August 2008
Collector's Corner
Photos courtesy of James Bretz
There is just something about sumptuous surroundings that enhances the dining experience. Beautiful furnishings, fine art, a luxurious carpet underfoot and the company of guests is always sure to evoke pleasant memories. What better way to rekindle those happy memories than with a miniature dining room?
As a small child, James Bretz acquired an interest in miniatures while on a family trip to Chicago. While visiting the Chicago Art Museum and the Museum of Science, he had the opportunity to view some of the famous Thorne rooms and Colleen Moore’s miniature castle. As interesting as those miniature room settings were, the thought was tucked away with other childhood memories until 1994, when James read a newspaper article about a local woman who had made a miniature replica of her childhood home. He found the article fascinating and thought that perhaps he could do the same. The thought of doing an entire house quickly faded as he realized how much time would be involved. Instead, he settled on the idea of doing a single room box – and chose a Georgian period dining room as his first project.
Looking at photos of James’ finished project, one would never suspect it came from the hands of a novice miniature maker. A good deal of forethought went into this dining room before the actual project was even begun. James began by researching miniature making by consulting magazine articles and online resources to see how others tackled potential problems, and haunted miniature stores and craft stores for ideas.
Everything in the room is handmade, with the exception of the dining room chairs and corner screen, silver pieces and the dishes, which were purchased. Those fabulous oil paintings hanging above and adjacent to the fireplace were painted by James, who improvised with a suitable brush by trimming a full-sized brush down to a few hairs. The fireplace has real bricks, real wood and real soot. A clock, vases and candleholders are all handpainted. Tigerwood veneer was cut into strips and placed, piece by piece, onto the floor of the room, to resemble a planked hardwood floor. The Chinese chests and bureau are blocks of wood, stained, with applied decorations. Various ornaments are sculpted with oven baked clay, and painted with gold leaf. Underfoot lies an exquisite Persian carpet, a full year in the making, boasting approximately 88,000 stitches. No surface was left undone, from the floor to the fabulous ceiling. The ceiling is wood moulding with a centerpiece made from an oval picture frame, roundettes and plaster decorations from the hobby shop, finished off with a decorative moulding around the edge of the ceiling.
Interestingly enough, James does not collect miniatures. Instead his collecting interests lie with autographs, manuscripts pre-1900 newspapers and Colorado memorabilia, and the dining room roombox was his first (and only) venture into the world of creating miniatures!
Additional information about James Bretz and his fabulous Georgian Dining Room can be found at his personal website.
Custom Dolls, Houses & Miniatures / CDHM