Art and Creativity: It's a Small World - Working With Art on a Miniature Scale

Today we're going to take a slight detour from our usual fare and look at something smaller.

Earlier this year, we covered the topic of art getting "smaller." Specifically, that as the population ages, people tend to move into smaller spaces-- or even become full-time RV'ers-- as a result of which smaller pieces of art make more sense.

The Artistic World of "Very Tiny"

Before we had the Red Dragonfly Gallery, we used to go "on the road" several times a year with my painted stones and my wife's hand made fairy sculptures. 

We'd set up booths at street art fairs and creative festivals, and had quite a good time meeting people and taking creativity to the public. 

One of the things we quickly noticed was that lots of people were specifically drawn to very tiny pieces of art; in my case very tiny painted stones. In fact, the demand was so strong that I started to specifically look for ever smaller stones to paint, even though it was quite difficult and time consuming.

In time, we learned that this wasn't a case of "limited space," but instead a completely different market, consisting of people who were miniature enthusiasts, looking for miniature art for their scale built model houses.

Not Your Average "Doll House"

Typically, people think of "doll houses" when we talk about miniatures, but some of the scale models I have seen really put that term to shame. 

These model houses, themselves, are extraordinary works of art (and patience!), but the scale model contents of the houses take precision and artistry to a whole new level.

The popularity of these miniature models opens up many new possibilities for the very detail oriented artist. 

The increasing demand for my tiniest painted stones (I now make some that are smaller than my thumbnail-- see photo) was owed to the fact that original miniature art (not just printed images cut from magazines and postage stamps) is actually quite rare. And because of this, serious miniature enthusiasts will snap up any high quality miniature scaled art they can find.

Miniature Art in a Gallery Setting-- Challenges

It's challenging to display and sell original miniature art.

First, you have to keep in mind that the most popular scale used by miniature makers is 1:12. Translated into plain English, that's means one INCH is the model equivalent of one FOOT.

In the case of the tiny painted rock in the photo (which is about 1/2"- 12mm- across), that means its "model scale size" would be about six inches.

The hand made lampworked glass marble becomes a "crystal ball" about 12 inches across, relatively speaking.

At Red Dragonfly, we have also been experimenting with "ACEO's" ("Art Card Editions & Originals") which are a standard 3 1/2" by 2 1/2" size. These are an outgrowth of what started as "Artist Trading Cards" some years ago, but they work particularly well for miniature enthusiasts because of their size... which makes them 3 1/2 x 2 1/2 feet, on a "scale basis."

Since many ACEO's are original painted or drawn images-- not prints-- they sometimes command quite high prices. Some of the better known artists routinely sell original ACEO paintings for as much as $600.00 per piece! Yes, you read that right-- a painting slightly larger than a business card for $600.00.

It is a sad sign of the times that the only way we can feasibly display miniature art is under lock and key, even in a small gallery like ours where the owners are present at all time, theft can be a major problem. 

On the plus side, miniature art is easy and inexpensive to ship worldwide, and miniature collectors seem more open to the idea of purchasing new pieces from a web site than "general" art collectors.

Either way, we are delighted to be part of this new frontier in the art market!

Thank you for reading! Red Dragonfly is a proud member of the @sndbox creative initiative.

The Red Dragonfly is an independent alternative art gallery located in Port Townsend, WA; showcasing edgy and unique contemporary art & handmade crafts by local and worldwide artists. All images are our own, unless otherwise credited. Where applicable, artist images used with permission.