Art Kaleidoscope

Between art and craft

Category Archive: Miniature

Olga Maltseva ceramic art

Olga Maltseva ceramic art

Alice, Hatter, the March Hare and the Cheshire Cat from the collection ‘Alice in Wonderland’. One of a kind ceramic doll. Hand molding, high temperature firing, engobes, glazing. Olga Maltseva ceramic art

Olga Maltseva ceramic art
Talented St. Petersburg based ceramic artist Olga Maltseva has created a beautiful collection of dolls. They are the characters of the wonderful fairy tale “Alice in Wonderland” – Alice, Hatter, the March Hare and the Cheshire Cat. All works are performed entirely by hand without the use of preprinted forms. Engobe painted and glazed, there were two high-temperature sintering. Soon the company will join Blue Caterpillar and the Queen of Hearts. Olga Maltseva lives and works in St. Petersburg, Russia.
More »

Vera Megorskaya felted miniature

Needle felted mouse holding its Peter the Rabbit toy. Vera Megorskaya felted miniature

Cute mouse holding its Peter the Rabbit toy. Needle felted. Vera Megorskaya felted miniature

Vera Megorskaya felted miniature

Talented Russian craftswoman Vera Megorskaya lives in Krasnodar. The girl grew up in the artistic family and has always loved to make things with her hands. Besides, the girl’s step father is a painter and sculptor, and it was him who taught her basic knowledge in art. Once Vera noticed wool and special needles in a craft shop, she decided to try her hand. And she couldn’t stop creating her felted cuties… Now, after 5 years of needle felting, the crafts has become her full time job. Meanwhile, Vera’s Shop on Etsy “Handmade by November” has more than 2000 miniature felted birds, mice, foxes, bunnies, dogs and cats.
More »

Doll artist Larisa Isayeva

Alenushka, Khokhloma stylized doll, handmade

Wearing traditional Russian folk costume Alyonushka, Khokhloma stylized, handmade. Creation by Doll artist Larisa Isayeva

Russian doll artist Larisa Isayeva (kuklaelli) lives and works Yekaterinburg. She creates dolls on different themes – fairy-tale characters, movie characters, cartoons, literary characters, dancers, puppets of different nationalities, and more. Larisa Isayeva works in mixed technique, and in particular, she combines the modeling of polymer clay and textile parts on a flexible framework, as well as sculpting articulated dolls from polymer clay. Like cartoon characters, her dolls “come alive” because they are mobile and can change poses due to wire frame. According to the doll master, it takes her to 14 days to create one doll. In addition, many of her dolls are made in Russian style, for example, Khokhloma and Gzhel. Dressed in national folk costumes, made of fine textile – velvet, brocade, leather, lace, feather, embroidered with beads, and sequins.
More »

Miniaturist artist Salavat Fidai

Mini copy of the paintings of Van Gogh on the boxes of matches

Mini copy of the paintings of Van Gogh on the boxes of matches. Miniaturist artist Salavat Fidai

Miniaturist artist Salavat Fidai
When 42-year-old Salavat Fidai left the large trading company he became … a freelance artist. According to him, he was just tired from the office. So, he moved with his family to the village, where he organized a workshop and began to create. As a child Salavat was fond of woodcarving, thanks to his parents, professional artists and teachers. In particular, his mom taught fine arts for children, and his father was the director of a correctional school. Of course, they instilled in Salavat a love for art. Although he wanted to enter the art Institute but failed, and studied to become a lawyer. Once, jokingly, he painted a portrait of Van Gogh on a matchbox. And for instance, art captivated him again. First, he began painting miniatures on pumpkin seeds, then sunflower seeds, and on a grain of rice. By the way, it takes Salavat from 6 to 12 hours of hard work to carve a miniature sculpture on the tip of a pencil. Today, works by Salavat Fidai are known to art collectors worldwide.
More »

Miniature painting on butterfly wings

Inspired by Leonardo Da Vinci. Madonna Miniature painting on butterfly wings. Mexican artist Cristiam Ramos

Inspired by iconic paintings of Leonardo Da Vinci “Lady with an Ermine” and “Mona Lisa”. Miniature painting on butterfly wings by Mexican artist Cristiam Ramos

Miniature painting on butterfly wings
Interestingly, Mexican artist Cristiam Ramos uses real butterfly wings as canvas for his miniature paintings, which are mostly reproductions of paintings of Renaissance masters. Noteworthy, Cristiam Ramos is a multimedia internationally recognized innovative artist. His truly unique works decorate different museums in the United States, Britain, Japan and other countries in the world. Meanwhile, in the art gallery of Cristiam Ramos – real spider web paintings, nail polish paintings, candy-used artworks, and amazing miniature paintings on the wings of butterflies. In addition to fifteen awards, the artist’s creations entered the Guinness Book of World Records. Besides, the sculpture of a motorcycle made of candies was certified by the Ripley’s “Believe it or not” international firm.
More »

Louise Goodchild miniature woven wire Jewellery

Sunset. Louise Goodchild miniature woven wire Jewellery

Sunset. Louise Goodchild miniature woven wire Jewellery

Louise Goodchild miniature woven wire Jewellery
British artist, designer, and jeweler Louise Goodchild creates truly artful jewellery. In particular, her collection consists of beautiful miniature handcrafted wire pendants made from colored copper wire, and glass seed bead. Besides, Louise Goodchild creates both traditional jewellery (mainly earrings) and more unique wire-work – little wearable wire pictures. Meanwhile, over the years, she has developed her own distinctive, instantly recognizable style. Noteworthy, Louise avoids using ready-made components in her wire pendants, so it’s always a challenge to create the motifs she needs from wire and beads. “Wire can do so many different things. Because of the immense variety of colors and gauges – and the fact that you can mix both of those up by twisting, plaiting etc. – there’s so much you can do with it…”. According to Louise, often if an idea jumps into her head and “keeps insistently poking her brain”, she’ll find a way to make it happen.
More »

Prayer Nut wood carving art

Prayer Nut wood carving art

A small boxwood orb decorated inside and outside with carving on religious themes – Prayer Nut wood carving art

Prayer Nut wood carving art
First of all, to produce such a prayer nut required considerable skill. Within the scope of the concave a skillful master carved miniature stories about the life of Christ and his apostles. Noteworthy, the width of a “nut” was no more than 3-5 cm in diameter. And to add flavor to patterns the artist added leaves of spice plants or aromatic oil. Undoybtedly, every Prayer Nut is a true work of art. Only the very rich could afford to order such a pocket-like altar. Therefore, possession of “prayer nuts” underlines the high social status. Designed to be worn on a rosary or belt these orbs could be used for private devotion. In particular, when its wealthy owner traveled. Therefore, they were known as rosary beads or prayer nuts.
The skill of medieval craftsmen still amazes. Every detail of the composition conceived and executed with maximum precision. These exquisite Prayer nuts adorn exposures of the world’s leading museums. Among them the British Museum in London and the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Louvre. A few years ago at an auction one such nut was sold for 133,250 pounds.

More »