Tawhiti: Life at home

The second room at Tawhiti was large, well-lit, and contained so many scenes (both full-sized and miniature) that I found it almost overwhelming.

An example is this series of dioramas showing how butter was made 'in the old days':

from milking the cow,

through pouring the milk (not sure what this did, and was too distracted to read the information below the scene!),

churning

and, finally, eating.

The full-sized scenes that caught my eye (and made my brain hurt as they were full-sized scenes that looked like miniature scenes made big: I figured it was all part of the owner's eye and ability to tell stories without words...): 

a woman making dinner.

A man in his workshop.

A scene at the local store,

and the local gunsmith at work.

While this room focused mainly on the pakeha* inhabitants of the area, the next rooms made up for it:

A full-sized model of a maori man wrapped in a blanket beside a fire outside two huts,

And miniature dioramas showing life in and around Turuturu Mokai pa, in a few scales.

(*Non-maori)

Tawhiti: Tangarakau township

The first room in Tawhiti Museum made me stop to rummage in my bag for my cameras, as I knew I, based on what I saw in this room alone, that I'd be taking a lot of photos*. The room had an interesting mix of well-done full-scale models, like this chap:

and this coal miner:

and miniature models, like this scene, set in the 1930s, of the Egmont Collieries train in front of the the buildings of Tangarakau township. 

 Also included were model bush scenes, including discarded train parts,

 a sawmill,

 and a scene of men loading the coal from the train into a waiting ship.

One of the things I loved most about these scenes was the realism of the New Zealand bush in them.

(*In fact, I stopped so often to take a photo that I ran out of time to visit a whole section of displays...)

Off the track and found some treasure

While I was buying my Russell Brown brooches from the Sarjeant Gallery gift shop, I mentioned that they were destined for my dolls' house (a little white lie, but easier than explaining miniature scenes to people, I find).

The women behind the the counter both said 'So you'll be visiting Tawhiti, then?' in such a way that they assumed that I knew all about it (whatever 'it' was) and would would most definitely have 'it' on our itinerary.

When it because clear that I was quite clueless, they assured me that we most simply MUST VISIT (especially as it was on the way to our next destination.)

And so it was (after a little googling that evening, back at the Airbnb place) that we decided it was worth a stop. And I found myself mystified as to how I had no idea of its existence, even after some major pre-trip research.

We arrived just before 11 am the following day, certain that we'd be done and dusted in an hour or so, and off to find lunch and continue our planned itinerary.

How. Wrong. We. Were.

Tawhiti Museum is amazing. And particularly amazing for a miniaturist.

After we bought our tickets, but before we went inside we decided morning tea was in order while we planned our time and decided what to see first., And it just so happened that there was an inviting-looking cafe right by the entrance.

 As we walked in the door I realised this was going to be a very special place indeed. See those frames on the side wall?

They each held a one-twelfth scale scene from The Wind in the Willows.

(I have to admit that I've not read the book so can't identify the characters or which scenes from the book that they're in...)

 But the scenes were exquisitely done, and a joy to explore even without knowing the story.

Feeling much refreshed, we decided that it was time to head inside the museum...

New Zealand road trip: Day one

(Unimaginative title, I know. But I figured if I waited and ruminated on a suitably witty title, the blog post may never get written...)

First stop on the trip itinerary was Archway Books: one of our favourite second-hand books shops, located on the way out of town in Pukerua Bay. 

We'd not managed to visit the last couple of times I'd been in the country, so I was looking forward to seeing what treasures they had waiting for me to find. For this reason,  I'd specifically not brought any books with me to read on the trip (even though I knew that was tempting fate by doing that...)

I was in luck. So were The Parental Units. Here's our combined book stack on the first night of our trip:

(Only the bottom four are mine. I say 'only' ironically, as three of them were both the heaviest of our finds, and the most expensive. But how could I leave behind a biography James Walter Chapman-Taylor, the New Zealand arts and crafts architect who created a house we were planning to visit later in the trip? Or one on Len Lye, the New Zealand kinetic artist whose work we were also planning to visit?)

Oh: and that deliciously mid-century-modern lounge? Our Airbnb choice for our night in Whanganui.

 Which contained

 lots of

miniature inspiration, 

Speaking of miniature inspiration: my first miniature purchases of the trip were two screen-printed wooden brooches by Russell Brown, which I found in the Sarjeant Gallery gift shop, and which I hope to use as wall art in a miniature scene very soon...

I've been in New Zealand

Again. But this time was completely planned. And awesome fun. It was like three holidays in one, with two road trips and a miniature convention, followed by a bout of practising retirement village living.

There are photos. So. Many. Photos. (if you're on Instagram, you've already seen a few of them).

I've been back home for a week and have got to the stage where I've downloaded them off my camera and phone, deleted the duds and sorted them into folders to work through this weekend.

While you wait, here's a spot you might recognise...

Spring

(With thanks to Kat for the rug and chips, which inspired the scene...)

A month without mojo

I have the usual excuses: it's cold. The light's bad. I'm exhausted after a busy few months. My studio's a disaster zone. And minis feels far too much like work at the moment. On top of a full-time job (extended until Christmas).

Perhaps I need to take up Kat's idea of a ten-minute challenge to shake things up?

And the photo? It's of a vintage Europa Series 7 chair, picked up as part of a box-lot at the 2014 Sydney Show. I promised Rebecca I'd photograph the pieces for her and am only just getting to it. As usual, I'm so far behind on my list of things to get done...