What is it about miniature art that makes our hearts sing? Today’s dollhouses trace their history back about four hundred years to display cases in Europe, which showcased idealized interiors. But evidence of miniature homes can be found long before that, the earliest known examples found in the Egyptian tombs, created nearly five thousand years ago.
For miniature creator Marina Paredes, the love for tiny interiors began when she was just a child, obsessed with Polly Pockets. “The first miniature I made was when I was around 10 years old,” she recalled in an interview with The Daily Mini. “I made it with toothpicks and it was a little house with small furniture. I remember that in order to open and close the door, I used a piece of cloth. I still keep it with much affection.”
These days, her work is mainly made of wood of various types, including soft wood like balsa and hard wood like linden. “I like to use it because it is a very versatile material,” she notes. For added interior details, Paredes relies on clay. The finished piece is then painted using acrylic paint. “I do not work with a specific scale,” she admits. “Most of the time I’m guided more by sizes that are appealing to me.”
Her inspiration for her work comes from many sources. “I am inspired by architecture (shapes, textures, techniques, materials), design, colorful objects (which inspire me to feel joy), symmetry, and the decoration (directly from which I ‘feed’ my creativity to create my miniatures),” she lists.
With an impressive following online, her admiration for all things small is clearly infectious. See for yourself!
