Issue #11 / march 2021
our favorite things
It’s a Small World
L
et’s get one misconception out of the way. The hobby of making and collecting dollhouse miniatures is not for children. It’s for adults who like to create miniature scenes using a variety of crafts and materials. Modeling with Fimo (a type of polymer clay which is baked to become firm), paper and wood, painting and needlework are all techniques used by miniaturists to create every imaginable scene – kitchens, bedrooms, gardens, pubs – we’ve even made succot with tiny paper chains and realistic schach.
A snapper-up of unconsidered trifles Miniaturists create true-life scenes, scaled down to a twelfth of the original. You can buy accessories but it’s more fun to make everything yourself. While you can buy expensive museum-quality miniatures, you can also make wonderful miniatures from the stuff most people throw away. In the lid of a bottle of soda is a plastic disc that can turn into a beautiful plate. To make an ornate picture frame, we stick a grain of rice alternating with a lentil and paint the whole thing in gold paint. Lamps can be made from Ping Pong balls and plants from masking tape. A miniaturist never throws anything Closeup of vegetable stand miniature Far right (left to right): Brian Wolkind, Orry Lovat, Robert Casselson and Norman Aisler
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Gloria Deutsch with miniature vegetable stand
away. The opposite is true. Like Shakespeare’s Autolycus, a miniaturist is ‘a snapper-up of unconsidered trifles.’
A Wonderful Escape The most exacting test of a miniature scene’s success is looking at a photo of it to see if you can tell that it isn’t a fullsized room. Miniaturists see the world with different eyes. When you look at a piece of Scotch-Brite and see it as a green lawn, or the lid of a tube of toothpaste as a plant pot, you know you have become a fully-fledged miniaturist. Creating miniatures is a wonderful way to escape the harsh realities of our day-to-day lives. You make your own little world in miniature: static, peaceful, a room to which you can return again and again and nothing changes. Miniatures were my passion for 20 years
and I truly can’t recall what set it off. After working alone for a while, I found other people with the same passion and we formed the Israel Miniaturists Association. Our first project was a sewing shop complete with rolls of cloth, and knitting and sewing requirements. The highlight of our existence was the show we put on in Ra’anana’s Yad LeBanim. It was hugely successful, with loads of press coverage. We were on the map. Eventually the group fizzled out and I no longer make miniatures, but I have a room full of them that continue to give me great pleasure. Gloria Deutsch
“A Good Walk Spoiled”*
W
hen we made aliyah, nearly four years ago, I was keen to fix a regular golf game. Not only do I enjoy playing but walking about 5.5 miles, two or three times a week, seemed like good exercise, something for which I’m not renowned. I found SNAC’s Robert Cassleson played regularly with Norman from Ir Yamim at the Caesarea Golf Club, so I joined them. Our regular 4th was Neville Walters, a SNAC member, who retired from our foursome – claiming age and a desire to spend time with his wife. Orry Lovat, another SNAC member, replaced Neville on our Sunday, →