At the Show - Figures

This week's blog features a long time dealer who makes marvelous figures and another who creates oil paintings and hand-paints furniture. Sometimes they collaborate on a unique scene guaranteed to catch your attention.

Extremely gifted, Fern Vasi has been creating 1:12 scale porcelain figures for more than thirty years. She enjoys making dolls of all different ages with diverse emotions. Each one-of-a-kind figure tells a story with its expressive face and unique body language. Stop by Fern's table, as she is sure to have a wide variety of work to share.  Perhaps a figure will capture your heart. fernvasidolls@yahoo.com

1920s well-dressed older couple exiting a flashy yellow taxi while cabbie counts the fare.

"The Luncheon of the Boating Party" replicated in dolls (Renoir, 1881).

Little girl playing dress-up in mother's accessories.

Lovely Geisha with butterfly.

Hollywood Glamour.

Granny sits in a chair crocheting an afghan.

Bewitching gypsy and the wine maker.

Old cowboy in Stetson hat and leather duster coat.

At the Show - Furniture and Paintings

Josephine "Jo" Meyer attended Good Sam for the first time in 2007. She hand paints lovely scenes and landscapes on 1:12 scale furniture. Her oil paintings include originals, reproductions of famous Masters, and whimsical paintings substituting a dog or cat for the human subject. She also paints in 1/2" and 1/4" scale.
JoArt@att.net, www.joart.com

White 5" grand piano with side of the case and underside of lid hand-painted by Jo. Piano handcrafted by Bart Kennedy. www.zianet.com/pianomaker/

Hand-painted Dutch baby house cabinet inspired by those made in 17th century Netherlands.

Interior of doors are beautifully hand-painted in a continuation of the exterior pastoral scene. 1:144 furniture made by Jo from SDK kits.

Charming vintage hand-painted kitchen cupboard with chicken wire front.

Oil paintings of ballerinas inspired by Degas (1834-1917).

Hand-painted trunk with ballerina.

Collection of  original hand-cut and hand-painted 17th-18th century dummy boards and fire screen.

Van Gogh dog in Yellow Hat. Inspired by 1887 Van Gogh self-portrait.

At the Show - A Great Collaboration

Occasionally, Fern Vasi and Jo Meyer exchange ideas and collaborate on an inventive and exciting project utilizing their respective skills. The combination of  Fern's artist dolls and Jo's oil paintings makes for delightful and innovative 1:12 scale scenes. If they have had time to create something new together, you are likely to find it on one table or the other at the Show. Here are some past projects.

Painter Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and Marcelle Lender by Fern Vasi.

       His 1895 painting "Marcelle Lender Dancing the Bolero" by Jo Meyer.

"Girl with Watering Can" by Fern Vasi.

        Renoir's 1876 oil painting by Jo Meyer.

Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera figures by Fern Vasi.

       Kahlo and Rivera oil paintings by Jo Meyer.

Marilyn Monroe figure by Fern Vasi.

       Warhol pop art painting, "Marilyn Monroe - Shot Orange, 1964" by Jo Meyer.

Andy Warhol figure by Fern Vasi.

       Warhol's 1968 Campbell Tomato Soup Can painting by Jo Meyer.

At the Show - Exhibits

Avid miniaturists think creatively, never run out of ideas, and tend to look beyond the obvious.  This week's novel exhibit is definitely "outside the box" as evidenced by its most unconventional container.

Tin Can Alley exhibit by Linda and Tom Lee, Fremont, California. From the 2007 Good Sam Show.

The Lees creatively utilized a garbage can in a most creative way. Photo courtesy of Connie Sauve.

From the Chairman

At the 2011 Good Sam Show, Carolynn Walden displayed her "Piccadilly Masquerade" shop. The one-of-a-kind handcrafted costumes and masks that Carolynn made were inspired by photos taken during the 2009 Carnival in Venice. Our show photographer, Michael Puff, took a large number of photos to support an article submitted to American Miniaturist magazine. Published in March 2012 (Issue #107), Carolyn's 1:12 scale shop is featured on the cover.

"Piccadilly Masquerade" shop interior (cover of American Miniaturist, March 2012).

At the Show - Quarter-Scale

This week, we are sharing the work of talented small scale artisans who attended the 2011 Good Sam Show. Both Karen Cary (Karen Cary's Miniatures) and Janet Smith (Desert Minis, Inc.) offer workshops.

Karen Cary's Miniatures makes quarter-scale kits for structures and many lines of furniture kits including Medieval, Victorian, French, Tuscany, Nautical, Japanese, Dutch, and much more. A husband and wife team, they also offer laser cut decorative moldings, trims, railings, gates, stairs, windows, doors, and create structures in 1/144th scale. They has been coming to Good Sam since 2000. Karen offers workshops. minis@karencary.com, www.karencary.com

Thatched roof 14th century cobblestone cottage. Quarter-scale kit. Furniture and accessories available in kit form.

Wine and Cheese Shop with patio. Quarter-scale kit. Accessories offered in kits.

Three-story English Tudor-style house with five rooms. Kits in 1/4" scale and 1/144th scale.

Two story Castle Kari with round tower. Kits in 1/4" scale and 1/144th scale.

British Series kit with British Phone Booth, Eliza's Flower Cart, Popcorn Cart and British Letter Box in 1/4" scale.

Early 19th century Smock Windmill, quarter scale kit. The fan blades turn using a battery operated motor.

Interior of early 19th century Smock Windmill.

Tulip bedroom set kit. Tulip living room, dining room, kitchen, nursery and rocker kits available.

Traditional three-story Japanese house with nine rooms. Quarter-scale kit.

Interior of "Rakki Hause."

Quarter-scale Japanese furniture sets offered for each room.

Janet Smith, Desert Minis, Inc., specializes primarily in quarter-scale foods, with both half-scale and micro scale represented. She carries main dishes, side dishes, single servings, picnic fare, Italian, Mexican, other ethnic foods, pastry, baked goods, and more. She offers kits, and designs miniature foods as jewelry to wear. Janet attended Good Sam for the first time in 2011 and offered a workshop. desertminis@gmail.com,   http://desert-minis.com/

Sushi prep board with seaweed, rice, slice of fresh fish, and bamboo mat to roll the sushi on. Quarter-scale.

Filled pastry case, quarter-scale. 2011 workshop at Good Sam.

Spaghetti and meatballs prep with sauce in pan and drained noodles ready to serve. Quarter-scale.

Tacos on a plate complete with rice and beans. Quarter-scale.

Group of castle foods. Medieval table and chairs by Karen Cary's Miniatures.

Blackbird Pie from collection of castle foods.

At the Show - Small Scale

Sue Ann Thwaite of Lady Bug creates miniature fairies, secret gardens, and whimsical fairy houses smaller than quarter-scale. She describes the scenes as "fairy size" and each one has a tale to tell. Sue makes a pocket watch kit, sells landscaping supplies, and sheets of gold and silver foil stickers for embellishments on quarter-scale cabinets and furniture. She has attended Good Sam for 10 of the last 14 years.  ladybug@ladybug-fairies.com,

www.ladybug-fairies.com

Furnished walnut fairy-scale house with fairies.

Silk pod fairy-scale house with mushroom roof and wee fairy.

Fairy-scale village with furnished gourd house, acorn house and fairies.

Fairy-scale dress shop with fairies.

Secret Garden in quarter-scale.

Haunted Mansion kit. Mad scientist's lab in basement and graveyard on top. Baby House, 6-1/2"  tall. Contents 1/90th scale. UV LED Blacklight.

At the Show - Exhibits

This week's exhibit from the 2011 Good Sam Show features the "Piccadilly Masquerade Shop" by Carolynn Walden. Photos courtesy of Connie Sauve.

The design of this 1:12 scale structure is based on London shops from the 1700s.

Main floor with costumes and masks handcrafted by Carolynn.

Mezzanine with mannequins, costumes, masks by Carolynn.

Third floor workroom of Piccadilly Masquerade Shop.