Her daughter’s wisdom tooth is the vase on a tiny occasional table, and her father’s glasses are the windows in one of the many miniature scenes that fill Dana Pratt’s Māpua home.
Over the past four decades she has been creating tiny scenes in “box homes” – miniature worlds filled with painstakingly detailed items, most of which she has made from scratch or repurposed from what may otherwise have been labelled junk.
Some of them will be part of the Nelson Miniatures Club Show: World within Worlds at the Hope Hall this weekend, alongside miniature scenes from other clubs and artists demonstrating their techniques.
When Dana began making miniatures in the 1980s, everything had to be constructed, embroidered, sewn or adapted because nothing was available to purchase and even now, that’s the way she likes to create them.
“In those days, you didn’t buy anything. We made everything from scratch – that was the best thing.”
Her tiny chandeliers are handmade, as are the intricate, tiny antique-style bed frames fashioned from florist wire.
A clock on the wall is the from an old “fancy” watch, sewing machine feet act as support for shelves and a tiny trophy is turned into a wash basin.
“You have to be good at a lot of different things, and you don’t need flash equipment. I don’t throw anything out!”
Many of Dana’s scenes capture memories of her childhood, including tiny models of her parents and siblings in settings that make it a way of preserving memories.
For each creation, “eyes can walk into the scene” and see all the details of a certain era that brings back memories or gives people a glimpse of what it was like.
She’s still making miniatures and has no intention of stopping – there’s still room in the house for more – and knows a 92-year-old who has just started making them.
At the exhibition this weekend, Dana will be running workshops for younger children, helping them create their own tiny scene to take home.
The exhibition runs between 10am and 4pm on Saturday and Sunday.
