Intermediate Work - Back Pack and Basket

February 25th - 27th 2013

Over the past year, I have spent a lot of time looking for objects and inspiration on the internet.  I would search out anything that had “japanese” or “miniature” in it just to see what kind of objects were being sold or created.  I’ve come across lots of objects (some too expensive for me to purchase and in any case the wrong scale) and lots of tutorials.  With my latest hiatus, I warehoused in my brain, computer or pinterest a ton of ideas.  This idea came from a combination of a picture I came across and some experiences from my past.

First of all, this is the picture which I had saved to my computer.  By the info of the file, I found it in October of 2012 (during my Halloween break).  I cannot find who it belongs to so I am unable to give credit where it is due (if this is yours, please message me and let me know!).  I loved it so much but I do remember it was the wrong scale (1:12) so even if I wanted it, I couldn’t use it.  But I could use it as inspiration.  I wasn’t sure how exactly it worked till I was watching the film “The Ten Commandments” one night (classic) and during the Exodus, many of the freed slaves had these sort of wooden framed carriers to haul wood, food and....baskets full of stuff.

So, backtracking for a moment, many years ago while I was at University getting my art degree, we had a scupture professor who was a bit bohemian.  Long hair, soft spoken, work boots and a very large basket style back pack.   I had never seen anything like it.  My dream back then was to get my degree and get a masters in costume design.  I used to come to classes ready to throw on the ceramic wheel or chisel at my marble wearing angora sweaters, 3 inch heeled suede boots...well you get the idea.  I never ruined or dirtied any of my clothes but I was very much the complete opposite of the majority of my fellow students - not to mention professors.  Anyway, that damn back pack was so foreign to me it ended up being the way I remembered him through the years.  And by this link, it's not like it was inexpensive!  Recently he has even had a show at the Maine Museum of Art but all I can still picture of my memory of him was that damn bohemian back pack. 

So, I decided to make the basket and the wooden carrier.  My homage to Duncan Hewitt ??

The first thing I had to do was map out more or less the scale.  Since the humans in this house would be 3-4” tall, the carrier had to be fairly small.  The basket could be bigger than the carrier (testiment the Exodus slaves in the movie) but I had to figure out the size and how to lash the shoulder straps to the wood.  I had also decided to notch the small pieces of wood otherwise the carrier would be too awkward and bulky.  After that, a little paint, wood paste and sanding did the trick.  I ended up macrameing the shoulder straps as no other solution was plausable.  The scale is so small that the crochet thread was too tiny (my hands cannot work that small anymore, they kept cramping up) so I opted for the kitchen string which worked out better than I thought. 

Working out the proportions and cutting the pieces.

Notching the pieces.

Fitting them with a little glue and wood paste.

Fitting the center support piece.

Adding the straps using kitchen string and simple macramé.

Adding the basket/load support pegs.

Finished dirtied carrier

The basket was as a lot of fun.  I had checked out a few tutorials and one by “1 inch minis” was wonderful but I just didn’t have the materials to carry it out.  I ended up going with the tutorial for the shopping cart from “Collectors Club of GB”.  I liked this method for two reasons.  One I could actually print out something on photo paper (I went to a site and had “First House” translated to kanji - thus batptising my ryokan) and two, I could use the wire that I had on hand to work with. 

The method was pretty straight forward.  Only a few steps I changed.  I used double sided tape instead of glue to fold over the ends of the basket and I added a strip of rice paper on the top and bottom to reinforce it.  I painted it with a mix of glue and water to help the wire stick to the paper better.  Then, I painted the inside and paper strips on the top and bottom and finally varnished the whole thing.  Once dry, I could distress it as much as I wanted.  I’ve been using some old makeup eye colors and brushing layers on to finished pieces gives it a nice dirty used look.  Sometimes it gets a little sparkly, but just burnishing it a bit with your fingers removes any excess.

Wires cut and ready, printed "basket" with "First House" in kanji. My printer 

 ink was running out!

Measuring out 1/4" spaces to make cutting more precise.

Sliding in the wires.  No need now to glue as I did that afterwards.

Using a small piece of flat wood to facilitate inserting the wires. I then cut out the basket and folded and fixed the edges.

I used a travel size square lotion bottle to help keep the shape of the basket.  It was easy to trim to size. I also had a small square piece of balsa wood for the bottom.

After covering it with a mix of glue/water, the wires were fixed by adding a small strips of rice paper to both top and bottom.  Then covering again with the glue/water mix.

After painting the rice paper strips, I varnished it and distressed it using old eyeshadow powders.

I added the last braided strap to hold the basket in place (when attached to the carrier), distressed the carrier and the trick was done.  I really like the finished piece.  It was a lot of fun seriously.

Braided safety strap to hold the loaded basket.

My bohemian back pack.

March 2nd 2013

Added a small sewing hook painted black to the back wall to hang the back pack on.  The basket I placed below it as I figured it'd be near the back door for quick access when they need to go out and gather wood or something else.

Kitchen with the backpack hanging on the back wall.

April 3rd 2013

My sister found an old foto of me at University and lo and behold next to me is the infamous basket.  Forget about my derby, the basket is what kills me!  And on a side note, I am sitting on the ground in a Norma Kamali coat.  Fashion plate to the last.  So 80's !

Raku firing in a Kamali coat. How chic!

17th October Update!
I found the original back pack picture ! You can purchase it here.  So glad.

Intermediate Work - Porch Repair, MiniaturItalia Minis Show

February 8-13 2013

First of all, many apologies for not having posted any news here for some time.  I had so many Halloween decorations (and houses) to build. Then we got into Thanksgiving which, believe it or not, I do here in Italy (my Italian friends have come to expect it - this year I even did a Gordon Ramsay turkey which was fab), then we got into Christmas.  Given it takes me a full two days just to put up my tree, well, suffice to say that I lost my concentration on the ryokan house project.  Not to say that I haven’t been mini-ing in the meantime.

I’ve made a few purchases during my “vacation”.  I found a lovely Coca-cola cooler for the front foyer (which I aged a bit and then stuck a few Japanese Coke adverts on and around it), plus a few purchases such as eggs and baskets and wooden serving trays.  All objects that will be used in the service and cooking for my ryokan guests. But more to be added later.

Open coke cooler with lots of ice and bottles

Few adverts attached.

 I finally removed the right front porch which had been annoying me since I had actually installed it.  I filled the holes with some wood putty and then redrilled and repositioned in the hopes of diminishing the large listing difference to the left hand porch.  Altho it’s not perfect, it’s better than it was.  So, it’ll have to do.

Filled in the holes with some wood putty

Re-positioned and drilled. 

Reduced list - matches somewhat better

I also attended my first miniature fair.  It was held in Milan, Italy this past weekend.  It was great to get away and fun to spend a few hours walking around the fair.  Since my needs are very specific, I only ended up spending around €60 which isn’t much I admit.  But if I feel I can make something myself, then I just can’t bring myself to buy it.  I did end up spending on a vintage Baseball Board Game (another project I have in mind) and a dyecast cash register which was very nice.  For the ryokan, I found a perfectly tiny hand brush to be used for cleaning up coal and carbon dust in the kitchen.  The other brush was a 1/12 scale and much too large.  Not to worry.  I cut it and sanded and glued a skewer on it and made myself a broom for the house.  Perfect !  

1/12 hand brush before reuse

Cut hand broom, sanded and attached a skewer for a handle

Finished broom and hand brush on the coal bucket

I found some beautiful raku style pottery which will fit in the Japanese style.  The pieces were extra special and really well priced.  I also located a wonderful marble cutting board/platter from a vendor who makes gorgeous marble minitaures.  And the final purchase which was just too cute to pass up was a miniature posable Panda bear.  Simply fabulous!!!

My mini purchases.

Little panda bear on the bed

Hopefully I am now back into the groove of building and things will begin to progress once again.  I have long since passed my 1st year anniversary of the build and considering I’ve neglected the build for a good 3 months, things are not so bad as they may seem.  So many ideas have formed in these months, I can assure you.  Lots to follow !

Intermediate Work : Some Miniature Food stuff

1/24 scale bread, 1/12 scale bento boxes

November 6th 2012

I started navigating to search for miniature food stuff a long time ago.  The thing is I’d like  to learn how to use my Fimo so I can make some stuff but I just don’t have the manual control I once had.  I’m not writing it off just yet but I wanted to see if I could find some finished food and at the right price.

I searched a number of different sites and came across the problem of scale.  This house is slightly larger than half scale and not quite 1/12 scale but some things can actually fit even if they are larger scale.  The 1/24 scale is really very tiny and depending on the food I have to be able to see the objects next to a measuring tape or ruler or a penny to gauge if it’s correct or not.  Another hinderance was that I needed Japanese food.  The house is supposed to be a Japanese inn so I really needed some oriental dishes.

I found one site that makes really lovely detailed 1/24 scale food.  But it was much too small (see the loaf of bread on the table above).  So I ended up searching on Ebay.  I found two sellers out of Thailand that had very nice ceramic and food products.  One in particular had the Coke cooler which I really wanted in the foyer of the inn.  It also had the bento boxes and the dim sum bamboo steamers so I purchased from them.  I think the scale is going to look just fine and the prices are very honest.

Bento Boxes

Dim Sum

I also made purchases from another Ebay seller who also has their own site.  I got mostly fruit and veg from them and you can see those in my kitchen shelving.  They also had whole fish and some knives so I bought these from them too.  The fish were essential if I wanted to have fish plates being prepared in the kitchen.  In fact they look pretty realistic sitting on the butcher’s block.

Apples, pears and some sweets which I will use with a tea set.

The final purchase was from a food miniaturist who is pretty famous.  She makes lots of food and sells them in slices or in canes (which can be sliced by you).  They tend to be more expensive as a food solution but I was able to get hold of some sashimi packets (50pcs) some shrimp, salmon steak and smoked salmon.  I then could create my own dishes.  I eventually want these dishes to be set out in preparation for bringing them to the guest’s rooms. 

Tiny sashimi and lemon slices.

Shrimp, salmon steaks and sashimi.

I used liquid Fimo to glue the loose pieces onto the cute dishes (purchased off Ebay together with the Coke cooler) along with some sliced sashimi pieces on to the tray.  I also got some ice off the same seller and fimo’d that onto the tray.  All you have to do is heat the pieces up in the oven on its lowest setting to fix the liquid Fimo.  I think it works better than superglue or other liquid glue solutions because you have to wait so long for the glue to dry.

Fimo Liquid

Fish prep tray, sashimi and salmon plate

Set up on the table

I’m not sure if I can afford to make frequent purchases from the Angie Scarr site so I may have to attempt some Fimo food on my own (thinking about a joint of meat or something - or even a Kobe steak!) but I’m pretty far from that right now.

Intermediate Work : A Hibachi Grill

October 18th - 22nd 2012

Still working on some Halloween decorations but in between waiting for glue to dry, I found this really cute free hibachi printie.  So I had to make it.

Just to explain, a hibachi is a small grill that usually in America is used outdoors but in Japan can also be found in a table version.  They are usually also made of cast iron (ghisa) so they are pretty resistant to rust.  But I had two ideas for my hibachi.  One would be a grill that can be used in a room but also that it has been well used!  I wanted a little rust and dirt on my hibachi.

The printie was scaled down to my 1/20 size more or less.  I then glued it together and painted it black.  I also gave it a second hand of water/glue to harden it up and make it a little stronger.  I used paints and some fine grain sand to simulate the ash filled fire worn interior.  I’m surprised how effective this was.

Fine grain sand and some white and grey/blue paint for ashes.  Terracotta color for rust.

I used one of the plastic sink strainers (the ones I found 6/1 euro and made a basket of one in a previous post) and cut them up to make the grills.  A little paint and sizing and the grills look pretty good.  The last addition was to make some coals.  I had bought some “coal” when I went to Miniatur Wunderland in Germany (instead of black gravel, it’s actually cut up rubber which is pretty cool because you can cut pieces smaller or larger as needed) so just needed to paint them a little to simulate hot coals. 

Glueing the coal to the grate.

Top grate - empty habachi

Removeable coal fire.

With the top grate.  Just need some food for grillin'!

Now all I need is some food for my grill !!! (my next internet order...till I learn how to use Fimo clay I suppose.)

UPDATE
28th October 2012

Added a fish and some steaks to my hibachi.   

Intermediate Work - The Bamboo Shades, An Iris Plant

Shibuya Town Feed - inspiration for the bamboo shades.

October 1st - 4th 2012

I had seen on a feed some nice fotos of Shibuya in Japan and in one of these fotos, there were these lovely bamboo shades which were hung on the outside of the terraces in many of the two story houses.  It reminded me of the same shading process here in Italy but here they use fabric curtains that just serve to block out the sun and heat during the day.  Most have these rolling full window shades but if you want to move in and out of a door, you need one of these curtains.  So, I decided my ryokan would have some bamboo shades to keep out the heat and sun.

I did some searching on the internet and came across a tutorial where you can use a bamboo placemat as a bamboo shade.  The bamboo slats are the correct scale so all I needed to do was find some bamboo placemats.  Years ago I found a ton and now all of a sudden I couldn’t find any!  As luck would have it, one day at Ikea, in the discount section (where they dump opened packages or the stuff they use in display) there was a nice bamboo placemat for a Euro 1.50.  Can’t go wrong with that! So I picked it up.

Ikea E 1.50 place mat!! Yoohoo!

Glueing the edges where I plan to cut thru

The first thing to do was to glue the slats where I would be cutting since we didn’t want the threads to unravel.  So, after taking some measurements, I glued the top and bottom and waited overnite to be sure the string was hardened and set.  Then I cut using my exacto-knife.  The bottom of the matt was perfect as a support to hang the shade.  I then measured out some black DMC thread, tied one end, threaded it round the back and up the front again and back thru.  The whole ordeal was because I wanted my shades to actually open and close.  I had to find a way to fix the threads across the top and I did that with some bugle beads.  Threading through those was a pain (I had to glue the tip of the floss to a fine point to thread it thru) but eventually I got both threaded and secured.  I used a small orange bead to weight the end of the pull.

Cutring the matts to size for the shade

Threading the bugle beads...

...and glueing them in place so the string would slide.

Glueing the back support (bottom piece of the placemat)

The next part was a little more difficult.  I had to figure out a way to weather the bamboo shades on one side.  I really didn’t like the new look to them.  I generally do not like the whole ryokan looking brand spanking new so the shades had to look a little sun faded.  I tried using household bleach and a paintbrush but it just isn’t concentrated enough.  Neither was hydrogen peroxide.  Only solution was to put some bleach soaked paper towels on the sun bleached side and let them sit on there for around 5 hours.  That did the trick enough to please me.  I then added a little graphite colored paint (has a bit of a blue hue) to make the shades look weathered. 

Top side now slightly weathered, underneath still fairly clean.

Attaching the shades was great since the bottom piece of the placemat was actually almost the exact same width as the space between the top window sill and the under roof beam.  Just a bit of sanding and those fit in perfectly. 

And the shades do go up and down! Fun!

Funky little flower petals - also a find.

The finished vase....

...in situ.

I also found some small terracotta vases which were a good size for the house.  I aged one with some brown and green and then stuffed it with some of the pink flowers I had purchased.  I also found a package of blue purple flowers and used the same method as making the geranium petals - squishing them on the mousepad - then glueing them to a green wire support.  I then inserted an iris that I had purchased from DHE UK site.  I think it looks quite nice on the porch! 

Next will tackle the magnetic closure of the first floor porches.