The Art of Dioramas
An exploration of handmade miniature worlds: the history, art, and craft of dioramas, tiny scenes in a snowglobe, a box, or a bell jar.
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The miniature world, in miniature!
In this survey we’ll take a look at the history and origins of dioramas, check out some of the amazing and complex things artists have done with the medium, and survey some of the smaller and simpler work by crafters. Finally, we’ll brainstorm about the kind of tiny scenes we could make, quickly and easily, ourselves.
Message in a bottle
We can build little scenes quickly and easily, using modelmaking gear, scale train materials, display containers like bottles, snowglobes, bell jars and vitrines, and a bit of imagination. We can base our scenes on fairy tales, historical events, current events and pop culture. We can end up with an admirable shelf objet, conversation piece or giftable tiny artwork.
Related products
Want to tinker right now? Check out some useful tools and materials for modeling:
Multi-tool cutoff wheel set
This all-around multi-tool cutoff wheel set has wheels for plastic, for metal and for wood/general.
Dremel Lite
Our recommended multitool. Small, lightweight, cordless multi-tool, yet powerful enough for lots of smaller projects. It has a high-quality battery, too.
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