(Oksana Parkhomenko)
Veggie Visions and Food Fantasies
by Pam North
Ukraine artist Oksana Parkhomenko is both an engineer by profession and a talented artist who creates miniature fruits, vegetables, and other food items for dollhouses. “For my miniatures I use baked polymer clay and dry art pastels,” she explained. “Mostly I work in 1:12 scale, but on rare occasions I create both smaller and larger items for special orders. I also like to create small jars with jam, canned vegetables, fruits, and I love experimenting with tray compositions such as cheeses, meats and sausages, baked dishes, turkey dinners, breads, and sweets.” Plump and juicy, their essence perfectly captured, it’s like a mouthwatering trip to the market, but as their creation is in polymer clay, their implied succulence and delicious taste is simply a clever illusion. Her artistic spectrum and creative array of various food items is wide, and includes realistic avocados, bananas, watermelons, sweet corn, peppers, and many other items, all wonderfully done, but especially delightful are her coconuts. They are the pièces de résistance, their shaggy fibrous exteriors expertly crafted, and some split open to reveal their reservoirs of creamy milk and layers of white copra. They are done in a scale of 1:12; the finished figure size is about 1.5cm/0.5in. She uses polymer clay (Cernit No. 812), dry art pastels, oven-hardening liquid gel (Fimo), and natural twine. For the tools she uses an X-ACTO knife, dotting tool, and a brush.
Her idea evolved from simply wanting to create something interesting for her fruit compositions. “It definitely came after I had gathered some experience trying existing techniques, and I finally was able to envision something of my own,” she said. “The coconut was perfect for that.” She came up with her method of making a coconut by focusing on the techniques and materials that she regularly used in her work, and improvising the missing elements. “I did not come to the final version right away. It took some trial and error until I was able to make it look lifelike. The most difficult part was to make the coconut realistic while maintaining the desired scale. The stage of applying the fibers to the coconut’s exterior is my favorite part, as it is then that the coconut becomes so natural-looking.” She has made over 70 miniature coconuts, all of which have been sold at $3.50 apiece. She sells her products on Etsy. Prices for her products differ, depending on the complexity of manufacturing, but on average it’s $.75 to $2.50 per piece.
Oksana became interested in miniatures about 3 years ago. “Back then I could not even imagine that I would do this myself, and I definitely didn’t dream of having my own store,” she related. I really liked looking at photos on Pinterest, and I was subscribed to several accounts on Instagram, but I didn't create anything myself until one day I molded a magnet to hold my needles for my other hobby, embroidery. I found some tutorials on YouTube and started experimenting, and that’s how the magic began for me.”
Her family soon learned how passionate Oksana had become about her craft. “My parents at first did not understand my hobby, but after they saw how obsessed and serious I had become about it, and that people were showing interest in it and even buying my work, they accepted it. My boyfriend was always helpful and supportive, and he is definitely my biggest fan!”
Combining her career and home life with her passion for miniatures is not always easy. “It is challenging sometimes due to how much time I spend creating each piece. I want everything to be perfect, and when something doesn’t meet my standards, I will redo it until measures up to my demands. At the same time, it gives me a special fulfillment that not a single job in the world can provide, but time-wise it is definitely my second job.”|
Inspiration is easy for her. “Honestly, I enjoy the process so much that I find inspiration in the process and the result itself, but even simple things ignite my creativity: music, movies, travel, communication with family and friends. I also am inspired by nature. After a walk by the sea, in the park, or gardening, I get very uplifted and just want to create!”
She doesn’t tend to want to keep her creations, but rather the opposite, saying, “I want to share what I do with others, and it makes me feel amazing that something I’ve created makes someone else happy.”
She is fortunate to have her own area in which to indulge her creativity. “My workshop is a separate room in the house, a place where I can immerse myself completely into my work. It has everything I need to create miniatures: a large table by the window with organizers for materials, a special lamp, tools, brushes, paints, an oven for baking polymer clay.”
Working in miniature brings her great joy and pleasure. “I really like the process of creating a miniature, and it is not that difficult for me. However, focusing on small details over a long period of time affects vision, so I have to limit my working time. I admire people who create entire houses, movie scenes, and even entire streets with many tiny details. It is fascinating and inspiring. You can look at it for hours, and while doing so, you feel happy like a small child.”
Sharing her knowledge and skills is something that appeals to her, and she intends to conduct workshops in the future. “On my Instagram page, there are several video tutorials on how to create miniature foods, and I often include photos of the process in the stories, but this is not enough, and I would like to develop more in this direction. In the future, I plan to shoot more videos of creating miniatures, taking the virtual content creation more seriously, maybe having my own YouTube channel. I might even organize live master classes and seminars for both children and adults. Since I’m only a few years into this, I never stop trying new things and exploring! I plan to make lots of new items, and to learn or even invent my own techniques for the miniature world!”
Contact Information:
Name: Parkhomenko Oksana
Email: oksana101028@gmail.com
Phone: +1 (715) 587-43-66
Address:  Kibalchich lane, 2/1 Mariupol, 87555 Donetsk region, Ukraine
Instagram: @cutethingsplace
Business Name: CuteThingsPlace