The foundation for my art comes from the countless paper doll houses I built as a child, when a jewelry box was a dresser, a perfume bottle became a lamp, a book, a bed and a handkerchief, a bedspread. In 1996, I created a 1:8 scale composite of the kind house I might have made for my paper dolls in 1955. The miniature version is 3 inches H x 11 inches W x 8 inches D.
Paper Doll House (1996). 3" H x 11" W x 8" D.
Today, when I build pieces for my framed Vanity Series, my emphasis is on the miniature object. I use whatever materials and parts of things I can find and then combine them in such a way as to create the illusion of a full sized object.
Perfume Bottles (Vanity Series). 9" H x 8" W.
For example, in Perfume Bottles, the brackets for the mirrored shelf are partially uncoiled pierced earring backs; the bottles are assorted beads; some of the lids are bugle beads while others are glass head pins, sliced cording or styrene tubing with small bead caps. Another way to explain is to write an equation: Perfume Bottle = crystal bead + bead cap (flattened) + bugle bead + (straight pin - tip).
As a little girl, I loved making my paper doll houses just as much as I loved playing with paper dolls. Nothing was ever impossible because my imagination always filled in the details.