Tag Archives: work style

The Airplane Cafe: Lunch on the Road

Posted on April 7, 2013 by

In the late and frivolous 1920s, Americans loved flying aces, motion pictures, and automobiles. America was motion crazy. We idolized the daring breed of ex-fighter pilots who flew the U.S. Mail Service by the seat of their pants. On the … Continue reading →

Posted in Houses, Miniatures, Teaching | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

Fish & Fries, 1988: Kitsch on the Line

Posted on March 17, 2013 by

1988 was a leap year, and the year we took a leap of faith on how funky a project our students would sign up for. Noel was always pushing the edges of the miniatures world, while I was trying to … Continue reading →

Posted in Houses, Memoir, Teaching | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

Signs of the Past: Pine Lake Park Lunch

Posted on February 24, 2013 by

1987 saw me running a little faster than time. That year my sister and I threw a 50th wedding anniversary party for our parents, across country in Massachusetts. It wasn’t until the invitations went out that an aunt noted that … Continue reading →

Posted in Houses, Miniatures, Teaching | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

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

The Beach Cottage–”Cuter than a bug!”

Posted on July 8, 2012 by

As I pack up the Beach Cottage and the Garden Shed prototypes to send to their new owners, I’m feeling the tug of those days when we first built them. They are teaching samples for our first classes at the … Continue reading →

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

New Tricks: Pippen Hill, Part I

Posted on April 27, 2012 by

Coming in sideways, I am running late with this post, which is no way to treat the slew of you who read and responded to my last post. Before I start a new entry, I assemble the photos on hand, … Continue reading →

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

Hoarding, or, a Miniature Builder’s Suggested Inventory:

Posted on March 19, 2012 by

Mini driftwood broken sorted by size, mini stones, gravel and pebbles, beach sand, bird gravel, mini bricks and seashells, 1 coffee tin beer pull tabs, rusty metal, rust dust, real-world-sized rusted wood–splitting wedge, railroad spikes and flatirons, baby bird head-feathers (don’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Miniatures | Tagged , , , | 13 Comments

The Ultimate Victorian: The Octagon House

Posted on January 8, 2012 by

Thanks to the frenzy of enthusiasm for Victorian architecture during the 1970s-80s, we had lots of reference materials, largely in the form of period architectural magazines, coming across the doorstep. Plus, our reputation as builders of miniature Victorians brought in … Continue reading →

Posted in Houses, Miniatures, People | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments