The Art of Darkness

Tiny World in a Bottle

July 18th, 2013 by Cobwebs

Tiny WorldJapanese artist Akinobu Izumi creates itsy-bitsy vignettes of paper and clay inside tiny glass bottles. He sells them in his Etsy shop. His little papercraft creations are immensely detailed, and their staging is quite creative; I especially like the gel-candle “water” in his bottle of dolphins.

The bottles he sells are small enough to wear as jewelry (although he recommends against it lest they break). Although it’d be tough to DIY something quite that small, it might be possible to use Z-scale (1:220) or (1:450) model railroad miniatures for something reasonably similar. A bottle containing a tuft of grass and a tiny, lonesome tombstone would make a lovely pendant.

You can also use larger-scale miniatures and dollhouse accessories to decorate glass bowls or large jars to display on a bookshelf or desk; a tutorial I did a couple of years ago might be a helpful jumping-off point for that venture.

I love these little pocket worlds because they imply such a rich backstory. You can make up endless stories (and encourage children to do the same) about the denizens of your teensy universe.

(via Out of Character)

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