Magnifying glass at ready
The world in miniature is being celebrated in Sheffield. Sally Clifford chats to some of the artists about the stories behind their fantastic small-scale creations. Pictures by Tony Johnson.
IN a magnifying moment, the attention to detail becomes clear. A splash of tomato sauce provides the perfect accompaniment to the tiny sausages, fried egg, beans and mushrooms – arranged on a crisp white background. This English breakfast canapé looks good enough to eat – until closer inspection, through the magnifying glass, reveals all is not what it seems. Created from polymer clay and acrylic paint by Sheffield model maker David Riley, A Bite to Eat is part of a larger collection of small-scale works of art showcased in Miniatures Revisited at the Cupola Gallery in Sheffield.
“I liked the idea of framing it because you don’t know unless you get close enough that it is a 3D object. It is not immediately apparent that it is sculptural,” says Riley.
“It may look like a painting or a photograph.
It is a craft to make miniature food but the art is in how you place it.”
Running until April 27, the exhibition brings together nearly 100 artists from the city and beyond who have downsized their talents to create a selection of marvellous miniatures.
Among the fun-sized foods are a collection of intricate clay and resin meals which, when magnified, reveal rings to be worn as pieces of jewellery. The Empire of Vegetarian is the work of Japanese artist Fumi, who grew up in Toyko and attended art lessons from the age of three. She came to the UK to study for her degrees in Floral Design and Interdisciplinary Art & Design.
Fumi, whose floral jewellery is displayed at Cupola, explains the idea behind The Empire of Vegetarian. “My partner passed away. He was a vegetarian, so I made my last supper for him. The food and drinks on the rings were
‘I had started a small painting of a spilt paint pot. This prompted David to respond by creating figures in overalls that looks as if they were painting a wall.’
what I used to cook for him. The base material is clay and resin, but I tried to use a lot of real food ingredients, such as seasonings for colour, and dried vegetables and so on.”
Food isn’t the only theme for the small-scale offerings. A miniature family of giraffes made from twigs, handmade books and teapots have been shrunk down to fit within a 10cm cube.
Peaceful Days, a miniature greenhouse with plants dotted on benches and vegetable plots brimming with seasonal growth, gives an insight into how this miniature garden grows.
The tiny saws hung on the back of the open door of Grandad’s Shed, the chest of moveable drawers, and the tools within this miniscule space can tackle any job, along with the tiny can of lubricant beside the lawnmower standing idle on the lawn.
Such attention to detail is to be expected in Lee Smithson’s work. Creating plastic model kits with his father developed Lee’s small-scale interest. Showcasing some of his work on social media introduced it to a wider audience and led the trained electronics engineer to set up Sheffield Miniatures.
Participating in Miniatures Revisited gives Smithson the opportunity to see the interaction between viewers and his work which takes time and commitment to create. He estimates the shed, with its chest of opening drawers, took around eight to 10 hours to complete.
The shed and greenhouse were made from 0.8mm thick plywood. Smithson used cardboard to create the small-scale lawnmower and the parts were laser cut.
Working on miniatures demands a certain skill and precision. “I have good lighting. I have a magnifier with a light on it which helps and I use tweezers for most things and cocktail sticks for gluing,” he says.
The satisfaction, for Smithson, is the memories they evoke for the viewer. “I think it just looks nice and it evokes memories for other people. Somebody always has an allotment or a greenhouse in the family and it looks nice, you can put flowers in and it makes a good scene.”
On the subject of scenes, Take the long way home showcases the collaborative work of artist Sean Williams and the aforementioned model maker David Riley. The studio-holders at Bloc Studios, Sheffield, describe the work they originally produced for the Beyond Scale project and showcased in Sheffield’s Gage Gallery as part of the Think of Me With Kindness exhibition, as a “metaphorical journey around a city and through life”.
“I had started a small painting of a spilt paint pot,” says Williams. “This prompted
David to respond by creating figures in
overalls that looks as if they were painting a wall, along with a tiny pot of paint that had been knocked over. David then made a beautiful model of a large house, something for the workers in the scenes to aspire to live in, so I made a tiny painting of a similarly grand residence.
“Having to respond to each other’s ideas was a new, and very stimulating way of working.”
Sheffield-based artist Anna Kime’s interest in old words led to her trio of small-size ceramic, porcelain and additions interpretations, while Penny Withers created a collection of delicately detailed miniature porcelain vases.
Sally Light’s beautiful button spool books, and Jo Owen’s quarter-scale basque bring a different dimension through their use of fabrics and delicate details. Although based in Somerset, Light has a connection to Sheffield through her grandfather hailing from the Steel City, and her grandmother training as a nurse at the old Nether Edge Hospital.
She says she is inspired by the humble button holding things together and finds buttonmaking enables her to express her love of detail.
“The work of the needle is freighted with ideas of restoration and care, and I’m drawn to make textile art that invites a sense of wonder, through creating objects on a miniature scale – or with a level of detail that invites the viewer into a quiet, intimate space. I frequently use this space to celebrate the natural world,” she adds.
“I rejoice in making miniature pieces of affordable art. My button spool books are collectable objects but also intriguing reads, finding their stories and poetry in everyday overlooked wonders.”
Sheffield-based Owen says: “Many years ago I worked as a fashion designer, and the quarter-scale basque was made using my experiences from then. I made an accurate quarterscale pattern with tiny seam allowances and made it up out of silk fabric. It was then dipped in gesso to give it a look of ceramics.”
Established in 1991 by fine artist Karen Sherwood, the Cupola Gallery showcases the work of over 300 artists and has held many sizethemed shows over the years. The first miniature show, held around a decade ago, attracted exhibits from artists around the world including Japan, America and Australia.
“It’s really nice because it means it is accessible for people near and far because artists can post their work fairly easily,” says Sherwood.
Four of her miniature paintings appear in the exhibition. They entice viewers to interpret the location of the oil-on-paper abstract scenes for themselves. “There is always an element of light in my work because I see it as hope,” she adds.
“I don’t concentrate on small things. Some artists regularly work on a small scale and others have been challenged to have a go at making something small because it is a challenge to change the scale of what you do.”
Such is the intricacy of the small-scale work, the gallery is providing magnifying glasses for visitors. “It is so uplifting to see such a wealth and breadth of creativity in a single show,” says Sherwood.
Since launching, the Cupola Gallery has showcased the work of more than 10,000 artists from all over the world.
As for the gallery name, Sherwood explains: “Cupola is a dome shaped steel furnace and we are a melting pot of creativity.”