Views of out and inside the Wetherburn Dairy, subject of Patricia Richards’ class.

With the much anticipated Maysville Study Program front and center in many peoples’ minds, the preregistration deadline for the Williamsburg Study Program is rapidly approaching, seemingly very much under the radar. This study program, which has been a yearly fixture in Colonial Williamsburg for more than 20 years, is a fabulous post-holiday get-away. Virginia’s Colonial Williamsburg is a fabulous location for this little retreat with its plethora of lovely historic buildings, relatively mild, mid-winter weather and reasonable hotel prices.

Like all past programs, this year’s Study Program has four great classes on the schedule, taught by experienced Artisan and Fellow members of the Guild, with projects drawn from the collections of Colonial Williamsburg. Pete and Pam Boorum will be teaching an 18th century side table that hails from their home state of New Hampshire. Jane Graber will be instructing her students in the shaping and decorating of red ware plates, bowls and platters. Patricia Richards will guide her students through construction of a 1/12 scale version of the Wetherburn Dairy that sits behind the tavern of the same name on Duke of Gloucester Street, and Bill Studebaker will be helping his students build a dressing glass (mirror) patterned on one that has come to this historic town from Charleston, South Carolina.

The 18th century New Hampshire side table that is the inspiration for Pete and Pam Boorum’s class.

For those that are interested, there is also an exclusive behind the scenes tour to visit the warehouse where are stored the architectural fragments from Williamsburg’s important colonial structures. The study of these fragments provides restorers an invaluable stream of information from which informed guesses can be made as to which materials and colors would be most appropriate for their work.

The dressing glass (mirror and drawer) originally made in South Carolina, that will be the inspiration for Bill Studebaker’s class.

As part of the study program, registered students and guests each receive a pass that admits them to Colonial Williamsburg museums and historic buildings for the duration of the program; as well as affording them a discount on their purchases there. The special IGMA rate at the Lodge is good for days before and after the program so you can stay as long as you want. Information and registration forms can be found a www.igma.org.

Jane Graber will be teaching her students to shape and decorate platters, plates and bowls in the same manner their colonial ancestors did in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Mohamad Hafez in his studio with two of his suitcase framed miniature vignettes. Photo by Cole Wilson.

Show Committee work goes on for more than a year to bring you each and every Guild Show.  So, it is quite a relief when the countdown gets to single digits and we can say… 2018 Guild Show events commence in 6 days, Wednesday, September 19 with pre-show classes. There are 19 classes on the schedule and even at this late date, it is still possible to sign up for some of them. You may also still sign up for the two tours being offered that Wednesday, the historic homes tour visiting Naumkeag and the Norman Rockwell Museum, and the Miniatures Tour, which will be taking in a local miniatures collection.

A vignette by Mohamad Hafez showing a slice of Syrian life.

Friday night, September 21 the weekend’s events kick off with the Gathering of the Guild: Desserts and Demonstrations event featuring a wide variety of demonstrations by some of the talented artist/dealers you will see in the salesroom later. A bountiful display of desserts, as well as other more health conscious options, will be there for your enjoyment, along with demonstrations on painting techniques, the application of hinges, stitching how-to’s and the making of miniature tassels, to list just a few. You will also have your first chance to take a close-up look at the pieces submitted to the ‘Visions of Miniature Grandeur’ Showcase, and plenty of time to catch up with friends.

Jeanie Anderson will be a dealer at the Guild Show for the first time this year and will be teaching these super cute Halloween treats.

Saturday, September 22, the salesroom opens at 9 a.m. for IGMA members only, and at 10 a.m. for the general public. If you want to be one of the first to shop and aren’t yet a member, that is easily remedied! Silent auctions will offer additional shopping possibilities outside the salesroom, and a room full of exhibits nearby offers a quiet respite for anyone needing to take a break and be inspired.

When the salesroom closes on Saturday, more fun ensues with a Live Auction and the evening’s buffet dinner and special program, featuring artist and architect Mohamad Hafez, who will be sharing his miniature work with us.

Sunday, September 23 provides one more day to find those special miniatures, either in the salesroom or on the silent auction tables outside. The youngest miniaturists are invited to take part in some free crafting projects midday, and the Small Beginnings table will again be available with treasures priced for their smaller budgets. At 3:30 p.m. though, the carriage turns back into a pumpkin and the magic disappears for another year.

See you there!

A quizzical Sherlock Holmes, a porcelain doll created by IGMA Fellow member Shirley Whitworth, who is now retired.

One of the Guild’s most dependable fundraisers is an auction and we have been holding auctions at our annual show for many years to raise the funds necessary to keep the Guild’s educational and community outreach programs functioning. Auction proceeds help to underwrite all Guild efforts, from the Independent Study Award, that grants Fellow members a small stipend to more deeply investigate an aspect of their art, to covering any shortfalls that a Study Program might encounter when participation doesn’t reach anticipated levels. Auction proceeds also allow the Guild to continue to offer miniatures to the next generation of miniaturists at child friendly prices at the show’s Small Beginnings table and to allow all attendees exposure to inspirational miniatures at Guild Show exhibits.

Hall stand by Judy Beals.

Auction items are donated by IGMA members of all levels and cover the spectrum from small accessories to porcelain dolls and even structures! Donations may be items created by those members or purchased by them; they may be items they no longer have a place for, and occasionally, they are bequests.

At this year’s show, the Guild will be hosting two different types of auctions: Silent Auctions will run during show hours and the Live Auction will take place at close of sales on Saturday, September 22 in the hotel Atrium. Donations are still arriving and we are grateful for each and every one.

1/12 scale cradle decorated by IGMA Fellow member Mary Grady O’Brien.

Fan by Marge Adams.

Jessica Weisel’s charming toy bunny toys. Weazilla and all her toys and curiosities will be at table 81.

The International Guild of Miniature Artisans has been in existence for more than 35 years, and there has been a Guild Show in every one of those years, after all, putting on a quality show and sale was one of the fundamental reasons for creating the Guild. This year’s Guild Show is now just around the corner and there are many reasons to celebrate and join in the festivities!

This year, 2017, marks the Guild Show’s premier at the lovely Hartford/Windsor Marriott hotel, in Hartford, Connecticut. Classes will be taking place Tuesday through Friday, September 19-22, and while registration has been very strong, there are still a few spots available and some really neat projects on the schedule. We have been very fortunate that some premier teachers were willing to stop over in Hartford on their way home from the Miniature Masterworks show and to teach and take a table at the Guild Show. Check out the list of classes on the Guild website, but pay particular attention to the cut-off dates if you find yourself interested in signing up!

Mzia always has at least a few pieces on her table that look straight out of a French chateau. Small Creations by Mzia will be at table 82.

Other festivities are on the agenda, including the delicious and edifying Desserts and Demonstrations event that will take place Friday evening. Join your mini friends and make some new ones while you watch artist demonstrations and enjoy desserts and crudités. Saturday evening there will be a rollicking good time at the Live Auction with our masterful auctioneer Duffy Wineman, followed by a buffet dinner and presentation by Kaye Browning, as she shares her path into miniatures collecting.

It will be a fabulous weekend and I hope you will be able to join us for all, or any part of it!

A toddler in a pink one-piece by Two’s Company Miniatures. Find Jennifer and Elizabeth Ellis at table 38.

One of a kind trunk and sculpture by Mark Murphy and Mary Grady O’Brien in the 2014 Live Auction.

Guild School has many fun components besides the actual classes. If  you’ve gotten in early, you may have taken part in one of the first optional extras, a Saturday morning seminar. Seminars also take place on Sunday and Monday evenings, if you didn’t sign up for one before getting to school, there are sign up sheets in the school office for any that have spaces remaining.

Curious about what’s going on in the other classes? All the classrooms are open on Sunday or Monday evenings prior to the seminars, some buildings one night, the remaining buildings on the other so that you’ll have a chance to visit as many, or as few, as you wish.

Every night, there is a social gathering in what is commonly called ‘The Bilge’, downstairs in Curtis Hall. Just pop in anytime before 11 p.m. and enjoy a beverage and snack along with some conversation and occasional game playing. Each evening is ‘hosted’ by different groups within the IGMA organization, so a variety of questions can often be answered by your friendly bartenders.

Silent auctions take place in the cafeteria daily. Have a look during one of your meal breaks and place a bid if something looks interesting to you. Monday evening there is an open bid silent auction during dinner, and Tuesday evening, right after the infamous Lobster Cookout, is the Live Auction with many one of a kind items donated by teachers and some of the Guild’s Artisan and Fellow members. I understand that this year there will be a special silent auction running outside the cafeteria for the first couple of days-hint…they’re calling it ‘Real Estate Row!’

Relax in the evening watching the sailboats in the harbor, or join Julie Hagel’s crew for a kayak paddle.

Wednesday night is supposed to be rest and relaxation night, but there are no hallway monitors and if you relax best by working on one of your class projects until midnight, that’s on you, just no whining the next day when you can’t see where that tiny nail flew off to!

I hesitate to say Thursday night is one of the highlights of the week as most of the previous nights can lay claim to that moniker, but on Thursday, everyone gets to shop–no more of that putting a bid in and hoping you get it here–it’s a manic hour and a half of shopping along with a cash bar-which always helps the shopping along, and snacks.

The work of Phyllis Hawke’s students at the graduation exhibit in 2015.

The exhibit room opens for the first viewing Saturday evening during the opening reception and remains open during the entire week, as long as there is someone to staff it. Exhibits on view are provided by attending students and teachers. Do you have something you’d like to share? A piece you made that came out particularly well, or something you truly love that you purchased? Just let the exhibit chair know what you’re bringing and there will be a label waiting for its arrival. Saturday evening whatever class prototypes are available will be on display, to be followed the rest of the week by available prototypes for future classes. And, if you have a free period, consider volunteering to man the front desk and help keep the exhibit room open as much as possible.

A tiny rabbit tea party, a vintage piece from Karen Markland that will be up for bids at the Guild’s Chicago auction.

Of course the Guild’s message is most strongly evident at our own show where the Guild mission is front and center across the entire event, but in order to get our message to the widest possible audience, IGMA also maintains a presence at other shows. At the Chicago International Show, Tom Bishop very kindly assists us by providing time and space at what might be the world’s largest dollhouse miniatures event, its certainly the largest in the United States. This year the Chicago International runs from April 21-23, with workshops held in the days preceding the show. The Guild adds to the show’s list of events with a gala auction, an introductory presentation, a membership table and a sales gallery stocked with pieces created by its Artisan and Fellow members.

Blue and white porcelain by Jean Yingling destined for the IGMA Chicago auction.

Friday night’s gala auction will feature many one of a kind pieces donated by Guild members and a lively repartee between the audience and the auctioneer, this year that will be Bill Robertson holding the gavel. When two bidders are determined to come out on top, the bidding can soar, but many items are had for very reasonable prices and its a great place to find vintage treasures.

Saturday evening the Guild presentation comes at the end of sales hours and offers an introduction to the Guild and its many programs. The presentation wraps up with a look at Guild School, complete with photos and a brief panel discussion by teachers, students and guests about the whole school experience.

A vintage green leather chair by Judy Beals, author of How to Build Furniture and Room Settings.

The IGMA membership table and the Gallery of the Guild tables can be found in the center aisle of the Blue Ballroom. The Guild Administrator, Carol Hardy and Guild School Director, Barbara Davis will be there to answer questions on the organization and school. Carol Block and other volunteers will be behind the Gallery table, ready to help you select from the amazing work of Guild members.

The Concord Museum, Concord, Massachusetts.

The exhibit includes a number of room boxes, as well as several dollhouses, one dating from about 1695. The earliest European dollhouses were elaborate replicas of idealized or actual homes, and were furnished with exceptionally well-made and very expensive furnishings. In some cases they may have been instructional, examples for young women in how to run a household, but more likely, they were displays of the owner’s economic status.

One of the special events the museum has scheduled to coordinate with this exhibit will feature some well known Guild members. Stop by the Concord Museum on November 19th between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. to meet and observe artists, including IGMA Artisan and Fellow members Pete and Pam Boorum, Elizabeth Gazmuri, Bonnie Backe and Teresa Layman, who will demonstrate their work in 1/12 scale.

IGMA’s general Instagram page.

How do you find out what’s going on in your world? The time has long since passed when you waited for a notice to show up in your mailbox, or in the newspaper, almost everything is available on line now, including newspapers! The Guild, staying abreast of this shift, has begun sending out regular newsletters to keep members apprised of the events on the IGMA calendar, and you can always find the whole story on Guild events at their website.

The Guild has not given up any of its print programs, but they have begun, this year, to ask the membership if they wish to switch over to digital instead of receiving the print mailings. The switch is an economical, and a green (environmentally conscious) alternative and it is hoped that many will take advantage of.

IGMA’s Fine Miniatures Forum

Digitally, the Guild has many avenues of outreach to its membership, and to the world at large. Most people are probably aware of the Guild’s Facebook presence. The first IGMA Facebook page, where miniaturists from around the world have been sharing their work and events for many years now, was recently retitled IGMA: Miniature Community, to make room, and to differentiate it from the official page titled simply, International Guild of Miniature Artisans. On this official page you will find information on current Guild events, along with features on Guild members and other items of interest to miniaturists.

There are three Guild affiliated Instagram accounts where you may go to enjoy photos of miniatures and the programs built around making, sharing and selling them. Go to Instagram and search for guildshow, guild_of_miniature_artisans and igmaguildschool. Instagram is a great place for photos and videos that will link to websites and tutorials where you can find much more inspiration.

Have a question? The IGMA Fine Miniatures Forum,  reached via the link at the top of the IGMA website, is the place for answers. You may find an answer already posted, or submit yours on the appropriate page and the site’s many visitors will turn their attentions to helping you out. It’s also another great place to see inspirational work, find sources for materials, and share tips and tricks.

Decorating a teeny gingerbread house in Teresa Layman’s class on Thursday.

A wonderful schedule of classes and special events were available in the days leading up to the show, and Friday night’s Gathering of the Guild–otherwise known as Desserts and Demonstrations, launched the show weekend itself. If you still haven’t had the chance to experience a Guild Show weekend, Desserts and Demonstrations is a delicious bounty for body and soul, the desserts and other snacks spread over several tables on one side of the Grand Concourse, and across from that, tables are set out for demonstrations and otherwise informative discussions. You can sit and enjoy conversation and desserts with friends old and new, while at the same time pick up a new tip or two on using materials or techniques you may already be familiar with, or you may even learn something entirely new.

Sparkling crystals dripping from a Frank Crescente chandelier.

On Saturday morning the Aladdin’s cave of miniature bounty was revealed when the salesroom doors opened and shoppers poured through looking for favorite artists and  new treasures. Live and silent auctions increased the shopping opportunities with many one-of-a-kind pieces, all donated to support the Guild’s many educational programs.

A tv repair shop from Wright Guide Miniatures.

Continue to visit the Guild Show on Instagram where you will see continued postings of photos from this year’s show as well as updates about the 2017 show.

What is Instagram? Instagram is an online mobile photo and video sharing, and social networking site. It can be accessed by anyone with a computer at www.instagram.com, but you can only post from a mobile device with internet capabilities, I post from my iPad.

The Guild Show page on Instagram.

When you go to the Instagram site, you can search in two ways, for a particular account (a person or group that is posting in that account), or for a category of photos and videos. Type into the search bar what you are interested in, using a name or keyword and a list will come up; if there is a ‘hashtag‘, that’s what this symbol ‘#’ is referred to, that means that entry on the list is a category of photos, if there is no hashtag, or if there is a photo in front of the entry, that is an account name. If you click on an account name, (one without a hashtag), you will go to that account and see photos that that person or group has posted. If you click on the entry with the hashtag, that is an archive of photos that people have thought that category applies to.

In order to get them seen by the largest number of viewers, photos are usually given many hashtags. For example, someone might post a photo of a miniature table, that photo can be placed in the category ‘miniatures’, but it could just as well be posted under #miniature, #dollhouseminiature, #tiny, #miniaturefurniture, #woodenminiature, #handcarved, and so on. The person posting content must try to think of possible search terms that could be used to describe his photo and enter them as hashtags on his or her posting. And you, as a viewer, can also use many different keywords to find images you might be interested in. Only the account names are proprietary, by which I mean, if you search IGMA you will see that #igma comes up as a category list of photos with over 5,000 posts, but if you click on it, you will see a lot of photos that have nothing to do with the IGMA we know and love! Evidently, many people have a different idea as to what those four letters mean.

For now, searching Guild of Miniature Artisans, IGMA Guild School and Guild Show, will get you to accounts that are purely Guild related photos — that’s if you click on the account listings, not the hashtag listings. If you click on #guildshow, #guildofminiatureartisans, or #igmaguildschool, you will find many show, fine miniatures, and school photos, but also occasional photos posted there that have nothing to do with ‘our’ IGMA because hashtags are just categories and anyone can put any hashtag they want on their photos.

So, ready to leap into the world of Instagram? Have fun exploring the photos already posted, or establish your own account and start posting your own photos. If you have school or show photos you’d like to add to those already posted, just add the appropriate hashtag (#) to your photos and they will come up whenever anyone searches that category.