
You'll never believe how small this Betty Boop is. She's standing inside the eye of an ordinary sewing needle!

The Simpsons are fighting on the head of a pin.
Willard Wigan is microsculptor who began his career as a 5-year-old child. Don't miss the video in which he tells the story of making houses for ants. Not life-size ant farms, mind you, but (really) tiny houses, amusement parks, and gardens that were ant-size.
http://www.ted.com/talks/willard_wigan_hold_your_breath_for_micro_sculpture.html
How does Wigan manage these miniatures, which are visible, and crafted, only through a microscope?
He enters a trance-like state, slowing his heartbeat, and works between beats (one and a half seconds). His ability to do this has baffled experts in medical fields. He paints using a "brush" that is actually a hair from a fly's head or one from his own face. In one piece he used part of a spider's web to make the reins for a horse and carriage.
After hearing Wigan lecture and seeing images of his work, it's hard to call my latest pieces "miniature."
[Pardon the weird spacing below; after many tries, this is the best layout I can get!]
THE LUNAR LANDING

THE MATCH

When I see work like this, it's hard to go back to my crafts table. Shall I try to take inspiration from it, or throw up my hands, as in: Why bother?
The jury is still out.
7 comments:
The Museum of Jurassic Technology in LA is as strange as strange could be - but one of the strangenesses last time I was there (about twelve years ago) was rice sculpture, figures carved from rice grains. Well worth a visit.
Wow. Cannot imagine. Speechless.
Blogger seems to have changed its photo layout thingy. I had trouble too. By hitting Edit html, the old code came up instead of the picture. That I could move around.
That's what I call a miniature of a miniature. Personally, I like size you work in Camille. You can enjoy your scenes without a magnifying glass.
Thanks, Betty. That helps!
NEVER throw in the towel....what would we do without YOUR uniqueness? xoxoxo
Camille, I agree with Betty. Your work can be enjoyed without the need for one to schlep around a microscope. Have you seen the September/October issue of Piecework magazine? The theme is miniatures.
Thanks, Julie. Someone kindly forwarded me that issue of Piecework -- there's an interesting contest or two that I'm tracking!
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