Jill Fraser, our guest speaker in October, has been creating miniatures for over 30 years and publishes a glossy magazine, Miniature Time Traveller, about miniaturists in New Zealand and Australia. It has a global readership.
Jill got started with miniatures after a stroke when she was 51 years old. To get her eyes, hands, mouth and feet all working again she did repetitive exercises. Among other things, she sat at the kitchen table making miniature food, rolling thousands of little green peas! Jill reported it as excellent therapy and she reports few lingering effects of the stroke now. During her recovery, “My niece dropped off a half-finished doll’s house and I was hooked!”
There are 22 miniaturist clubs with over 400 members registered with the NZ Association of Miniature Enthusiasts, an organisation that is now 45 years old. Miniature making and collecting is an extremely fast-growing hobby – not only in New Zealand but in Australia, US, UK and elsewhere as well. It involves people across all age groups having differing age- related reasons.
Social media platforms have fostered large online communities, helping connect enthusiasts and inspiring newcomers. Crafting miniatures is engaging people across cultures. Many now see the models as works of art rather than toys.
Jill has a substantial website and her own YouTube channel at miniaturetimetraveller.com. The title Miniature Time Traveller reflects the search for nostalgia that miniatures often evoke. Jill brought several of her 1/12-scale miniatures to the meeting. They included an exquisite embroidery work table, complete with needle, scissors and embroidery to scale. The following Friday she hosted members in her Martinborough workshop. Much more of her work was on display, including several period doll’s houses.
Before tea, club member Jackie Herring shared the story of the Wise Men of Gotham.
Gotham was her home town in Nottinghamshire. There was a rumour that King John, who reigned from 1199 to1216, was planning a hunting lodge nearby. Any road that the king used would become a public highway and the villagers would be saddled with its upkeep and other inconveniences arising from a nearby royal residence. So they devised a plan to appear utterly foolish when the king’s messengers arrived. Seeing the villagers trying to drown an eel, trying to hedge in a cuckoo, fishing in the pond for the moon’s reflection with rakes and other nonsensical activities convinced the king’s men that they were all mad. Madness being thought contagious, the king kept well away and the Wise Men of Gotham entered folklore.
The South Wairarapa Rebus Club meets at 9:45am on the fourth Friday of each month at the South Wairarapa Working Men’s Club in Greytown. The club prides itself on the quality of its guest speakers. Reviews of previous talks are included in newsletters which can be found on the club’s website at southwairaraparebus.com. Retirees are invited to attend a meeting as a visitor. Introduce yourself at the door from the West Street carpark, or contact John Reeve on 021 560 461 for more information.
