A Lofty Idea from a Housewife with Attitude
by Pam North
Colette Cameron says she’s a “housewife with a hobby”. She boasts no degrees or art education, no building background, but luckily she learned how to use power tools to build outdoor furniture, and that acquired skill later took another direction. Her stepson wanted her to try and build a haunted mansion, so she transitioned her skills to making miniatures. “Teaching myself to build was a lot of fun and empowering,” she said. “I learned that if you can see it in your mind, with persistence you can create it. I love my power tools with a passion, and hubby has spent years accumulating every tool and implement I could possibly want or need. He is an amazing man who supports and encourages me every step of the way.”
As a housewife, she is at home and so can work as many hours every day as she desires. “I try to do at least 70 hours a week.  I’m ridiculously structured, so it has been easy to be able to dedicate my time to my hobby.”
Colette’s latest piece is called The Loft. She explained how it came about. “I always have loved rooms that create interesting shadows and have a natural flow to them. My favored choices in my own home are natural fibers, wood, cultural elements, and open living. The Loft is a direct reflection of what I consider to be a room that utilizes all things I find beautiful. It literally was an image I could not get out of my head, so I decided to bite the bullet and get it done. The entire project was hand-built and decorated from bits and pieces of recycled materials that I tweaked in interesting ways.”
Colette chose 1cm and 5mm MDF board for the building and furniture, cutting the materials with a drop saw, which allowed quick, accurate crosscuts at selected angles. “I would fall to the floor in tears if my drop saw stopped working,” Colette joked. Screws and liquid nails held everything together. She used her printer to create the brickwork throughout. As it was the first time she had tried printing out brickwork, she initially was unsure that she could achieve the light and shadows and subtle tones she wished to create, and getting all the brickwork to line up was challenging, but she achieved the realism she had sought. She chose not to put lights in this room box, relying instead on natural light. The project took six weeks to complete, and it turned out just as she had envisioned it. “I really like the lounge furniture; it’s quirky and has a rustic feel to it. I also enjoyed creating the split-level characteristic in The Loft. I wanted to ensure that while the bedroom and lounge area were combined, there was an obvious difference between the two spaces.”
Inspiration comes easily to Colette. “I’m naturally a visual person, and I pay a lot of attention to the world around me. I enjoy taking everyday spaces, places where we go, and recreate them. Our world is fascinating, and I’m always curious about commercialism because I’m a minimalist and only have what I really need. I’m notorious for pulling apart and throwing out completed projects, which is sometimes a part of the process. I remain attached to my projects for a few years and then out they go. Once a project is completed and out of my system, my focus moves onto the next. I work in a two-car garage, and I’m lucky that the entire space is mine. Filled with large shelving units for display, as well as work benches for my power tools, the space is open and airy. I prefer to be removed from the household while working, keeping away from distractions as much as possible.”
As her miniatures are her hobby, Colette has made no attempt to sell them.
The future of miniatures intrigues her. “The market, from what I can see, dips and wanes a lot, and still seems to be on the outer fringes of what is deemed art. I want to see those boundaries pushed so that art galleries show miniatures as well as paintings. I hope that miniatures become an accepted arena in the art world. The future depends on children getting involved and carrying the craft through to the next generation.” What I love most about miniatures is the reflection of everyday life that they portray, and let’s face it – they are sooo cute!”
Colette continues to envision new themes and challenges, commenting, “I’m currently working on a Priceline Pharmacy as a break, but the next project is going to be a grocery store. I want to push my boundaries and have 50,000 individual items in it. After that I will continue along as usual, waiting for new ideas to pop into my head.”

Contact Information:
Name:  Colette Cameron
Email:  colettecameron@bigpond.com
Phone:  (02) 6884 9950
Address:  3 Pamela Place Dubbo, NSW, Australia 2830