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This is my 3rd miniature rug, also my smallest piece measuring 7 3/4" by 5 3/4" on an 18 count canvas. There were 4 colours for this rug, Passion Pink, Blood Red, Indigo & Pearly Cream.
Despite the fact that this is already my 3rd rug in 1 year, I am still having warping problems ,that is, my edges are not straight. So I am not happy with it. There is however no way I will junk this as it has taken me from July last year to just today , to finish this rug. Of course, I didn't stitch everyd
ay and there were months when it was just chucked away in some deep dark corner so much so that when I took it out again, the rug looked more like a rag.
I do love stitching though and will continue doing it. Pic left is my next rug, a Baluchi prayer carpet. And today, I just went on ebay to buy the 2nd Meik McNaughten's book on More Miniature Oriental Rug & Carpet, which is already out of print, I think. I am buying a used copy from an Australian vendor.From the cover, it looks like the designs are more complex in the 2nd book. Can't wait!In the meantime, it looks like I may have to use my small Afghan rug as upholstery for a seat in a coffee house vignette so that the flaws can be masked.
Speaking of coffee house vignette, have you heard of Ronan-Jim Sevellec, the artist (now residing in Paris) who is a painter, a model maker for films and an illustrator ? Apparently, he will gradually abandon painting to concentrate on creating miniature settings or so his translated website seems to suggest.
Having disappeared from the art scene for many years, Ronan-Jim resurfaced by exhibiting in Normandy in 1989. His breakthrough came with an exhibition in Paris in 1995 where he showed dilapidated but artful miniature interiors, rooms, workshops with fascinating dim lighting, evoking settings that were melancholy, abandoned or harsh. Every room was as if someone has just left it. Since then he has been regularly exhibiting his work mainly in France and other parts of Europe. It is now my dream to see his work in real life.
Now do you want to see how the master created a 1:12 Persian coffee house vignette?
Photographs of the Turkish Coffee House courtesy of Dolls House World
I will love to get hold of any books on Ronan-Jim Sevellec's miniatures so if any of you know where and how, do let me know and I will be eternally grateful.
I will love to get hold of any books on Ronan-Jim Sevellec's miniatures so if any of you know where and how, do let me know and I will be eternally grateful.
42 comments:
I am GREEN of envy...Grrrrrrr.
What a wonderful scenes!!!!
I love your carpet, for me is something amazing...I can not see deffects...
Hey, that carpet looks brilliant... that start of a carpet souq? I don't think I have the patience for that!
Now those 'coffee house' pictures are inspirational, and I am sure especially to you! You must be ready to build that palace!
OOOOHHHHH I'm not green, I'm ashamed of myself...but I'll keep having fun with my minis. BTW I think your rug is VERY good , I cannot see the defects you are pointing out. Are you going to be picky about yourselves? :o)) A rugs souq would be brilliant, but very wearysome to do I'm afraid. Everything ready? I cannot wait :o))))))))
OMG I am green too ! How fab are those roomsets. Thank you for posting as I didnt know his work.
Your rug looks beautiful and I didnt notice faults just the lovely colours and stitching :0)
julie xx
Your rug looks fantastic! Love your little coffee house vignette, I'd quite like to sit there with a coffee.
Sevellec's work is awesome!
Mercedes
Sans, check out these photographs on the website of the Arnhem Dolls House Show: http://www.arnhemshow.com/images/Preview/Ronan-Jim%20Sevellec.pdf
He work is fantastic!
Stunning....your work and his :-)
That is how I want my guest room but in real life :-)
oh wow dang! take me with you ; ; i wanna see his works too :O
as to your warping issues, i think it comes with practice on tension to prevent it. when i was cross stitching, i had similar issues, but as i practiced over the years, it got easier and easier, till i didn't even need to use a hoop and the tension even enough not to warp. or you could also examine the technique with which you stitched onto the canvas. uh. yeah. it's a lengthy discourse XD there are priobably many experts here who are better equipped to help you with that heh.
back to clay...i've finally cleared the hall of my mess...but my table in the room is now surrounded with unsorted materials ARGH! oh btw. giveaway on my blog, deadline sunday :X
Firstly, Josje, you've just sent me to heaven! I died a few times from ecstasy!
Everyone else who is following the comment box of this post, the link that Josje gave is a must visit if you love Ronan-Jim Sevellec (Cindy, can you hear me? I am bringing you along NOW). Not only will you be able to view his work in amazing details and clarity, you can also see how he exhibited his work with the objects he placed around the room boxes.
According to an article, the lighting of his boxes are fascinating because you can't see any lights in the boxes at all. He conceals lighting behind "windows" nooks, ground or corners or even ceiling.
Josje, will you be going to the exhibition?
Thank you Eva. For those of you who live in Europe, there is a good chance that RJS will exhibit in a museum near you. You do have one of the world's most beautiful museum in Spain , the titanium Guggenheim in Bilbao :).
Lize, I dare say I am likely one of your most impatient and quick tempered acquaintance :). A carpet seller or a shop is inevitable if I want to seriously build a bazaar. And I have gone quite far now not to. I have already planned how I want to start building structures etc for the shops that I now have.
I will not be using my own carpets (how to stitch so many???) for the carpet shop. MY Emperor's Emporium is run by a Maharajah turned carpet trader. I used the ones I bought a long ago in Turkey. Although they are machine made, they are amazing in details and scale. I love those. Unless I want to go blind stitching, there's no way I can do it that fine and small.
Rosanna, the Angel of Embroidery herself, thank you for your compliments but my carpet is not straight! :( What I have done is to make the edging uneven (from thin to thicker) so that it look straighter but if you see it in real life, you can tell. I have placed my carpet in between 2 straight lines i the 1st photo so you can tell it is not perfectly rectangular.
I keep telling myself I have to send you a photo but I kept forgetting!!!! TONIGHT! I promise :):)
Thank you Julie :):). You are too kind! I just realised that maybe my photos are misleading. Truth is when I look at them (the photos), all I see is how the rug is tilted one side . LOL See how your mind does tricks ?
I discovered RJS from an issue of Dolls House World. :). I am glad you enjoyed his work as much as I did :). Check out Josje's link. My scanning does not do his work justice.
Merce :). I have made us both some coffee whenever you are good and ready :). It's the Chinese New Year season here so plenty of tarts at my coffee house too .*giggles
Jayne, yes!! I think your guest room will be so awesome. Watch out for my post on Chinese New Year (later next week) and you will see my Indian cushions-the real life ones. My life is so consumed with my mini obsession with India that I am starting to imitate my dolls in many ways :). If that sounds like I have gone a bit nutty, I guess I have.
Thank you again, Cindy! For sharing these precious tips. I was hoping I am at the "improved" stage by Rug 3 but sadly no. Before I commence the edging, I actually "stretched " the rug for 1 month ..lol .. by pinning it on a board.
After I finished my 1st rug which was a complete disaster, Casey helped explained my mistakes to me. So I used a hoop, do the "in and out" method etc etc. Half way through this one, my hoop broke!
I am going to try my 4th without a hoop and sees how it goes.
Did you say you are giving away your mess? Your mess is my treasure, so I am hoping right over now :).
Yes Sans, I will be going! I look forward to that.
I forgot to comment on your rug. It looks very good and even though you say it is not straight, you could still use it can't you? Just hide the edges or position it so it is not so obvious. I applaude you perseverence, I just don't have the patience for embroiderie. I have had a few project laying around for years(full scale and mini) on which I have started but never finished. I do love the look of embroiderie though.
I believe that it(he,she) carpets still have to him(her) very well, I like much, and the color is perfect.
Really the artist that I construct the cafeteria is incredible, the whole waste of incredible complements.
The edges of of the carpets I saw them finished with glue.
And if it(he,she) allows me him(her) he(she,I) will send the photos of another artist who seems to be to me incredible, it is the recreation of a Turkish cafeteria.
An embrace
Creo que alfombra le quedo muy bien, me gusta mucho, y el colorido es perfecto.
Realmente el artista que construyo la cafeteria es increible, todo un derroche de complementos increibles.
los bordes de de las alfombras los vi terminados con pegamento.
y si me permite le enviare las fotos de otro artista que me parece increible, es la recreacion de una cafeteria turca.
un abrazo
Beautiful work Sans, the carpet is lovely! I'm so impressed by your perseverance and I'm not saying this to be nice, but the edges seem perfectly straight to me!
I enjoyed your coffee house pictures first and then checked out Josje's link and wow! It's almost unbelievable they are miniature rooms! (It should probably be inspiring, but I think I will never do miniatures again! :-))
Sans, you are my DJ ;) your taste in music is ...PERFECT FOR ME!!!! ahhh!!! so if you check your stats you'll see someone has visited your site for over 2 hrs, it's me :X
the 'in out' method is the best way to maintain the correct tension. what i do when i work without a hoop is create one with 4 of my fingers on my left hand, but i often forget to rest my hands and it oft cramps up XD i'll take a pic for you later...
no i'm not giving away my mess! my mountain is...priceless! XD just clearing out some items so i can make way for new ones ;)
Sans! The carpet is lovely! I too, can see no defects, what so ever. :)
It's been a long time since I did stitching like this, but, I used a frame, rather than a hoop. They snap together and come in varying sizes.
Also, if you can stitch diagonally, the pieces are supposed to come out straight.
Thank you for the introduction to this artist. I'm going to look for more. :)
Josje, I wish I had time to detour to Arnham..what am I talking about, I won't be in Europe in March-April ! LOL :)I am sure he will exhibit again sometime ! But at the moment, I am committing a deadly sin! ENVY!
Contar , thank you :).
(I wish sometimes these online translators do a better job.) Do you want the pictures of the Turkish cafe? I email you?
Or you want to send me another artist? Sorry, I am a little confused here.
BUT I am so happy that you took the time to comment and then have it translated. Please don't stop and hopefully I will pick up some Spanish one day! Hope you understand the translation :
Contar, muchas gracias:).
Contando, muchas gracias:).
(A veces deseo que estos traductores en lÃnea hacer un mejor trabajo.) ¿Quieres fotos del café turco? I e-mail a usted?
O si quieres mandarme otro artista? Lo siento, estoy un poco confundido.
Pero estoy tan feliz de que se tomaron el tiempo para comentar y, a continuación la traducción. Please don't stop y tomo un poco de español un dÃa! Espero que comprendan la traducción :):)
Helene, surely you jest! What about all your fans and the people you have inspired??? Do you want them to look at your work and go "O no, she's so good, I don't think I want to do this anymore?" :)
On a serious note, I actually tried to find out the origin of "Surely you jest" and this is what I found:
Meaning: "you must be joking!" or "you can't be serious!"
John Bull: "The Labour Party winning a majority in the next election?? My good man...surely you jest!"
John Doe: "I jest you not! And don't call me Shirley!"
You can buy t-shirts and mugs with that joke at the "Urban Dictionary" website! LOL
Cindy, wow , you did? LOL I thought the only Singaporean who stays on my website for more than 10 minutes is me!
You know in my uni days, I took on quite a few part time jobs, so apart from being a tuition teacher, a waitress etc, I was also a DJ. Don't know if you are too young for Bernard Siloso /Monica Lim, they were big 80's radio DJs and I joined their company :):). Anyway, I was fired after spinning at Amara Hotel for about 2 weeks (their lounge) because the management complained that I just put on the records and then sit at the console reading a book! hahahaha. Luckily, it was during the holidays and I had to go back to school soon. I wanted my music to speak for me but I guess that back"fired"! LOL!
Anyway, some of these love songs were my pick even back then. I am glad there are people like you who still love these songs decades after they were released.
On the stitching, today I started again and so far so good. I think my mistake with the last one was leaving the hoop on even when I didn't stitch for MONTHS! I blame the hoop for distorting my rug so I am now trying to stay very calm and work without the hoop (which I broke already anyway..LOL)
Hey Dale, I thought hoop and frames are the same ? Oops! :):). Stitch diagonally? I think at this moment, that's like asking me to weave a carpet that can fly ..LOL!
I stitched out -in starting with the outermost of the rug inwards so that I can use 1 colour at a time. I am sure that too affected the distortion a bit. If you stitch diagonally, don't you have to keep changing threads? Sorry, I may be asking a really dumb question because I may have misunderstood what's "diagonal stitching".
I think we are all way too critical of our own work because your rug is BREATHTAKING! I think its absolutely lovely!! And to think its only your third!! I can't wait to see your next one too! Oh and those mini rooms are amazing!!! I hope someday to see them too and I didnt even know they existed until just now! hugs, ara
Sans, here are some links for you. :)
Frames; http://www.needlepoint-for-fun.com/needlepointframes.html
This helps keep your work straight.
Stitching diagonally; http://www.stitchpoint.com/eng/tech/basketweave.php
You can have several needles, filled with about two feet of thread of each color.
This technique also helps keep your work straight. :)
And don't call me shirley! ;)
Just needle-ing you. ;)
Sans, the rug is wonderful, great job!!!
Sabiha and I are also going to Arnhem, specially to see the work of Ronan-Jim ( I am a great fan of him)
X Sylvia
Ara, you are too kind :).
I counted: there are altogether about 12600 stitches for this rug. It has taken me about 7 months or 210 days. This means making an average of 6 stitches a day :). IT is not so hard, right? :) And if I had made 12, it would have taken 1/2 the time. Stitching is very therapeutic because you need to be cool and calm to make the stitches good (and of course, right at the end, a good steaming iron will perfect all your stitching :) ). Truth is you don't need patience at all. LOL. Anyone can do 6 stitches a day right?
Dale, thanks for the needlepointers (sic)! :) I have pinned (sic) them down but will need to study it further. I will try to adopt the technique and I think with certain patters, it is possible and not difficult to sew diagonally. Got you now ! Thanks, dear.
But I think what I will definitely try to get is a suitable frame.
Sylvia, I will really appreciate if you lucky people can see if you can get hold of his exhibition schedule. :) Maybe I can go to his next one!
Sylvia, I can definitely see the similarities between both your styles. I have loved your work from Day 1 and still does. I have always preferred darker themes. :)
I love your work so much anfd thank you for sharing the foto's of Ronan
Hello Susan is all very beautiful. COngratulations too for the music of your blog is wonderful. Best wishes
My goodness Karina, the admiration is mutual. Correct that, my admiration of what you do is 10 times more :). I hope to read your book as well. Your visit made me very happy!
Gemma , thank you :). I have just added my ALL TIME favourite song :Now those Days are Gone by Buck Fizz :). 2nd song. I hope you like it too.
fantastic work!!!!!!!!!!!
congratulations!!
Eli
Eli, THANK you :)! I love your blog and have recommended many to it :). Keep up your good work!
Sans, the carpet is lovely!!! You have made an excellent work. Just love it!!!
Warm regards,
Meli
Meli, coming from a master "stitcher", I am very very flattered by your compliments :).
Hey,
I´m wondering if it could be possibly to use one of your beautiful photosof the Turkish Coffee House while sketching a book cover in Finland ? The Book is about a Detective Story, happening in Istabul. The second interior photo should match very well in my purposes.
If the publishing company approves my idea, what sould the usage of such a picture cost ?
Could you please answer me quickly, the dead line is breathing to my neck....
Kindly reagards,
Puppi Caselius, puppi@pictas.fi
Hi Puppi! The pictures of the Turkish Coffee House are from this dollhouse magazine called Dolls House World. The scene is a 1:12 scale creation by Ronan Jim Sevellec. I am afraid you will have to make the enquiry with the publisher who will probably direct you to the artist. GOOD LUCK with that book!
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