing the animals that used to live in them.  

All that's needed is to look for them. On your knees or flat on the stomach, at least with the nose down. Some days are better then others, pending on the winds and tide. Fortunately the North Sea was very generous the other day.

She gave the more common types of shells, that already overflow my stockroom. But nature had more in store... and washed up the most brittle skeletons i know; sea urchins!! Easily missed when you walk the beach, but thank god I'm near sighted :D 

Enjoy and have a great (miniature) day

twinkle twinkle, little star

I ran into these starfish, and although i've stopped collecting shells after discovering how they are caught and harvested, in my mind I justified the purchase... cos my ooh my, did i fell in love with 'm!?! Aren't these tiny babies just gorgeous!?!? I'm stunned how many life forms nature creates, and these are only the echo's we're left with... Still the detail is really something and utterly amazing regarding their size. I love 'm! Perfect miniatures!! 

All the best & enjoy,

parquet pattern

I'm making a small traveling-display with multiple designs. So i can swap the floor from parquet to tiles, or turn the wall from classic to contemporary... Here's the start

Bibliotheca Thurkowiana Minor

 As book binder/restorer ánd passionate miniaturist I was thrilled to read the Bibliotheca Thurkowiana Minor is kept safe and intact. Because last week, on April the 13th it has passed on to become part of the collection of the Museum Meermanno in Den Hage, The Netherlands.

There it will be open for the public to visit (limited so see their website for opening hours etc.) as was the wish of the collectors them selfs; Guus and Luce Thurkow. Guus unfortunately died but his labour of love has been given the respect it deserves and is saved for future generations, instead of being sold off and scattered around the globe.

pictures courtesy of Ed Schilders

Links:

Museum Meermanno, Den Hage, The Netherlands.
TIP: if you can spare the time (12 minutes) watch They Are Giants, a documentary or short movie about Guus and his library, made by Koert Davidse in 2010. With English subtitles. 

Boekendingen; An article on this unique miniature library. 

NBV, De Nederlandse Boekhistorische Vereniging , Another article.

The links are in Dutch so below is the translation of the press release as seen on the website of Museum Meermanno.

Friday April 13, the transfer took place of an important new addition to Meermanno Museum | House of the book: the Bibliotheca Thurkowiana Minor, a very attractive miniature library founded by Guus and Luce Thurkow. The library contains 1515 books and miniatures, and is a supplement to the book collection of special forms of the museum and of course a phenomenon in itself.It was the wish of Guus Thurkow (1942-2011) and the museum that the miniature library would be shown to the public and would be preserved for future generations. With the generous support of Fonds 1818 and the Friends of the museum is now realized.


From 1984 to 2003 Luce and Guus Thurkow run, under the name 'The Catharijne Press' an antiquarian bookselling and publishing company of miniature books. On 1 January 2001 they decided to build a library of miniature books on the example of famous 17th-and 18th-century Dutch dolls. Based on the maximum size of a miniature book of 3 inches or 76 mm size was chosen as a scale of 1 to 4.With the cooperation of various specialists, this Bibliotheca Thurkowiana Minor already completed within a year. 


The library consists of twenty bookcases with six shelves and is further equipped with an earth and a celestial globe, a desk and chair for the librarian, a book staircase and a statue of Don Quixote, the patron of the library.The collection is divided into sections such as classical and Naturalis Historia Musica, and a few more modern category Photographia. The department Erotica is obviously hidden behind a secret entrance.Both the content and appearance of the book is very diverse: from Preacher to the small insects book by Godfried Bomans and pocket book to leporello, a modern folded book. The oldest object in the collection is a clay tablet from 1803 BC. Of these, 59 unique books: works printed in an edition of only one copy and some manuscripts. Many of these are specially made for this library, including a xylothek (collection of wood samples) and a miniature wax, including stylus. 


All these works are brought together under the motto of the library, a phrase from Cervantes 'Don Quixote' Ellos son gigantes "(" They are giants).


This miniature library is temporarily restricted. Every Wednesday at 13.00 a museum employee opens the closet and shows several examples of miniature books.For more information and photos:Aafke Boerma, boerma@meermanno.nl, 0031623637101Museum Meermanno | House of the bookPrinsessegracht 30, 2514 AP The Haguewww.meermanno.nlOpen: Tues / Sun from 12.00-17.00 hrs 

traveling boxes

The green one is from last year and i've made the new ones in the same style. Different base color but with the same black plinth and interior decor. The mirror received a velvet lining, but besides that they all match.

spot the differences

The drawing on the left was my plan and only guideline. Most importantly for me was to find the right feel and that rough sketch captured that essence. There was some mathematics involved, but I've made this piece more by eye and gut feeling the anything else. It's only 0.5 mm out in hight, compared to the initial drawing. Besides that there is no comparison, it doesn't even come close :)

Just for fun i've added a few shells, to give that tiny little extra detail. 

Unfortunately the table top cracked across a color line, just a short while ago. I've no picture of that because the brittle edges are so easily damaged, i immediately glued it back together!  To show you the fractured marble could be saved the shiny proof of what elbow grease and micro mesh can do.

Have a great weekend,