(Lois Marshall - Henry’s Lair)

Touches of Safaris and Nostalgia

by Pam North

It’s an inviting retreat for a veteran big game hunter, complete with mounted animal trophies, native spears, lush green plants, a well-stocked bar, and a jungle-theme ambience blended with civilized accoutrements, creature comforts, and exotic mementos of adventures in years past. It’s a testament to a time when safaris were not photographic journeys, but instead were quests of acquisitions of indigenous wildlife specimens.
It began as a commissioned project for Lois Marshall, requested by a retired anesthesiologist for her retired anesthesiologist husband. The wife’s intention was to commemorate their big game hunting safaris, and the project was brought successfully to completion in 1:12 scale as a finely-crafted room box called Henry’s Lair. Lois and her client spent many months in preparation - texting, sharing pictures, and discussing ideas - all the while trying to keep their efforts clandestine.
Basic materials used in the piece were a wooden room box and flooring. “The beams are mahogany, cut down from 4” boards given to me by the best mentor a miniaturist could have, master model maker Bill Dovel,” Lois explained. “Once the room box was measured, I was able to create a floor plan. The main focus was the placement of the trophy heads, beams, and lighting. Then it was off to shopping for the individual items.”
Some of the those Lois made herself, but most were from well-known miniature sources such as Lady Jane, Sondra Knight, Nicole Walton Marble, Weazilla, Nantasy Fantasy, Haslam’s, and Carl Blindheim. The elaborate desk/cabinet is Bespaq, and Evan Designs was tapped for lighting.
Lois has her own method of procedure in creating her pieces: “I just dive in and figure it out as I go. One must be open to revising the initial plan as things unfold. This was my first effort at LED lighting, and Evan Designs was so helpful with my newbie questions. Once I had the trophy mounts (African warthog by Jessica Weisel of Weazilla; gazelle, zebra, and elephant by Nancy & AJ Quinby of Nantasy Fantasy; giraffe from Victoria Chernyshev’s Etsy shop, Miniature Animals), and the Sondra Knight wicker pieces purchased from Lady Jane, it began to take form. I love all the pieces, and it was especially fun to create the layout.”
Lois’ interest in miniatures goes back to elementary school, when her family would visit an aunt and uncle, and she was allowed to play in their attic with their grown daughters’ metal dollhouse. “I so clearly remember the little sewing machine,” she recalled. “It amazed me; the needle would move up and down when the handwheel was turned! My mother would give me pieces of fabric, cotton balls, toothpicks, and cardboard boxes, which gave me many hours of fun. Later in my life, as a psych nurse on a disturbed children’s unit, I would take the girls to the kitchen, where staff would give us individual cereal boxes and bits of things to make into scenes, and then the stories would pour out.”
Lois obtained her first dollhouse when her son was only two. “It was in his room, and I taught him to play gently. One day the mother doll was face down on the kitchen floor, buried in all the furniture! “Are you mad at me?” I asked him, to which he replied, “Yes!” After we talked, he placed the little boy doll in the chair with a piece of cake in front of him. Great play therapy!”
Just retired after a long career in healthcare, with roles as a risk manager, gerontological nurse, and dementia trainer, Lois now has more time to focus on her miniature interests, which include making 1:12 and 1:24 scale miniatures, custom designed room boxes, and houses. “Retirement has reactivated the creative part of my brain!” she exclaimed. “Miniatures bring me such joy!”
These pursuits fit well into her home life, as she remarked, “Miniatures are something that one can put away when life intrudes, yet are always awaiting one’s return.” Her husband and son are supportive. “My husband jokes that he’s glad I fund my own hobby, but he appreciates the workmanship and skill needed to produce fine miniatures.” Lois’ commissions for her work substantiate her husband’s compliment, as her creations are high-quality. “When my son was in a private elementary school, I would make a house or a room box for its annual fund raiser, which usually brought in around $2500 and often commissions from the loser of the silent auction. These days, I tend to sell through commissions.”
Lois occasionally keeps one of her pieces, notably her Nantucket Whaler’s Cottage, constructed in a class taught by Bill Hudson at The Guild School (International Guild of Miniature Artisans), and a 1:24 scale Williamsburg gambrel-roofed cottage. The Guild School is held annually in June at the Maine Maritime Academy in Castine, ME, and is an intensive week-long learning experience offering a wide variety of courses taught by exceptionally talented Artisans and Fellows of The Guild. It is one of several sources of inspiration for Lois, along with miniature magazines, shops, classes, friends, and life in general. She also belongs to the Sarasota Minianiac Club. These resources have constituted whatever training Lois has absorbed in her endeavors with miniature-making.
Inherent in working in miniature are both difficulties and joys. Lois cited her main tribulation was sourcing objects. “Ebay and Etsy, and many miniaturists having web sites, helps,” she offered. What she loves most about working with miniatures is being in “the zone”, that space where one’s creativity tunes out the world.
The future of miniatures, always a concern for artists, has a place in Lois’ thoughts. “I hope our young ones will take up the mantle. My granddaughter just had her first birthday, and my son already has requested a house for her, so I am hoping!”
New projects vie for her attention. “A female pirate’s room box, and a copper shop. I am also recreating my son’s childhood bedroom in a room box for him.” The latter is a response to his accusation, , “Mom, you have made everyone in the family a room box but me!” “Bad mama!” joked Lois.

Contact information:
Name: Lois Marshall
5010 Lemon Bay Dr. - Venice, FL 34293
Email: loismarshall51@gmail.com
Phone: (941) 735-6130