To finish off the year and celebrate the Purpose built exhibition we introduced a twist on our super popular Queensland Architecture in Miniature workshop, with a focus on Mid-Century Modern design features.
The workshop ran over four weeks with each session bringing new skills to the attendees.
We kicked off the workshop by delving into the history of Mid-century modern design and the resources that inspired the look and layout of the book nooks. The first session then moved into a vector 101 introduction where participants were introduced to the free vector design software Inkscape to learn all about vector design to help create their own elements for their nooks.
The workshop participants came back two weeks later for day two of the workshop which included a laser cutter induction, one of our most popular resources at The Edge. This would allow the attendees to cut out their nooks and add their own unique design features, but this was not the only reason for the induction. It allowed the attendees the opportunity to create miniature furniture pieces to decorate the interiors of their nooks and to add other decorative features. The laser cutter proved to be very popular among the workshop attendees with many returning to Open Lab to bring their mini visions to life but also to explore new projects.
Session three introduced the attendees to the 3D printers at The Edge, they learnt how to use the machines, the safety around them and a quick rundown on the free software TinkerCAD, which is a great starting software for beginners in 3D printing. A 3D printer induction felt crucial for this workshop to help capture the iconic geometric and round shapes of the era. Pots, couches, egg chairs and lamps became key features of the nooks and helped bring the mid-modern era to life.
The final session was all about finishing touches and bringing all the elements together to create the final book nook (although at this point some of the book nooks were becoming more like an art piece). This session was full of painting, glueing and adding some final flair, many of the attendees enjoyed the miniature workshop and they wanted to continue working on their nooks in between workshop sessions. This allowed the attendees to create even more during their workshop time as they were unable to continue their excitement and enjoyed the calming nature of painting/creating their nooks. One attendee even stated that her husband said “he has never seen me so engrossed with anything” with her gaining a new hobby and obsession in miniatures. This final session felt so lively, fun and relaxing with many of the attendees sitting around chatting while they painted and crafted miniature furniture. There was a really fun creative atmosphere created on this day that is aimed to be captured again in our new meet-up Made Today, with the first session focused on all things miniature.
Take a look at some more photos of the workshop and enjoy these miniature wonders. If you are eager to embark on your own creative miniature journey pop into Open Lab or join us at our Made Today meet-up.
Loved looking at these Mid-century Modern nooks. Take a look back on previous versions of these workshops to indulge in more “miniature-ness”.
https://www.slq.qld.gov.au/blog/queensland-architecture-miniature-part-1
https://www.slq.qld.gov.au/blog/queensland-architecture-miniature-finale
https://www.slq.qld.gov.au/blog/architecture-miniature-using-collection
Or explore all things Mid-century modern via the State Library of Queensland Collection.
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