Tag Archives: arts

Minis, Knitting, Rocket Science–When It’s Over, It’s Over, But Then It’s Never Really Over

Posted on December 7, 2012 by

“I can’t believe you were actually able to part with (the Greene & Greene house) after all that.  Do you ever go to Tucson to visit it?”– Question from Kathleen after my last entry. Thanks, Kathleen, that’s one of those big … Continue reading →

Posted in Memoir, Miniatures | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Why Miniatures?–Uncle Cecil’s Wheelbarrow

Posted on June 17, 2012 by

The other night I was eating out with friends in Portland, people I have known for years through my life as a poet. They had another friend along who was visiting town, one of those people who thrives on asking … Continue reading →

Posted in Memoir, Miniatures | Tagged , , , , , | 8 Comments

The Garden Shed: Bird Poo 101

Posted on May 12, 2012 by

The Gardener’s Shed, project #33, marked the start of our official teaching career. Prior to that our “teaching” was more like the blind leading the blind, as those of you who took our early garage classes in Seattle can attest … Continue reading →

Posted in Houses, Memoir, Miniatures | Tagged , , , , , | 8 Comments

It’s a Matter of Perspective: Pippen Hill, Part II

Posted on May 5, 2012 by

Making Pippen Hill was far more fun than should be allowed for a job. Almost everything we did was with new materials and methods, but the design was pliable, and organic, inviting experimentation. A house and shop for a puppet … Continue reading →

Posted in Houses, Memoir, Miniatures | Tagged , , , | 16 Comments

With a Little Help from Our Friends

Posted on October 8, 2011 by

Being our first commercial building, the 20thSt. Emporium required a jump-start for our learning curve. The three-story structure would include a 7-stool soda fountain and mirrored backbar. To show it off we wanted gold-leaf lettering embellishing the reflective surface of … Continue reading →

Posted in Bio, Houses, Miniatures, People | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Bear and the Secret Room

Posted on July 21, 2011 by

The third house we completed in 1979 we called the Bear River (there are a lot of rivers in our neck of the woods, but this is one we had an up-close and personal with–blackberrying one summer’s evening on a … Continue reading →

Posted in Houses, Miniatures | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

For the Love of Basements

Posted on April 24, 2011 by

Moving a dollhouse is a dicey undertaking. These cumbersome and unbalanced objects have a way of expanding incrementally and secretly during construction. While we learned early on to design a house narrower than our 28” studio doorway, we didn’t always … Continue reading →

Posted in Houses, Miniatures | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

What Happens in Las Vegas

Posted on March 7, 2011 by

We celebrated the completion of The Seaview with a party at home, and the next morning packed it into the trusty camper for the trip to California. I can’t remember if it was Santa Rosa, Santa Monica, or Anaheim, but … Continue reading →

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Fish Tales, Perry Mason & Bug Juice–the Summer of ’76

Posted on February 6, 2011 by

The summer of 1976 saw the Seaview walls rise, rooms begin to take shape. To pay the rent, Noel baited hooks for a charter boat skipper. I still had my noontime radio program, and tried to grow corn in a … Continue reading →

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Life on the Edge

Posted on January 14, 2011 by

When Noel returned from San Francisco without money or new orders, there was no lack of work to do to keep us afloat. When we weren’t building dollhouses or working our day jobs, we were learning to hunt, gather, barter … Continue reading →

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