(Christina Hinton - Painting Studio)

Tribute to the Old Masters

by Pam North

Since she was a little child, Christina Hinton has been crazy for dollhouses and miniatures, and now that she is retired, she can combine home life with miniatures, focusing on her favorite venue - dollhouse room boxes. "With no training at all in any miniature field, or art instruction for a painter, or architecture for dollhouse builder, nothing, this is just a feeling I put in," she explained. Her background is simply her ingrained love and passion for the miniature world. She creates for fun,and keeps what she makes, saying, "I can ́t bear to part with anything! I do not sell anything of my work. I love just everything because miniatures fascinate me, and they are beautiful and so cute!"
While her family does not share her interest in miniatures, her friend, Erika, does, so there is some support for her there. She finds inspiration sometimes in magazines, but more often it comes from her own thoughts and imagination. Her workplace is her kitchen, her balcony and sometimes even her basement.
Christina's recent piece is her Painting Studio, an idea she came up with when she went to a miniature show in Germany and found the painting accessories shown on the table. "Because I love the Old Masters paintings so much, I decided to build a painting studio. The Old Masters paintings look so real, just like a token picture with a camera." The scene she has created is vibrant with all the colors and details that combine so beautifully to bring to life a time in history that was iconic for artists.
She bought the wood, built the room box, wallpapered walls and laid floors, sewed the curtains and trimmed them around with ropes of blue and gold. Wood, paper, fabric, glue, paint, varnish, stain, and pictures she printed out on the computer. "Of course, I printed out only pictures of the three Masters
Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and Raphael," she said. Everything else was bought over the years from various other artists and sources. The dolls came from Spain; from the UK came the stucco, the lamp on the pedestal, and the pillow on the chair. Tubes of paint and other painting accessories on the table were from an artist in the Netherlands; the handblown wine set on the wall shelf was made by a German artist to copy an example of a medieval goblet. The books, mirror, and some frames were from the USA; the balcony and telescope from Canada; the silver desk set from Russia; the writing paper with envelope, wax and seal from Italy.
Christina claimed no special techniques for creating the piece, just simply building what she felt. The hardest part for her was putting in the ceiling and making the steps. She also finds cutting out doors and windows difficult, so for this she had to ask a carpenter's assistance. The most fun for her to create was the decorating. The final piece turned out much as she had envisioned, but in retrospect she somewhat regretted not making the roombox a little wider so she would have more space inside.
She made the piece to honor the Old Masters, as the Old Masters are favorites of hers. As usual, she has no plans to sell the piece, preferring to keep it for her own enjoyment.
The future of miniatures, always of concern to those who participate in that wondrous world, was problematic to Christina as well. "It is hard to say what lies ahead, because if worldwide problems like this virus keep going on, and people are being forced out of work, who knows if they can afford to buy miniatures anymore?"
For the moment, the lure of creating new projects still wins, however. "Mostly I love decorating everything, and there are many more rooms in the future to be built and wallpapered," she said. As for what’s immediately next for her as far as her projects, she was definite in her plans. "My next creation will be a courtroom." She also sent her best wishes out to her fellow miniaturists "to love and stay with their miniatures, because this is a wonderful hobby that brings joy to your life and makes you happy!"

Contact Information:
Name: Christina Hinton
Email: chrisom@gmx.net
Phone: 06152 81283
Address: 64521 Gross-Gerau, Germany