Jamie Kelly Art

My dad used to take me to The Whoopie Bowl, a junk shop where I’d fish through bins of scrap wood (or whatever) for materials to make doll furniture. Amanda Pittman had the enviable house, though. I remember what was essentially a deep, six-pocket, homemade bookcase that her mother decorated with carpet and paint. We were able to get past the fact that all the rooms were the same size.

I loved making the furniture, accessories, bedding and clothes. Later my focus turned to furniture for our forts and I haven’t yet gotten all this out of my system.

Many of the pieces inside my 1:6 scale houses are something – or a combination of things – I picked up at a thrift store or garage sale. Other repurposed pieces were donated by friends or sisters who thought of me before they threw things away, or while out garage saliling. Before I learned how to bend plexiglass (acrylic...whatever), I bought a few vintage 70’s kitchen chairs on eBay.

I have to give my sister credit for the nice sheets and pillowcases. Almost all the wall art is my own – photographed and shrunk to scale, if not an original painting.

Contrary to what these homes might convey at first glance, they are playable. I wouldn’t set it in front of a two-year-old, but I wouldn’t set any dollhouse, with all its tiny pieces, in front of a toddler. I do keep play in mind, eliminating thin glass and sharp edges, experimenting with which adhesives work best on a given material, etc. They would certainly stand up to – if not surpass – the sturdiness of store-bought plastic doll furniture.

I’m now working mostly with plexiglass; dining chairs, bar stools, coffee tables, platform beds, end tables, desks and others. All very modern, of course.

Thanks for visiting.