Peaches, Plums & Peonies

Hello my friends,

Already a few weeks ago, I visited Ilona from the blog MinimumLoon. We had not seen each other since the last dollshouse fair in Arnhem before Covid swept over the continent. We have stayed in contact over the phone and via mail/whatsapp in these last two years. But until recently we had not seen each other these last two years. It was great seeing and speaking one another in the flesh after such a long time.

As she has said on her blog: she is well but has no energy or inspiration at the moment to work on mini's. You may recall that she has made a basket filled with fruits which she has showed on her blog in 2020. I am now happy to say that she made that commission for me. 

She had woven a basket around a painted porcelain plate after examples on 17th still life paintings.  The finely decorated plate was made on Ilona's request by Henny Staring-Egberts especially for this miniature set. On the fair in march 2020 she showed me the tiny bottomless woven basket and told me her plans with it. I fell in love with it immediately and she agreed to sell it to me, filled with fruits yet to be agreed upon and made. 

But what fruits should one choose? We've discussed it a few times and agreed on using the fruits visible on this 18th century painting by the frenchman Jean Baptiste Oudry. The different fruits make a nice selection. 

Those of you who know Ilona's work know how important it is for her to get the details right. Just look at these plums. The flesh of the fruit is somewhat opaque like the real fruit. Besides the red and the blue plums, she also made these delicious looking peaches.  And apricots. The pears are real gnarly.

The rows of perfectly formed and uniform looking fruits and vegetables we can buy at the grocers or in supermarkets are the result of generations of improving them. (And wasting yearly tons of fruit and vegetables because they aren't pretty enough! Luckily that attitude is changing.) In the old days uniformity was not an issue. It was practicaly unachievable. And this was our aim for these fruits. Ilona did a fantastic job on these fruits. I could never make miniature pears like these!

Last but not least. To bunches of grapes. One green wit the compact shape of summer and with vibrant green leaf. And a blue autumnal bunch. Where the stalks have grown longer making the bunch look more loose. And with autumnal leaves. By the way. The loose grapes have not come off (luckily). They are meant to be seperate from the bunch to put on a plate or help put it in a realistic scene. 

Oudry has painted a blue bunch. But Ilona observed that here the fruits are layed out on a light ground. But in the basket this can get a bit too dark, especially with the dark plums. So she made the geen bunch for me to choose between.

It will probably not surprise you, dear friends, but I could not choose... So I bought the second bunch as well.

To finish it off one of the pictures Ilona has used on het blog. Does it not look great? I love these fruits and the basket. Every hand made piece is so delicate. Even the stones in the plums and peach that are cut open are formed as much after reality as is possible. The plum stones have a smooth surface. While the peach stone has a structured surface.

After we had a lovely and long chat with tea and cookies, we looked at the presentation boxes she uses when she goes to fairs. And there I saw the peonies. I had fallen in love with them at the last fair in Arnhem where Ilona had shown them. But on that day I had blown by budget on other miniatures already so I could only look at them in admiration. I was sure that, that would be the last time I would see these peonies.

Luckily for me however... that did not turn out to be the case. Although she had sold a lot of her stock during that fair, these were as yet unsold! You will probably forgive me for not spurning them a second time! Just look at that colour! Such a deep and velvety purplish red. Just like Ilona did, I show them in a blue and white vase. 

But by the time you read this post the fruits and flowers have all been carefully packed away again. Waiting for their rooms to be made...

Yes, I can here you scream behind your screen. "But whén will he finally finish á room!?!"

Well, that is my next project. There are changes coming!!!

Huibrecht