About the Artist
Contact Info
Email: smithery.miniatures@gmail.com
Instagram: @dollhouse_smithery
Tik Tok: @dollhouse_smithery
Why Dollhouses?
I have always been fascinated by miniatures and dollhouses. When I was little I would make room boxes for my dolls out of tissue boxes and found items. Everything I could get my hands on from discarded buttons and pieces of wood, to natural materials found in the yard or on the beach, were re-purposed in some fashion to decorate the tiny worlds I created. I can remember my first real dollhouse: a two story wooden kit that my mother assembled for me when I was about six years old. I adored that house and was crestfallen when a neighbor boy destroyed it with his toy soldiers. Fast forward a few years I inherited my great grandmother’s painting supplies when she passed away and I taught myself how to paint. My love affair with miniatures was put on hold until I went to college at Goddard College in Plainfield, Vermont. There I discovered my love of Papier-Mache. Once I began to combine my passion for painting, Papier-Mache and miniatures I really began to develop my unique creative vision.
For me, the true joy of creating miniatures lies in the realization of an idea. I draw inspiration from so many things in the real world from castles to cottages, to dilapidated brick mansions. I am influenced by fantastical worlds, whimsical creations, steam punk, and even horror. In no way do I seek to mimic life exactly, but rather to create for the viewer my interpretation of a place or time. At the beginning of a build I will sketch ideas or start to put together pieces of foam core until I create a space that invites me in. In my mind I see all of the possibilities- the stonework around the windows and doors, the faded wooden floors, the brilliantly colored doors worn in spots from repeated use. These images flit around in my head and fuel me through the many stages of building each one-of-a-kind dollhouse.
Thank you,
Meghan
