My intention was to produce a good quality, short video about how I photograph the miniature figures. Instead, the following video turned out to be more of a "home movie". Doing it right requires more effort than we can invest at this time. We will eventually post a video showing our process. But for now, enjoy the silliness :-)

Kurt

Kurt and I are thrilled to have been juried into the 44th annual Park Point Art Fair in Duluth, MN.
We will be exhibiting our artwork among 115 artists in our favorite part of Duluth: Park Point, a beautiful narrow sand spit surrounded by the waters of Lake Superior. We are really looking forward to it!

Kurt and I have another photo shoot planned and these are our field kits:

Last November, Kurt and I had the opportunity to spend a couple days in Chicago because I had been summoned to the Consulate of France to sign some papers.

We traveled on the Amtrak from Saint Paul, MN to Chicago, IL. As the train stopped in small towns to load and unload passengers, Kurt would briefly step off to take advantage of the light and capture the miniature travelers in a non-city setting.

Once in Chicago, we decided to walk from Union Station to the hotel to look for photographic opportunities along the way. We came across the Civic Opera House and Kurt was immediately drawn to the architecture and the feel of the building. He knew this will be a great spot to photograph an old wealthy widow and her chauffeur (see video).

The next day, we started out early and walked down Michigan avenue. Next to the Tribune Tower, taxis were picking up and dropping off customers. The location inspired Kurt to shoot the miniature taxi competing with the rest of the traffic (see video). Later in the morning, the appointment at the consulate lasted about fifteen minutes, we spent the rest of the day exploring and shooting the miniatures.

Kurt didn't really have specific scenes in mind, he walked the streets and let the city inspire him. On both days, we were blessed with soft diffused light and temperatures in the mid-fifties which allowed Kurt to shoot from morning until night. I attempted to capture his creative process on video. Here is the edited piece:

Last night, Kurt and I were hanging the artwork on the walls of Common Roots Cafe. We showed up after hours around 11 p.m. Andy (the manager) was really kind and helpful. We enjoyed our time there, the 3 hours went fast. Below a few pictures from last night:

A selection of photographs from our "Up North" series, will be on exhibit at Common Roots Cafe February 8th through March 6th, 2013. If you have the opportunity, please stop by and check it out! Common Roots Cafe in Minneapolis serves classic American cuisine prepared with organic, locally grown ingredients (I love their vegetarian sloppy joe!).

*Steve Schaben (our framer) did a superior job framing my work for this exhibition. Thank you Steve!!

Recently, I came across an artist that builds robots out of retro junk and scrap metal. I got to thinking that it would be pretty neat to have my minis build their own robot. The first robot (I) built has an old Zenith Radionic tube as a body, that is what inspired the title of this theme.

A couple different storylines are running through my head at the moment: There is a mini secret government project code named The Zenith Project. This highly classified project deals with the development of robots and alternative technologies.  Or... The minis were being pushed around by the Puddle Monsters need something larger, stronger than themselves to push back.

Edwige brought it to my attention that I have created a gallery for only one image. Maybe I am overly excited about this theme? At any rate, I'm having fun building the robot props for the minis right now, so expect to see more of this type of thing in the near future!

Also, I'm not finished with the "Yeti" scenes just yet. I can see the minis behind The Zenith Project being tied to this somehow!

Kurt

Back in August, Minnesota Original Interactive Producer, Andi McDaniel, contacted us to do a web-only video about us and what we do.

Minnesota Original is a weekly arts series on Twin Cities Public Television, featuring  Minnesota's artists. Kurt and I felt good about being contacted by an organization like TPT. We really like the quality of their programs.

Andi met us at the Minnesota State Fair and documented us as we walked around the fair photographing the miniatures.

Long day! Earlier today Kurt and I set out to vote. Our poll booths were right next to each other and Kurt did guide me a bit, making sure I wouldn't vote for multiple presidential teams :-)
Today was my first time voting in a presidential election since I became a U.S. citizen back in May.  We were both VERY excited!

Tonight, the Un Petit Monde tv crew (KNEM-TV channel 2) was documenting the election results at the DFL headquarters at the Crown Plaza in Downtown St Paul, MN.

Our crew contended with a multitude of news agencies  to get the money shot. They miraculously avoided being stamped upon by a crowd of excited supporters and managed to report the news just like the other journalists out there.  As the room started  heating up,  Kurt and I decided to retire our mini crew to prevent any casualties :-)

We also got the opportunity for a few photo ops with Minneapolis Mayor R.T Rybak (before his stage dive), Senator Amy Klobuchar and Congressman Keith Ellison (below).

Amy Klobuchar's acceptance speech (below)

A few days ago, I was summoned by the Consulate of France in Chicago to appear in person (once again) for a meeting. 

The bad: an 800 mile trip for another 6-minute meeting.
The good: on the road for a new adventure!!
The great: we are back in Chicago with the minis! What more can we ask for?

Kurt and I are looking forward to the adventure. We plan to stay a couple days in Chicago and take advantage of every photo opportunity we come across. We are really hoping that the weather will cooperate, regardless, we'll deal with the elements.

Kurt is always looking out for Ho scale figures that spark his imagination. So while in Chicago, we might stop by Reynauld's euro import. They have what seems to be an incredible collection of HO scale figures for sale. If you like HO scale figure, check them out: https://www.reynaulds.com