Monday, February 11, 2013

Urban Girl And Drive-By Stares

I placed a custom order for the Urban Girl Dollhouse furniture. The pieces come standard in 1:18 scale, but I needed to see how these would fare at 1:12. So far they are working out okay. They are solid walnut and have a nice heft. The thicker wood necessary to create 1:12 scale pieces makes the finished product more susceptible to cracks along the length of the grain. The thicker wood also likes to fight the manufacturer's blade during precise cuts. When this battle begins, the company chooses to let the bias of the wood grain guide the lines. The pieces I have show these natural wood characteristics, but nothing that detracts from the finished product's appeal. Pictured above are the base cabinets from Urban Girl's furniture line. I got a few of these to use as kitchen counters, retail counters, dressers, and other various cabinetry. I'm currently using the base counters in the scene above as media cabinets. Speaking of the scene above... 

I'm trying not to lose interest with it, but I'm waning. If you have been reading this blog for a few years, you probably notice that I quickly get bored with miniature scenes. I start them and they somehow "displease me" and I scrap them. I'm constantly shuffling miniatures to the beat of 2 minutes here and then 5 minutes there and then the rare 15 minutes. I'm usually pushing miniatures around in about 4 or more scenes at a time. This is the process before I actually get the drive to complete a build. Recently, I was asked by a magazine to experiment with a tutorial or how-to about my miniature design process. I tried it out, but had to decline because my "process" is simply not interesting. And, to be honest, I'm not even sure I have a process. Some days inspiration takes over and the rooms make themselves and then other days, I have no idea what I want to build and thus the shuffling and procrastinating. 

The only consistency in the creative flow is the drive-by stare. What is the "drive-by stare", you ask? Well, the drive-by stare is when I'll pop open each of the 12 drawers that house some of my miniatures. I look in and stare at the contents for a minute. The view looks something like this:


Eventually, I'll move on and then later return to do another drive-by stare. Open. Close. Open. Close. Open...Close...


And I'll drive-by just one more time because, you know, I'm sure the contents have changed since I last looked. 


I do switch it up sometimes and make it even more exciting by standing with my arms folded like an old, crusty ship captain. I'll stand there and peruse the portion of my collection on several storage units = a sea of clear boxes--which looks like a lot of this:

It's a 30-second scan before I retreat, but, yeah, I'll come back and strike the commander pose again later. Sometimes my eyesight blurs over the clear boxes as my mind often wanders to other things like "Do we have any snacks?"..."Should I buy those shoes"..."What would Olivia Pope do?"...

My Mr. offers this advice when he sees me becoming bored with a miniature scene, "If you're not feeling it, then... you're just not feeling it. Let it go." I hear him. I do. But, I know I will return to my drive-by ways.

16 comments:

  1. Oh I know just what you're saying and feeling...had one of those drive-by days yesterday!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh! Thank goodness, I'm not alone! Ha! It feels like crazy town sometimes.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I have those days too...I think we all do. One question though...do you have that minimodernistas sofa in EVERY color? LOL!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. HA HA! I wanted to say "no", but checked the minimodernistas site and the answer is "Yes". I have poor self-control, man. Smiles! And...I totally want more.

      Delete
  4. Yeah, but your "drive by stare" results in lovely, cutting edge scenes. My stare results in "gawd, why did I buy that ugly piece of furniture?" Or, "Why doesn't it work together?" Or, "I think I"ll go see what Minimodern's up to...."

    Cheers,
    Neen

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ha! Thanks Neen! When you are wondering what Mini Modern is up to, I'm busy watching what you do with that old radio cabinet... HA HA

      Delete
  5. Just pull out 20 items and start arranging them to see what happens instead of standing and staring. It is the doing that works, the physical act of doing something, anything, besides staring that kick starts the creative process.

    That kind of play leads to new discoveries of how your collection of objects work together...or not. When you find a few objects that go Click leave them out as keepers, put the rest away and pull a fresh batch of objects out to play with in conjunction with the keepers.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good advice. I sometimes go through a similar process. I'll spend a few minutes here and there pushing tiny furniture around. However, I've never just blindly pulled pieces. Hmm... Thanks Karin

      Delete
  6. This is why I spend an inordinate amount of money on interior design magazines. Something normally sparks my imagination when I spot a cool scene or see some funky lighting. Drawers full of minis provoke the same response as looking into a full fridge when I'm a bit peckish. I drag everything out and nothing goes together very well.

    Anyone for a cheese, mushroom and tuna sandwich?

    =0/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ha! Um...That cheese, mushroom and tuna sandwich sounds delightful. Is that bad? It's a tuna melt with mushrooms, right? With sourdough bread? Chuckles!
      Every once in awhile I'll be inspired by something I see in the magazines, and often find fuel to complete a miniature scene when I make up "who" lives in the space.

      Delete
    2. Cheese and tuna? Really? I thought I was being totally gross. I'm gonna whip me up one of those tuna melt thingies and give it a go =0P

      I think you need your readers to throw challenges at you. *evil laughter* Okay so I want a scene for an eccentric mad scientist type who likes modern furniture but has a penchant for stuffed animals *checks stop watch*...GO! ha-ha

      Delete
    3. NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
      Great. Now I have to build this. ;)

      Delete
    4. "penchant for stuffed animals" BWWAHAHA. How I love you guys.

      Delete
  7. I think you should close your eyes, open a drawer, pick one, and say "design a house around this" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvDK9DjVjHA

    I feel your pain. I just wish I was as organized as you. My drive-bys are more like a mad dash around town; upstairs, downstairs, under bed, in garage... I'm currently missing my rugs. Somewhere flat so they won't get bent, but can't remember what "safe" place I put them. Sigh. Guess I just have to blog surf instead. :D

    Love the Urban Girl Dollhouse furniture, I think I need some for sure!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ha ha! I always loved that commercial, Mini Dork. I'll accept that challenge and give it a go--kinda like the blind paper pick when I ended up with plaid. Before I attempt that though, I'll first have to look for miniature stuffed animals (Damn it, Pepper!) Oh! And does it look like I'm organized? #IWish Ha ha!

      Delete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.