17 April 2011
General Course April2011
22/04/11 04:14
For non-dog lovers, please don’t worry when you see photographs of Chip and Maisie muscleing in on the courses. They can be controlled if needed but it seems that members on recent courses have enjoyed having them around and certainly the dogs have enjoyed entertaining them!
This week’s General Course is run particularly for this group who met on my course and are now great friends. It is always really enjoyable for us as well as the participants. All are really excellent miniaturists although sometimes they need reminding of their talents. They were all most concerned that I have been putting details on the website about each person on the courses so were all on their best behaviour so that they would get a GOOD REPORT!! Most students had arrived with their patterns, instructions and materials ready to do their projects and really didn’t need me - I was there primarily to keep order (not). However, I was needed for some things which helped me feel wanted and not totally redundant. Here we have the ‘report’ - in alphabetical order - not in oder of age, ability, or behaviour!!
Jill was new to this group and to Tickhill. She had initially wanted to learn to use her lathe but unfortunately came without the transformer so was forced to try mine. We had a problem with the lathe at first but my husband, Steve, which is not just a good
cook but DIY extraordinaire, managed to sort it out and Jill was away. How well she did - you will see from the pics in the Gallery how much Jill did. Firstly I just showed her the basics - I had told Jill that I am not qualified to teach wood turning, but soon she was making little presents for friends who I am sure will be delighted. She really did enjoy the course and I’m looking forward to seeing what she produces when she gets home and into using her Unimat lathe. Jill’s husband, Martin, joined us for the evening meal and that was a great pleasure too.
Great work Jill. 11/10 AND a gold star.
Margaret is peeping at us through the front window of her house! The house is a large Sid Cooke Victorian house but Margaret is working on the front and is doing a super job. She is using Richard Stacey Versi brick slips and his slate for the roof a
nd over the windows. Of course, it’s difficult to see how much work has been done when you are doing such time consuming tasks but believe me, Margaret did such a lot this time - tiling inside the front porch, several coats of paint on EVERYTHING and also making a start on the conservatory which will be attached to the house. She also continued with the stained glass which will be in her front door. Well done Margaret. 11/10 AND a gold star!!!
Peta had previously done a course in Tickhill but was new to this group. She ‘gelled’ with the other course members immediately
and will be meeting up with them at other miniature events. Peta brought a 1/48th kit by Geoff Lewis and spent most of her time painting - having to put several coats on each tiny part. The kit was a watermill but Peta had found a lovely picture on the internet of a very attractive mill and is adapting her kit to be like it. She is meticulous in her work and the mill soon took shape and looked great with Peta’s personally designed balcony.
Super work Peta. 11/10 AND a gold star!!!
Rosie has been a regular on courses at Tickhill for several years and is an experienced miniaturist. This time she came with a pattern written in German and was working her way through that. At first I just saw mo
re and more layers of wood - stained in a lovely Victorian pine shade. I had no idea of what was the ultimate aim at that stage but as time went on, a lovely German Christmas stall began to take shape - really beautifully done even though Rosie kept referring to it as a ‘shed’. The nicest shed I have ever seen! By the end of the 3 days, Rosie could decorate the ‘shed’ with the fabulous little Christmas decorations she had bought - I think from a German dealer - which really gave the real impression of a lovely stall suitable for any Christmas market. Great work, Rosie. 11/10 AND a gold star!!!
I love it when Sally brings her lovely baby shop to work on. She has so much to fill the shop that I can’t wait to see it finished. Like all the others on the course, Sally is meticulous in her work and the shop is going to be amazing
when it’s finished. Sally did a lot of work on the shop this week but also she learned to use the fret saw. She had never used the saw before and produced an amazing pair of ornate window frames which she is hoping to use later. You can see the frames in the Gallery - I’m sure you will be as amazed as I was to see a complete beginner produce such a fantastic piece of work. Great stuff, Sally - 11/10 AND a gold star!!!
Sheila brought a really nice box in which she was to create a garden scene overlooked by a scene local to where she lives.
Sheila h
ad taken some photographs so she took a few copies and did the scene in 3D decoupage which looked really super. The garden area was separated by a fence which she aged beautifully and on a pseudo marble floor she placed a wicker table and chair which she made from kits and some pots of flowers, which she again made from kits. They looked lovely and all the colours toned in perfectly. The box was painted an a pale green which set off the whole scene.
Well done, Sheila. 11/10 AND a gold star!!!
Anyone wanting a thatched roof? Call in Expert-Thatcher Sue. ( I will give you her address for a price). I was really negative when Sue said she was going to thatch a roof for a friend as I have rarely seen what I would call a good thatch, having tried all types of materials for thatch, none of them very successful. Sue, of course proved me completely wrong and produced a brilliant thatched roof which anyone would be envious of. She used coir which can sometimes look a bit out of scale but on this cottage was perfect. She had been most concerned about getting all the thatch on the floor of the workshop although I was not worried about it. In the event, it was a glorious day when Sue needed to shape the thatch by cutting the coir so she could do it outdoors. I did get a bit worried though, when she tried to thatch Maisie - the success went to her head a little, I think - but all was well and when Sue had sewn the ridge by hand in a scalloped pattern, the house looked magnificent.
This was all done in two days - Sue had made up 300 little bundles of coir prior to coming on the course so on the third day she spent her time doing her needlepoint.
Brilliant, Sue. 11/10 AND a gold star!!!
We ha
ve another Sue. I would call her Little Sue but that wouldn’t work as both is tiny - even shorter that me and that doesn’t happen very often. Sue has made some delightful miniatures but still has no confidence in her abilities. She brought with her a 1/24th timber- framed house she had made from a magazine article. It is wonderful and just shows Sue’s capabilities - it’s not easy to copy from an article. This time, she brought a pattern for a lean -to which she had taken from a different magazine. It was very frustrating for her as some of the measurements were incorrect. True to form, Sue managed to correct her sizes and her piece turned out really well although she was disappointed that it was smaller than she had anticipated. She had made all the bits and pieces to fill the lean-to and it looked really great when finished. The photographs even look as if her work is full sized and not miniature.
Well done, Sue. 11/10 AND a gold star!!!
This week’s General Course is run particularly for this group who met on my course and are now great friends. It is always really enjoyable for us as well as the participants. All are really excellent miniaturists although sometimes they need reminding of their talents. They were all most concerned that I have been putting details on the website about each person on the courses so were all on their best behaviour so that they would get a GOOD REPORT!! Most students had arrived with their patterns, instructions and materials ready to do their projects and really didn’t need me - I was there primarily to keep order (not). However, I was needed for some things which helped me feel wanted and not totally redundant. Here we have the ‘report’ - in alphabetical order - not in oder of age, ability, or behaviour!!
Jill was new to this group and to Tickhill. She had initially wanted to learn to use her lathe but unfortunately came without the transformer so was forced to try mine. We had a problem with the lathe at first but my husband, Steve, which is not just a good
Great work Jill. 11/10 AND a gold star.
Margaret is peeping at us through the front window of her house! The house is a large Sid Cooke Victorian house but Margaret is working on the front and is doing a super job. She is using Richard Stacey Versi brick slips and his slate for the roof a
Peta had previously done a course in Tickhill but was new to this group. She ‘gelled’ with the other course members immediately
Super work Peta. 11/10 AND a gold star!!!
Rosie has been a regular on courses at Tickhill for several years and is an experienced miniaturist. This time she came with a pattern written in German and was working her way through that. At first I just saw mo
I love it when Sally brings her lovely baby shop to work on. She has so much to fill the shop that I can’t wait to see it finished. Like all the others on the course, Sally is meticulous in her work and the shop is going to be amazing
Sheila brought a really nice box in which she was to create a garden scene overlooked by a scene local to where she lives.
Sheila h
Well done, Sheila. 11/10 AND a gold star!!!
Anyone wanting a thatched roof? Call in Expert-Thatcher Sue. ( I will give you her address for a price). I was really negative when Sue said she was going to thatch a roof for a friend as I have rarely seen what I would call a good thatch, having tried all types of materials for thatch, none of them very successful. Sue, of course proved me completely wrong and produced a brilliant thatched roof which anyone would be envious of. She used coir which can sometimes look a bit out of scale but on this cottage was perfect. She had been most concerned about getting all the thatch on the floor of the workshop although I was not worried about it. In the event, it was a glorious day when Sue needed to shape the thatch by cutting the coir so she could do it outdoors. I did get a bit worried though, when she tried to thatch Maisie - the success went to her head a little, I think - but all was well and when Sue had sewn the ridge by hand in a scalloped pattern, the house looked magnificent.
This was all done in two days - Sue had made up 300 little bundles of coir prior to coming on the course so on the third day she spent her time doing her needlepoint.
Brilliant, Sue. 11/10 AND a gold star!!!
We ha
Well done, Sue. 11/10 AND a gold star!!!