Recently I had the good fortune to help with a miniature show in my hometown and came away just wishing I had the time to craft a miniature version of each of the three books I’ve had published. I could just envision the lighthouse and cliffs of The Angel and the Outlaw and the windswept plains of Texas with The Rebel and the Lady. But then—I’d be busy playing with miniatures instead of writing!The women and men that work with miniatures go to great lengths to create scenes that are historically accurate--with the furniture, rugs, and pictures of the era, unless of course, they are creating a fanciful scene such as mermaids in Atlantis. Here is the house of the Seven Dwarves from the opened back
And Merlins' Lair...complete with a suit of armour and a crystal ball.
How does this relate to writing? Well, by seeing a visual of the world I am writing about, I start thinking up more scenes and ideas. So I guess you could say it stimulates me creatively.
The majority of miniaturists work with 1-inch scale which means 1 inch equals one foot in real life. A very few work with 1/2 inch scale. The two houses to the left are Debbie Young's collection. She works with 1/4 inch scale where 1/4 inch equals a foot in real life.
Herta Forster grew up in Darmstadt
Germany to a family of artists. In 1944
her parent's house was bombed by the
Allies. After moving to the United States,
she lovelingly built a miniature replica of
the home she left behind, complete with the furniture as she remembered it.
Since I write westerns, the last two pictures are of a western dance hall. This was complete with a large bar and a dance hall girl. Oh-la-la!
What types of things do you do in your "free time" that help stimulate your creativity? Do your hobbies ~ cooking, knitting, etc have a place in your writing?
