(Mary Ciccolella – Woof Woof)
A Pet Project
by Pam North
Florida housewife and miniaturist, Mary Ciccolella, focuses on creating charming room boxes and small scenes, saying she makes “whatever tickles my fancy, and all kinds of other stuff in 1:12 and sometimes 1:24 scales.” She had an arts background in college, then worked as a graphic designer, but she had no specific training in the miniature field until later classes with artisans such as Bill Langford and Rik Pierce. Her interest in miniatures had simply begun in the 1980s with some buying/collecting, becoming more serious about a decade later. “My husband had bought me a dollhouse about 40 years ago, but I did not really get deeply into it until after that,” she explained. Now she makes dollhouse miniatures, an interest that her husband finds “cute” and encourages. He is her biggest fan.
One of her recent pieces is called Woof Woof, a 1:12 scale piece which she sees as a small animal boutique, with a storefront exterior on one side, and the inside front of the store on the other. “I always wanted to make something with an animal theme, as I had saved up enough stuff to make five room boxes! I’m glad I got a chance to use some of them.” She belongs to two miniature clubs in Florida, Small Wonders and Merry Makers, each of which meets about once a month, and her shop idea was seeded there. “It is based on a piece that was designed by June Feurstenhaser in the 1990s,” Mary explained, “and it was featured in a miniature magazine at that time. With my inclination to do a pet-oriented piece, this worked out nicely to incorporate all the things I had saved in my stash.”
The structure was made from scratch, with some pieces inside made by Mary, and others purchased.
Materials used to make the piece were: foam board, wood, paper, wire for the flowers, and spackle for the exterior walls. “Making the stucco finish was kind of like icing a cake,” she remarked.
Creating the piece involved some innovation on her part. “I kind of fly by the seat of my pants in unknown territory, taking my time. If I run into a problem, I do nothing until the right idea or solution surfaces, and then I proceed. Fortunately, I did not run into any real difficulties with this project, and the final piece turned out exactly as I had envisioned it. It evolved smoothly, and I’m thrilled with the result. I never give up on a piece. I may put it aside, and possibly rethink it altogether. When something isn’t working out, one knows instinctively that to go forward is a waste of time. Part of the joy is the challenge and accomplishment, and, of course, the result!”
She had her own favorite parts about her piece, citing, “The cat on the shelf (where else would the cat be?), and the dog leash that came out well from scraps I had lying around. I often try to use paper or fabric from some other object I have made.” 
There was fun for her in its creation. “I loved designing where everything goes. As I may sell it in the future, I have left some open shelves so that whoever buys it can add some of his/her own stuff. I suppose I should sell it, since I am so space-challenged - maybe for a couple of hundred bucks, or something like that. I find it difficult to part with pieces, but unless I do, I cannot continue to make more, and I definitely want to make more! I love making these things, but I’m running out of room!”
The project inspired other ideas for her to implement in future projects. “While I was rummaging through my stash, I came across a mini cup of cocoa, and I decided to add a piece of chocolate in the scene. I then thought it would be fun to add a piece of chocolate or candy to every other piece I work on, too. It’s my own private joke tying one piece to another. Oops, not so private now! The candy idea all started with Woof Woof.”
Inspiration for Mary has no end. “It’s anywhere, in everyday things, and, of course, in Pinterest. I just let something catch my eye and let it incubate.” She finds that her biggest difficulties involved with working in miniatures is “finding the room for them all, and also having to stop working on them. Miniatures satisfy my artistic inclinations, and I love making items out of throw-away things. I have my husband fully trained to let me see everything before he throws it out or recycles it. Some of my best work!”
When Mary, previously a New Jersey resident, made the move to Florida, she had to downsize to a much smaller, and necessarily neater, living space. “I now have a room that doubles as a workroom and office, but it changes the nature of my work area. I have less table space than I had before, but a prettier room. Before, I was in the basement alongside the furnace. Having daylight coming through the windows now is a better environment. There are periods of mess, followed by periods of clean, as I complete my commitment to finishing projects. I have lots of tools and a huge stash of objects.” Of her tools, she cites her X-Acto knife and sharp scissors as her most valuable. “All the better for cutting, scraping, and poking!” she joked.
The downsizing before her move also entailed having to part with some of her things. “I get pretty emotionally attached, and don’t always know how to be objective about pricing.” She sells her products on Ebay currently, but is exploring other venues as well. “I just joined a Facebook group called Marketing for Miniaturists, and may try selling through them.” She occasionally has made some pieces to give to her friends, who felt they were special gifts, making those pieces special to Mary as well. She loves making miniatures. “It’s so much fun to create pieces from scratch.”
Striking a balance between home life and miniature life isn’t always easy for her, as Mary joked, “Somehow real life always gets in the way! While real life has priority, I want to spend more time on miniatures, but unfortunately, I also must sleep!”
She has concerns about the future of miniatures, saying, “I feel pretty negative about it because it is a declining activity, but I see so many fabulous artisans throughout the world, making such spectacular things, I don’t understand why people don’t appreciate it more. It’s heartbreaking that during this pandemic so many shows have been canceled, and I don’t believe this will help.”
As for what’s next for her, she looks forward to selling more of her work. “I love it when others like the objects I make. I also would like to try things I haven’t done before. It’s a big world with lots of ideas. Now I’m working on a scratch-build of a Paris dollhouse, based on a design by Christine Lea Fresoni. The dollhouse is coming along slowly, as the book was in French! Miniatures satisfy my artistic inclinations, and I love making items out of throw-away things. I had to train my husband to let me see everything before he throws it out or recycles it. Some of my best work!”
Also on Mary’s horizon is completing a beach cottage, one she says is “a little bigger than the Woof Woof piece, and with some different challenges, but still a subject that I have been wanting to do for a long time.”
Contact information:
Name:  Mary Ciccolella
Email:  maryanncic@aol.com
Telephone:  (908) 458-7656
Address:  3406 Bosie Run, The Villages, Florida 32163
Website:  photos on flickr.com
Business Name:  don’t make a scene (misspelled on purpose)