September 25, 2015

about inspiration, creativity & tips, PART I of VII

NOTE: Because it had gotten so ridiculously long, but almost entirely finished for a while now, I've decided to break it up in parts. For clearity and to prevent insanity and/or being overwhelmed on your side :D. So today, part I. Not really inspirational yet, but an important introduction I think. And might be a bit inspirational in a way? In any case it's long enough already ;)

I've been writing a different kind of post, adding to it from time to time and digging up old photo's or made new photo's of stuff I've made in the past to support this looooonng post ;). I realise it totally depends on where you are miniature-/craftwise, what's important or helpful to you, etc, if this post is useful at all. But it's for anyone who might be happy with some advice from yours truly and can benefit from it.


I felt like it because of things I've read in comments or blogposts, about inspiration and creativity and such and I might be able to help with a bit. At least I hope so. Not because I know everything, far from it, but I know a little bit of something that might help some of you sweet readers and followers out there.


so, here it goes.. my view on a few things. It may be different for other miniaturists who were great and/or amazing from the start, but I wasn't born making realistic miniatures like my recent mini-books, mini handcremetubes with handcream being able to squeeze out or mini-alarmclocks. Just so you know ;).

I'd like to show you that I'm not just saying things, some pictures of where I came from. What I did in the beginning and didn't have the best idea about scale, materials etc. Something that I still develop of course, although it has much approved over time. Nothing wrong with what I did, I liked it a lot and was (mostly) very proud of every one of them. They've also been important and even essential for my development. But the point I want to make is that it's a quite different from what I have done later.

BOOKS
my first book. Way too big/out of scale even for the bigger book it was meant to be, pages very thick which was already thicker than normal paper and are also glued together etc.

you can see with the miniaturemagazines and the two recent books how big it is. And in the last image of the 3 below you can see the pages don't even line up (this is as straight I could hold them down), iiieeeee! Was I making this with my eyes closed? hahaha :D


and here's a nice mistake I made with a bookkit around that time by Ann Vanture from www.paperminis.com, glueing the pages in the cover upside down! But because you glue it to the front and backcover too, there's no way I could remove without tearing the whole thing to shreds, so I had to leave it like that.. I also made the same mistake with Animal Farm, only not upside down (because I was paying very close attention to that because of that previous stupidity), but the outside of the pages to the spine! Don't ask me how that happened! But luckily that book doesn't have flyleafs, so removing it was possible, although I still had to get all the glue from the pages.. :D

the second time I had an idea for a book was much later a couple of years ago and it was so much better! It is printed on both sides and even glued the right side up ;). This is large too, but as it should be being a big book for witchcraft, it's to scale this time ;). I still like this a lot!



and of course the books that I made earlier this year, so you can see (or anyone who had not seen the bookpost of these yet) what a contrast to that first one!

WEAVING
the second attempt to make a catcarrier as the first doesn't even resemble one haha (see that one in the photo below this one). Although it's a fine carrier and will carry minicats as it should, it's not too realistic I'm afraid, but I did enjoy it and was so proud of it! And still am.

the 3rd one I didn't finish because - from what I remember, it's been a couple of years that I made it - there was no way I could proceed with the weaving. Because of the - at that point - very inflexible metal wire (too thick as I just realised when seeing it again for this post). This falls in the category of seeing layers and they can have blind spots, as I will explain in later 'editions' of this series, it's one of the tips.

different use for 'failed' items
seeing the first cat carrier some time later it reminded me it looks like some kind of planter! Not sure if it's right for that proportionally, but for this post I finally tested that by putting some greens (it's fresh mint that bloomed!) in it and put it on a wall. Not too bad huh? :) It's still not the most realistic object/scale maybe and I would like to treat it sometime to make it more realistic, like a dark wash that will get in the crevices and/or maybe some dry white (or white-ish) paint to give it a more modern look. But at least it won't be useless, yay!

a small TIP to take away from this: if you have something that is not right for what you made it to be, it might be useful as something else? Like a mug that turned out too big, can maybe be a vase or plantpot. To give an example I can now think of and you might have thought of yourself and done that already, but there are probably countless! And some 'failed' items can be used for attics or trashcans etc.


and how about bad photography in the photo below? the basket* isn't even in focus :D haha. And this is not one of more photo's where this is the bad one, this is the photo I decided to keep! I don't know if I still have this basket somewhere, I'm curious to how it looks!
*from raffia with licorice-sticks as woodblocks


don't worry, I do like the first basket, but it's quite different from my second one that I made the year after. The basket itself is not even bad, it looks just fine.  I do still need to fnish it though with some washes or so to give it some more shades of colour. It's mostly the glued-on rim on the top that makes it quite unrealistic and not my best work, but it's how I started, it's my first regular basket** after all ;). It's in my christmaslantern.
**technically this was the raffia one I had forgotten all about until I stumbled on that photo for this post!


CANDALABRA
so this is a great example of me not using the right materials for realistic miniatures in my early days. I was over the moon with them at the time, I even ordered a lot more of the same beads and beadcaps to be able to make more! And they are are nice maybe, but not very realistic. I might have an idea what to do with them to be able to use them and benefit from the ornamental detail... I'll have to see if that works and if so I will someday post that as a tip.


so there you have it! My first (baby)steps in this fun hobby.

I got where I am - and still have masses to learn - by learning from mistakes. Obviously, as that's what we all do in life and will be no surprise. Also by seeing more clearly (or at all, haha, if you look at the crooked pages of that first book). And by looking at things differently over time and changing previous aspects to achieve better results in new miniatures. For whatever reason or because I suddenly realise what will work better. It's a natural process. I've also learned from others, using their tips. And developed my own, as well as ideas that I came up with.

with mistakes I also mean all the dumb things from blowing up lights because of next to zero electrical knowledge, supergluing my fingers to a miniature or each other on more occassions than one, glueing pages the wrong way around in a bookcover, working on something only to realise I've overlooked a very important and kind of obvious part etc. Haven't we all? Well maybe not all, but I know I'm certainly not the only one!

nothing human is strange to me :D and I can assure you: very human this one, haha

See you at part II !



32 comments:

  1. Monique, your baskets are gorgeous and look like real, I like especially the bright basket, and the hanging with plant, well job and beautiful pictures! Old books - masterclass job!

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  2. Beautiful pieces, especially the first basket.

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    1. thank you Fabiola, it's nice to hear that. It was a bit figuring out, but I was sooo proud when I finished it!

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  3. Really cool to see some of your early efforts. What an improvement you can see! I'm not going to mention the upside down pages in the book!, ;-)

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    1. Thanks Simon! It's funny how much something has changed when comparing a beginning and a 'now'. Haha, very wise, it's unbelievable right? I don't recall what happened exactly, but I do remember I was very careful and being so surprised when it turned out to be that way.. oh well :D

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  4. I keep a few photos of the very first things I made as a reminder of where I started. It's amazing to see how much our work improves over time as we learn new techniques. Thank you for sharing your photos. I think this will encourage anyone starting out, kowing that with practice and reading your tips they can make beautiful, realistic miniatures like you =0)

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    1. Ha, you're so right, it is amazing! And hopeful for anyone, as you well point out. It's what I hope to be able to do, that people realize it's possible and look differently to their own potential, and I'm glad you think that it can do that too :) And thanks for that compliment :D

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  5. This really means a lot to me! To see the "rough but beloved" beginnings compared with the recent very refined items is very encouraging! I know I have made "progress" with some of my skills.... but I think I need to focus on just one thing at a time... not skip so quickly to the next and the next... I want to try them all! LOL! I know that when I was working on furnishings for my "Tree House" in 1:48 scale.... it helped me to look closer... and everything for 1:12 scale suddenly seemed Huge by comparison! I keep telling myself to be "patient" and the rest will come in time..... and then I rush off to start something new! Your tutorials and tips are very helpful.... as is your showing these beginning pieces! I really admire your accomplishments! Thank you for sharing them!

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    1. You are so welcome and THANK YOU Betsy, that is so wonderful to hear, it's what I've written it for and shown the photo's and it means a lot it's what it does for you! I'm not sure you need to focus on one thing at a time more. Maybe it can help, but on the other hand I think it's a lovely thing the enthousiasm and passion you do everything, part of that is the jumping from one thing to the next I can imagine. And I love the wonderful things you make and the creativity of all the ideas and stories, I love that about you!!! And it makes so much sense you want to make them all, I recognize that too, it's just that because of my circumstances I can think way more than I'm able to make anything, and that's also what makes the curve of improvement steeper I think. Even with going from next to next, you can still improve with tips as you already notice are helpful (as the tips of others were and are to me), while still being yourself in your enthousiastic and creative spirit, that is just amazing! And working on a smaller scale certainly does wonders for the larger scale again, I can imagine how that works!

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  6. Que bonitas creaciones,en especial las maravillosas cestas,enhorabuena!!
    Besos.

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  7. Hi Monique! Wat een geweldige blogpost en idd zóóóóó herkenbaar: alle dingen heb ik natuurlijk ook wel eens gedaan, vingers met secondelijm vastlijmen inlcuis :D. Ach, een ezel stoot zich geen derde keer aan dezelfde steen zullen we maar zeggen............alhoewel, ikke wel LOL!!
    Het is erg leuk om te zien hoe jouw creaties in de loop der tijd zoveel mooier (én beter!!) zijn geworden, ik denk dat dit ook voor velen van ons herkenbaar is. Want als ik nu af en toe naar mijn eigen bloemen kijk van 3-4 jaar geleden, brrrr, dan zijn ze niet om aan te zien, maar toen was ik er hartstikke trots op :S!
    Die kattenmand aan de muur had ik anders wél met kattengras opgevuld, om in de stijl van katten te blijven dan, hè ;O!! Maar jouw takjes munt staan er ook lief in.
    Leuk dat je er nu al weer was en nog wel met deze 'leerzame' en herkenbare blogpost, leuk begin van het weekend :)!
    Geniet van het mooi herfstweer en het heerlijke zonnetje erbij, dat ga ik ook doen :)!
    Groetjes, Ilona

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    1. Hi Ilona! Dank je wel, leuk om te horen! Haha, nou ik ben dan ook een flinke ezel, want is me ook echt wel vaak gebeurd, hoewel ik wel een trucje heb waarmee ik het meestal kan voorkomen, maar wil niet zeggen dat het niet soms nog mis gaat. Is natuurlijk ook het irritante van secondenlijm, wat het handig maakt, is meteen het nadeel ;)
      Ja precies, het leek me goed om te laten zien dat ik ook echt niet begonnen ben met het soort dingen dat ik nu maak. Als ik het alleen maar zou zeggen, zouden ze denken, jaja, tuurlijk! Nu weten ze dat ik dat niet zomaar zeg.
      Oh, wat een goed idee, dat ik daar niet aan gedacht heb haha, da's wel toepasselijk en ik had toen ik die foto maakte nog wel wat kattengras staan ook... mmmm.
      Dank je wel voor je enthousiaste reactie en ik vind het erg leuk dat je het een leuk bericht vond. Groetjes Monique

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  8. I love all the different mini things you are teaching yourself too make, showing your progress and how far you have come is a wonderful idea. Your shot with the brick wall and chair is fantastic too.

    Jenn

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    1. Thank you Jennifer, I decided to do that, because I sometimes got comments that people think I have some 'magic' skill for knowing the right materials and such and they could never do that. And I really wanted to show them that's not something I've always had and so they realize they have a lot more possibilities than they think too! And thanks for the compliment!

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  9. Lovely baskets, especially the one with the plant hanging on the wall. A good idea keeping photos of
    our early works. Practice is the name of the game when it comes to crafting miniatures.
    Hugs, Drora

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    1. Thank you Drora, it's nice to hear you like it. It absolutely helps to do things more often and get to know materials better and how to use them! A hug for you too!

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  10. Las primeras piezas que hiciste ya eran bonitas. Es verdad que con el tiempo se aprende mucho pero la ilusión inicial es especial.

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    1. Muchos gracias Isabel y so es exactamente correcto! Eso es especial. Y no podemos sin principio, se asegura de que podíamos desarrollamos nosotros mismos para ser mejor.

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  11. Geniales tus trabajos ,la cesta de la pared es preciosa , gracias por mostrarlo. Feliz fin de semana:-)

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    1. gracias y la bienvenida Rosa Maria! Tener una buena semana desear!

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  12. Hello Monique,
    You may have had a few bridges to cross, but your skills today are wonderful. It was great to see how you got where you are. Thank you for this great post.
    Big hug,
    Giac

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    1. Hi Giac, thank you and you're welcome! And a big hug to you!

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  13. Hi Monique! I must say that your mistakes look good to me and I only hope that One Day, I can make stuff as good as your bad stuff! :D I love the conversion of the cat carrier into a wall planter! It looks Fabulous on the wall. And I might add, that I agree 100% that if what you make doesn't turn out quite the way you've originally planned, keep it anyway because it might be just the ticket somewhere down the line, or give you an idea of how to make it better! :))

    elizabeth

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    1. Well thank you for that great compliment Elizabeth but I think what you do is absolutely wonderful and often enough has blown me away! I LOVE what you do!! So I don't think that day has to come, you already do that and that's also way better than my beginstuff I might add! So. I've said ;) But I'm glad we agree about the repurpose of 'failed' items :D, it's fun too and gives a previous disappointing outcome a nice twist.

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  14. Great post Monique, and so very relatable too. I've been meaning to get round to posting about a chair I made in the early days, but I still haven't gotten around to making it's successor. The differences and improvement can be astounding, although I love the naivety of a first try too. I am a huge admirer of Nunu's house, then I found your blog and something about it kickstarted me into making better and more satisfying miniatures. Hard to explain but up until then I had been fussing about and focusing on the big stuff and bought stuff, then I saw your blog with the insane detail, clever ideas, tips, materials I wouldn't have thought of (tea light metal, mwah!! :D ). You were definitely a catalyst for me, I swear I pushed myself and started making better miniatures after studying your blog :D Thank you! (although now I want to make EVERYTHING!) x

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    1. Wow Sarah, this seriously is the most wonderful thing you could have said.. I was so touched by it! I cannot believe my blog has done so much for you, but I'm so glad it did! And you do such wonderful things and I enjoy your blog so much! Haha, yes, it does make the itch to make things bigger and the options are endless :D We just need to see if someone can give us - or invent - some extra lifetimes, than we can make EVERYTHING!

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  15. We need inspiration to develop our personal skills; therefore we used to follow different approach and skills. Here in this article we have found some crucial facts that help to increase our inspiration level and creative ideas; while creative ideas we are able to improve our personal skills and qualities. I hope while following suitable instructions from here we are able to develop our personal skills and ability.

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    1. Hi Shane, I'm not sure I get what you mean, but thanks for your comment ;)

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