Browse among small things at exhibition
This is the first time the exhibit is being held in Toti.
Miniature enthusiasts are invited to browse to their heart’s content at the Durban Association of Miniature Enthusiasts (DAME) exhibit at Toti library activities room on Saturday, 30 April.
The club’s 40 members will display their work from 9am to 4pm and this will include miniature items from Toti members Jennifer Hogno, Viv Jarratt, Annelize van der Elst, the club’s two local youngsters, Daena and Bella Piper and club chairman, Lynette Schultz.
“I’ve always been into small things,” said Jennifer. “I used to collect miniature tea sets and I have over 100. I used to make porcelain dolls and I went from one to another.”
Jennifer will have four of her items on display at the exhibit. One scene is from her childhood and features an insight into a general store at High Flats she used to visit in the 1930s. Another is a collection of antiques that is close to her heart.
One scene has over 100 miniature books on shelves. “The books are printed and are readable. One of our members, Mirta Fitzgerald makes them.
If a member is good at making something, they make more than one and sell the excess at the club’s anual fete. Some items we buy overseas, such as the figures, which we than dress by molding the ‘clothes’ on to them.
You can get lost in making miniatures. You make up your own stories. You also have to be adept at painting, and plumbing and electrical if you opt to do scenes containing those elements.
I’ve found that building into a picture frame works best for me.
You have to be arty and crafty and you have to have lots of patience and imagination,” said Jennifer.
This is the first time the exhibit is being held in Toti. Entrance is free and the club will appreciate support from the public, as these scenes can often take more than a year to complete.
It has purposely been scheduled for the same Saturday as the Highland Gathering in the hope the club will enjoy of lots of support from the thousands who will visit Toti that day.
Every year the club raffles off a beautiful miniature dollhouse to raise funds for charity and this year the recipient is Cansa. Tickets cost only R10 and are available at the exhibit.
For more information on the exhibit or the club, contact Jennifer on 082-416-9292.
