i started working on this thing back in january, as russian troops were gathering around our borders, and i got around to finishing it a couple months later, after they retreated from kyiv and my lucky family and i were able to get back home.
for half of the process i was asking myself, “is making this even worth it if it’s going to be bombed to ashes in a couple of weeks?” (the answer was yes); for the other half, i was asking myself how and why do you even make a house now that there are dead and gutted houses all around (the answer was “well, what else is there to do anyway”).
was aiming for the “small ukrainian granny’s apartment” vibe with soviet era “ugly 70s brown” color furniture and a bit of a witchy/magical realism touch :’) details + a bit of ukrainian folk trivia below!
featuring:
a little pot with a star in it, because stealing stars from the sky and storing them in pots for their evil little purposes is a classic ukrainian witch thing;
eastern orthodox icons, because every respectable ukrainian granny has those in her house + massive church-sanctioned witch hunts were never really a thing in ukraine and a witch is likely to have as amiable a relationship with god and saints and angels as with chorts (demons);
portrait of taras shevchenko, adorned with a rushnyk, because, again, can not be a proper granny apartment without those;
a blooming fern, because fern bloom is a Thing in ukrainian folklore (leads you to a hidden treasure, protects you from evil magic, brings you good luck, all that stuff);
a calendar booklet. it has recipes, farming + (dubious) medical advice, lame granny jokes, and shows February 25, because we’re still stuck in February 24 and hoping for the next day to arrive;
a mysterious tiny door. that rune means “heritage,” and i thought that a witch’s inheritance would warrant a little spooky door to keep it safe (also, our heritage is precisely what russia is trying to take away from us right now, so the concept has a special meaning to me);
Sometimes the fun of miniature making is capturing something— in this case, the feeling I had watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer on a bulky tv in my bedroom as a teenager and finding her room to be a comforting place ❤️🪦 Wood box with an interior of cardstock, chipboard, fabric, wire, paint and scrap material, 7”x7”
After a couple of weeks of weather that wasn't ideal, here is the second part of the Prime 1 Godzilla Bust. Shooting it outside brought out some amazing colors in the Godzilla bust itself. It's pretty gorgeous.
Out of all the Prime 1 Godzilla vs. Kong items that were announced, this was the one I looked forward to the most, and I wasn't disappointed. This was a home run purchase.