Miniature VHS necklace

Tara Edwards (The Tissues, Coleco Club) models one of my "VHS Sleepover Necklaces," handcrafted miniature videocassette pendants inspired by films that help us recognize ourselves and give voice to our dreams and desires. "It kinda reminds me of being in high school,” says Tara. “Secretly renting and watching wlw (women loving women) movies with a girl I liked late at night. It’s also unabashedly camp, punk, DIY, in-your-face and femme, which embodies queerness to me and reminds me of the queer icons I looked up to then. I think it makes me feel nostalgic and comfortable."

I hope to make more of these. I’m touched when one of my pieces can resonate so deeply with someone.

Working in miniatures: Dystopian sci-fi semi-truck

I hadn’t fully comprehended the size of my latest miniature, a five-and-a-half-foot long “land train,” until I sat down behind it for a photoshoot at Dreaming Tree studio in Burbank, my friend Kate from The Daily Mini behind the camera. Transporting it to set on the morning of December 12th, each plastic squeak as it rattled in the back of my Nissan Versa hatchback stirred up memories of cradling school projects, dioramas, in back of my mother’s car, worried that they’d fall apart at the slightest bump in the road. But we made it, all 65 inches of this dystopian sci-fi semi truck painted in battleship grey for the upcoming sci-fi black comedy Animal, directed by Lauren Adams.

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

Set against the canvas of a collapsed, alternate history America, the film's characters pilot a massive self-driving, windowless ship for the monolithic company "PostHaste." We follow these two women as they cargo tons of freight across a desolate expanse of abandoned cities as they deliver supplies for an ongoing and ambiguous rebuild of the country. Or, so says the company. The ship was modeled from a floor plan of the life-size interior set built for the actors, which was then scaled down to 1:24 to maintain its proportions. I was inspired by the unsympathetic nature of PostHaste and its complete lack of regard for the human pilots' safety in piloting their ship. You may see there are no safety measures on the vehicle: No guard rails or warning labels that you might ordinarily see on massive industrial equipment to protect the manufacturer against litigation from personal injury. In this dystopian future, the ship represents (even from a color standpoint) this massive, grey unsympathetic force that plows through anything, even people, to make more money. The size and heft of this miniature is a pointed commentary on that theme in the script: Packages must be delivered, no matter what the human cost.

The crew of the miniature unit shoot on Animal (from left to right): Miniaturist Sean David Christensen, miniature unit cinematographer Wenting Deng Fisher, director Lauren Adams, set decorator/set PA Manon Crespin & co-writer/producer, Jeff Roberts.

The cockpit of the miniature is a partly deconstructed model kit of two semi trucks designed by AMT Models. These were used to match the life-sized interior of the ship, shot on a soundstage months prior. The other materials I used were wet media board, basswood, wooden dowels and bits of recycled plastic to "bulk out" the form. I handcrafted the shape of the front windshield and side windows to match the life-sized film set, so the edit would be as seamless as possible between the miniature and the actors inside the ship. For the windshield, I used a piece of lighting gel (ND filter) to simulate a tinted window. I didn't want the audience to be able to look inside. There's something sinister about not being able to see what's going on behind the “steel curtain” of this imposing vessel. The completed ship is just over five feet long when fully connected, made up of a cockpit living quarters section and two shipping containers joined together by "mechanical joints" made of basswood. These joints mask the seams in between each car, and create an illusion of this ship being one continuous machine, a force of industrial brutality.

Behind the scenes: "What I Had to Leave Behind"

Here I am dusting the miniature set of What I Had to Leave Behind, my latest film. In my (comparatively massive) hand, I’m wielding the same 1/2 inch acrylic paintbrush I used to paint this dollhouse-scale apartment. I should’ve made a dust pan before I started sweeping, too! Photographed by my director of photography, Wenting Deng Fisher, we wrapped filming in April 2021 with these miniature unit shots to help tell the story of this hybrid live-action/animation diary film. Featuring animation by my friend Cassie Shao, an original jazz score by Branden Brown and sound design by Jackie! Zhou, I’m looking forward to completion this summer and building whatever comes next!

Miniature scenic art for "A Puff Before Dying"

It was a joy to create scenic art with my friends at the Bob Baker Marionette Theater for this innovative short film. Everything was built to marionette scale, a bedside lamp here, a hairdryer there…A Puff Before Dying, with a cast of four handcrafted puppets, is a tongue-in-cheek romp about the dangers of driving under the influence. PSA directed by the fiendishly clever Michael Reich & Mike Pinkney of Yellow Veil Pictures. Premiering at the Midnight Shorts competition at SXSW earlier this year, I was so proud to be a part of this hardworking, visionary crew. Click here to learn more about the film.

The doomed heroine of A Puff Before Dying. (Writer/Director: Michael Reich, Mike Pinkney; Puppet design and fabrication by Bob Baker Marionette Theater.)

Miniature VHS pendant necklace

100% handcrafted, each "Queer Sleepover Classic" VHS pendant necklace celebrates critical formations of queer identity nurtured by independent video stores in the late 80s & early 90s. Pieced together with craft wood and paint, I hope to add more pendants to this special series, now exclusively on-sale and on display at the boutique gallery A Love Bizarre in Los Angeles.

Mini VHS bones

Coming soon…some VHS bones for an upcoming miniature project, exclusively at A Love Bizarre. Watch this space!

Vidiots | VHS Pendant

As I’ve stated before, birthdays are excellent motivators for artists to establish deadlines for themselves. Let’s say a friend’s birthday is coming up. Do you have a calendar? Do you want to make that day special? Plan ahead! This year, I’ve made a commitment to hand-make as many gifts as I can for those I love, rather than contribute to an avalanche of products, “stuff” and other retail ephemera. Boo! There’s a magic that happens when you transform raw materials with your own hands, knowing that whatever you’re breathing life into is going to find a home with just one special person. I see it as a communication, a special message that repeats each time they look at it or pick it up. Emotional/Memory replay, like a video?

Engineering this piece solely by eyeballing photos on Google Image Search was a unique challenge, as I didn’t have a VHS tape handy for physical reference. (Next time, I will!) The process began on paper, as I sketched out its rough dimensions and visualized it hanging from someone’s chest, once the chain would be added. I approached it as a three-dimensional cartoon, as I hand drew the sprockets and wrapped the inner gears with construction paper (VHS tape). This project has definitely awoken more ideas within me to create colorful representations of household items, as well as setting a high bar for Maggie’s next birthday. *wink* Love you and Vidiots Foundation!

Deconstructed: The tape case (pendant) was composed of individual sections cut from strips of basswood with a utility knife.

The secret inside: “Tape” (made of black construction paper) wraps around the inner gears, visible from the outside through two clear strips of duralar on the face plate.

(Closet) Doors of Perception

Finished crafting these last night, additions for a miniature room I’m designing with my friend/musician Ricky Berger for her upcoming music video, “That’s Where I Belong.” Stay tuned for more behind-the-scenes snapshots!

(Mini) "Breakfast of Champions"

Been meaning to make this miniature for awhile, my first attempt at miniaturizing cartoonish food. Served on a (tiny) paper plate, the ingredients for this short stack were: Discs of painted clay covered in syrup (Gorilla Glue) with a disc of butter on top, which ended up being a slice of a synthetic rubber eraser from a mechanical pencil!

(Tiny) Taco Tuesday

I'd like to develop the habit of drawing or creating something quick immediately after waking up and having my morning tea. Today (Tuesday) was my first attempt at this: a tiny paper taco. I crafted this tasty snack, all the while completely forgetting about my cup of Earl Gray, which was cold to the touch when I went to pick it up soon after. A small price to pay for getting lost in one's work.