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Perhaps a few miniaturists will
remember 2001 as the year we paused and wondered if our hobby was frivolous compared
to the grander scheme of our world. The participants of our 8th Annual Creatin'
Contest may have paused in their preparations, but regained their focus of what
was important and lasting, the creation of beauty, wonder and joy. Whether their
vision was a replica of a bygone era or the delightful realization of what may never
be, they met their goal and put their artistry on the line. While some projects
leapt to the top of the stack, the overall quality of all the submissions made our
judges' decisions especially difficult, so difficult that they had to select 15
Honorable Mentions instead of the usual 10! To everyone who participated, we offer
our heartfelt thanks. We hope you enjoy viewing our winners and encourage you all
to participate in 2002.
This year's project was the Buttercup
Cottage by Corona.
Grand Prize: $1,000 HBS Gift
Certificate
Depression Days Farmhouse
Rita Pierce, Lubbock, TX
Anyone who has ever attempted weathering and aging techniques will recognize what
an exceptional job Rita has done in recreating a Depression era homestead. You can
almost smell the dust blowing off the back 40.
Rita says her father was a farmer during that time and she based many of her ideas
on the old stories she has heard. The judges were overwhelmed not only by her skill,
but by the completeness of her vision, the huge old oak with its tree house, the
outhouse, the vegetable garden with its scarecrow, the cobwebs in the attic and
the adorable children she crafted bursting through the front gate.
Excellence is in the details, and Rita included all the little touches that bring
her project to exuberant life!
First Place: $500 HBS Gift Certificate
Che's Café
Cheryl Martini, Carsonville, MI
 
Cheryl wrote to us that she had always wanted to own a restaurant and that, when
she looked at The Buttercup Cottage, she saw how her dream could come true! What
makes this project immediately appealing are the clever upstairs porch and entry
awnings. But, what makes it a winner is the attention to detail that brings the
scene to life. One imagines dining on the open back deck, looking out over some
intercoastal waterway ... and, indeed, Cheryl confirms that is exactly the locale
she had in mind. Can you believe this is Cheryl's first project?!
Second Place: $300 HBS Gift
Certificate
"Got Milk" Café
Linda Briggs, Truth or Consequences, NM
 
Realism obviously wasn't what made this project a winner?it was the joyful whimsy
of Linda's concept that wowed the judges ... and all those little handpainted cows
on the hillside in the background! Linda took a basically "cartoonish" idea and
pushed it to the max leaving no detail unattended, no embellishment overlooked.
Is it outrageous? Absolutely. Is it over-the-top? Certainly. The "Got Milk" Café
reminds us that miniatures can simply be fun!
Third Place: $200 HBS Gift Certificate
Levittown Loght
Gail Gallagher, Levittown, PA
 
You probably won't be able to tell from the photos (the judges had bigger ones)
how precisely done this little lighthouse is. The paint on the clapboard siding
is so smooth, the edges so sharp, the rows of shingles so even that the photographs
seem almost three-dimensional in their exactness. Precision like this takes skill
and devotion. Gail says she worked within a "very tight budget," and the beacon
at the top was fashioned from a pickle jar and blown night-light bulb!
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