Who knew rehabbing an old, dusty dollhouse would get me on a television show? In the nichest of niche hobbies, too! It’s a totally weird and wonderful dream come true.
In late spring of 2023, the production reached out to me via Instagram (post your work, kids!) to ask if I would consider submitting an application to the show. There was a long and nervewracking selection that followed, but when it was settled, I was one of the lucky 10 selected to participate in the third season of Best in Miniature. This was a completely unexpected turn of events for me, and once again, I realized I had underestimated the power of my dollhouse. I was going to fly into Toronto that summer, where I would be with 9 other ultra-talented miniaturists to try to take the grand prize, which was $10,000 (Canadian) dollars and a residency at the esteemed International Guild of Miniature Artisans (aka IGMA) in Castine, Maine.
The grand prize actually didn’t motivate me. Trust me, IGMA is a bucket list item for me, but not the main reason I agreed to participate – I went for my work to be seen.
No matter the show’s outcome, net-net, going on Best in Miniature was an adventure I NEEDED to take. I needed to get out of the country and try something creative and wild in a land, far away. I NEEDED to have my work in front of the eyes of people I was new to. I needed to break out of the daily grind of my day-to-day, and try something that was a true once in a lifetime opportunity. I needed to be challenged by people who could and would kick my ass. I needed to see this for what it was: an amazing adventure. I’m so glad that I did.
On this show are some of the most talented, humble and imaginative people I have met in a very long time, and we all fused emotionally and creatively within that pressure cooker of a show. Everyone had an experience singular to them, but we are all also bonded through experiences only we 10 know. No one (except perhaps, past season casts of the show) could possibly understand the instantly deep camaraderie and trauma bonding being on a production entails. Now that I have experienced set life both behind and in front of a camera, I can emphatically say that producing anything involving a set is one of the hardest jobs. Not only because of the physical toll it takes on you, but the mental and emotional toll of something that consumes your life so much that it takes you away from your normal day to day.
I asked for an adventure, and I got it, and it was one of the best adventures ever. Thank you, Best in Miniature! To my castmates : Tiff, August, Elliott, Lance, Jen, Mike, Shelley, Nalini and the always witty Arline – I am honored to have been on this ship with all of you, everyone of you inspires me in a multitude of ways; to the crew: What incredible hard work from everyone and how were they able to stay so upbeat and on task is an absolute wonder, thank you for taking care of us including my hair needs; to my family and friends, I am sorry I was so weird about everything this year, I really wanted to talk about stuff, NDAs are not good for the mental health of people like me who are so open about things – I should be getting back to normal and I am grateful you haven’t cut me out of your life.
Finally, to the miniature and creative community that watch this show who want to be seen for the artists they are: SHOW YOUR WORK. Make your work, follow your passion, take every chance. Say yes. Try something. Even if it’s not great, you have to start somewhere. Start it step by step, one bite at a time. Build. Your creativity and imagination will carry you, just keep making the work and you never know what the world will offer you next….but you must create and you must keep a record. No one else can make what YOU can, and the world can’t see it if you hide it. I still struggle with this myself. Offer your heart to the world, and expect it to be ripped apart, and keep going when it is ripped out. It will heal (and probably get ripped apart again), but you will be wiser, faster, and better.
I’d love to know your thoughts! What do you think would be a great creative adventure for you?
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