Handmade, 1:12 scale miniature food and oddities from IGMA Fellow, Kiva Atkinson
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Leg of lamb
I made a leg of lamb, snapped a pic, scrapped it, then went back and added some meat bits to that bone sticking out in front. I like to add a "healthy" amount of fat to red meat because I umm....like high fat content :-/.
I absolutely cannot believe this is a mini. Your work is really amazing. Until I joined Flickr and then this blog, I had no clue to the amazing talent out there, and how people can make scale food with clay! *grabs the fork* -Ron
Thank you so much, Linda and Ron!!! Linda, I've been eating an usual amount of lamb lately. Ok, well alot for me...about 6 times in the last few weeks. My dad loved lamb riblettes. Throw em in the broiler so they get kind of crackling on the outside. Yum!
Ron, I have a feeling that you are a newb in the miniature world, but you were a master miniaturist before this and never realized it! The miniature world is ENDLESSLY fascinating, isn't it? Sometimes, when people ask what I do, and I try to explain it and get that puzzled look, I actually think: man, you have NO idea what you're missing. If they only knew ;-).
i love fatty meat too! hahha. :P and your lamb looks so greasy and tasty! YUMMM. it's near dinner-time here, and i really want to dig into it now! haha.
and Kiva, i totally get the part about how others get this "huh?" look when i tell them what i'm always cooped up at home with (lol). By the way Kiva, are you a full-time miniaturist? And do you sell anywhere else besides through your website? I've been awed by your work for so long, but there's still so much I don't know about you haha. :)
So true Kiva. Im new to the 'collectables' end of minis, but to the model fabrication I'm a a veteran. Seriously, it's just the last 6 months or so I have learned what amazing things people can do with clay! What few miniature shows I have gone to, I focus on the carpentry & construction of the room boxes & houses :) -Ron
Jocelyn!! Last night, it was a fat fest at my house. My mom made belly pork two ways: sweet and sour and "Kau Yuk" style. There were CHUNKS of pure fat. It was heavenly, but I could feel my arteries clogging with every bite :-O. You know, when I watch Top Chef, they do NOT shy away from using fat in their cooking. Duck fat, goose fat, belly pork, you name it. They know what's up ;-).
I make miniatures full time (if by full time you mean taking long naps and many breaks inbetween the making!). I do sell alot off my website and I list on ebay. The commissions remained steady, despite the tanking economy, thank God. What about you, Jocelyn? Do you do this full time? You are getting SO good!!!
Ron, maybe you should try clay too!! I had no idea that people made clay food until about 6 or 7 years ago?? And that is what really sucked me in. I started collecting dolls and accessories and furniture, and mom built me two dollhouses (which I no longer have). THEN I found food and became obsessed! In the beginning, I bought alot of it....honestly, some of it really bad (a turkey without wings???). So, I decided to fool around with it and got hooked. But I would love to be able to do what you do, too!
By the way, I'm still waiting for that outhouse ;-)
Kiva yayy! i love to know that people are doing this full-time, it gives me that extra surge of confidence that it might just happen for me too. :) But of course there's the hard-to-brush-off fact that you have so much experience, and are totally a master food miniaturist.:)
Well for me, I've just graduated from uni 6 months back and (okay this is an old story that i've been repeating forever haha!) ever since i started sculpting about a year back, i cannot see myself doing anything but this full-time. but it's still a dream to me, for now i'm just 'delaying' the entire job-search process, and really caught in between doing what everyone else (parents, boyfriend, my uni loan company lol) wants me to do -get a regular job with a steady paycheck, or fulfilling my own dream. If I look back upon the past year of sculpting, whatever I have earned is barely enough to last someone through ONE month, so it's pretty ridiculous if I go witht the latter.
okay i better stop, I am ranting on and on your personal blog!! arghhh, so sorry Kiva! :)
Awww, Jocelyn, you are so sweet! Don't worry- it took me a long time to figure out what I wanted to do, career-wise! A loooooong, loooooong time, lol!! I was a hardcore dilettante. I have a degree in web design and technology because I thought I wanted to do something along those lines, but about halfway through, I discovered that I didn't. I got into animation for awhile, but I just wanted to put down the damned mouse and make something with my hands! Making miniatures is honestly the first time that something has held my attention for a sustained period of time. I DO get burned out, but I would miss it if I go for more than a few days without making anything. I've been doing this, nearly every day, for at least six years (apart from the week here or there when I was away, although I do take clay on vacation sometimes). I mean, I really immersed myself in it from the get go. But there is still lots more to learn!
I can tell you that my parents breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that I was this into it. I think maybe they expected me to lose interest after awhile. My dad was the one who really encouraged me to take it seriously...and eventually quit my job (which was a crap job anyway)!
Can you give yourself time to go hardcore at it BEFORE the job thing to see how it goes? Or if you did the job thing, would that allow you enough time to devote to making miniatures as well? You have only been doing this for a year, and already you're very good! AND getting better and better!! I would hate to see you in a job that leaves you precious little time to make anything :-/. Ok, how about if you give yourself some time and just go balls out? Tell the rents and your boyfriend that this is something you're REALLY passionate about and you want to follow it to see where it leads. The steady money will come eventually!
And you can rant all you want on my blog!! Let it all hang out! I certainly don't hold much back, do I ;-)? You can email me any time, too.
i wrote a huge chunk and decided it was better to flickr mail you instead. haha! :) so if you're feeling up to some heavy reading Kiva, go check your mail! :P
and thanks for everything Kiva, and your words have really given me a much-needed morale boost. :) HUGS!
Good! I am so glad, Jocelyn :-D! I meant to say that I have a certificate, not a degree, bwaaa!! Anyway, all of it had gone out the window. I'll go check my flickr when I come back!
Yours is certainly not a blog to come to if you are feeling hungry!! This looks so real...I love it!
ReplyDeleteI absolutely cannot believe this is a mini. Your work is really amazing. Until I joined Flickr and then this blog, I had no clue to the amazing talent out there, and how people can make scale food with clay!
ReplyDelete*grabs the fork*
-Ron
Thank you so much, Linda and Ron!!! Linda, I've been eating an usual amount of lamb lately. Ok, well alot for me...about 6 times in the last few weeks. My dad loved lamb riblettes. Throw em in the broiler so they get kind of crackling on the outside. Yum!
ReplyDeleteRon, I have a feeling that you are a newb in the miniature world, but you were a master miniaturist before this and never realized it! The miniature world is ENDLESSLY fascinating, isn't it? Sometimes, when people ask what I do, and I try to explain it and get that puzzled look, I actually think: man, you have NO idea what you're missing. If they only knew ;-).
i love fatty meat too! hahha. :P and your lamb looks so greasy and tasty! YUMMM. it's near dinner-time here, and i really want to dig into it now! haha.
ReplyDeleteand Kiva, i totally get the part about how others get this "huh?" look when i tell them what i'm always cooped up at home with (lol). By the way Kiva, are you a full-time miniaturist? And do you sell anywhere else besides through your website? I've been awed by your work for so long, but there's still so much I don't know about you haha. :)
So true Kiva. Im new to the 'collectables' end of minis, but to the model fabrication I'm a a veteran. Seriously, it's just the last 6 months or so I have learned what amazing things people can do with clay! What few miniature shows I have gone to, I focus on the carpentry & construction of the room boxes & houses :)
ReplyDelete-Ron
Jocelyn!! Last night, it was a fat fest at my house. My mom made belly pork two ways: sweet and sour and "Kau Yuk" style. There were CHUNKS of pure fat. It was heavenly, but I could feel my arteries clogging with every bite :-O. You know, when I watch Top Chef, they do NOT shy away from using fat in their cooking. Duck fat, goose fat, belly pork, you name it. They know what's up ;-).
ReplyDeleteI make miniatures full time (if by full time you mean taking long naps and many breaks inbetween the making!). I do sell alot off my website and I list on ebay. The commissions remained steady, despite the tanking economy, thank God. What about you, Jocelyn? Do you do this full time? You are getting SO good!!!
Ron, maybe you should try clay too!! I had no idea that people made clay food until about 6 or 7 years ago?? And that is what really sucked me in. I started collecting dolls and accessories and furniture, and mom built me two dollhouses (which I no longer have). THEN I found food and became obsessed! In the beginning, I bought alot of it....honestly, some of it really bad (a turkey without wings???). So, I decided to fool around with it and got hooked. But I would love to be able to do what you do, too!
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I'm still waiting for that outhouse ;-)
Kiva yayy! i love to know that people are doing this full-time, it gives me that extra surge of confidence that it might just happen for me too. :) But of course there's the hard-to-brush-off fact that you have so much experience, and are totally a master food miniaturist.:)
ReplyDeleteWell for me, I've just graduated from uni 6 months back and (okay this is an old story that i've been repeating forever haha!) ever since i started sculpting about a year back, i cannot see myself doing anything but this full-time. but it's still a dream to me, for now i'm just 'delaying' the entire job-search process, and really caught in between doing what everyone else (parents, boyfriend, my uni loan company lol) wants me to do -get a regular job with a steady paycheck, or fulfilling my own dream. If I look back upon the past year of sculpting, whatever I have earned is barely enough to last someone through ONE month, so it's pretty ridiculous if I go witht the latter.
okay i better stop, I am ranting on and on your personal blog!! arghhh, so sorry Kiva! :)
Awww, Jocelyn, you are so sweet! Don't worry- it took me a long time to figure out what I wanted to do, career-wise! A loooooong, loooooong time, lol!! I was a hardcore dilettante. I have a degree in web design and technology because I thought I wanted to do something along those lines, but about halfway through, I discovered that I didn't. I got into animation for awhile, but I just wanted to put down the damned mouse and make something with my hands! Making miniatures is honestly the first time that something has held my attention for a sustained period of time. I DO get burned out, but I would miss it if I go for more than a few days without making anything. I've been doing this, nearly every day, for at least six years (apart from the week here or there when I was away, although I do take clay on vacation sometimes). I mean, I really immersed myself in it from the get go. But there is still lots more to learn!
ReplyDeleteI can tell you that my parents breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that I was this into it. I think maybe they expected me to lose interest after awhile. My dad was the one who really encouraged me to take it seriously...and eventually quit my job (which was a crap job anyway)!
Can you give yourself time to go hardcore at it BEFORE the job thing to see how it goes? Or if you did the job thing, would that allow you enough time to devote to making miniatures as well? You have only been doing this for a year, and already you're very good! AND getting better and better!! I would hate to see you in a job that leaves you precious little time to make anything :-/. Ok, how about if you give yourself some time and just go balls out? Tell the rents and your boyfriend that this is something you're REALLY passionate about and you want to follow it to see where it leads. The steady money will come eventually!
And you can rant all you want on my blog!! Let it all hang out! I certainly don't hold much back, do I ;-)? You can email me any time, too.
i wrote a huge chunk and decided it was better to flickr mail you instead. haha! :) so if you're feeling up to some heavy reading Kiva, go check your mail! :P
ReplyDeleteand thanks for everything Kiva, and your words have really given me a much-needed morale boost. :) HUGS!
Good! I am so glad, Jocelyn :-D! I meant to say that I have a certificate, not a degree, bwaaa!! Anyway, all of it had gone out the window. I'll go check my flickr when I come back!
ReplyDelete