Making Miniature Furniture With Amanda Kelly of Panda Miniatures

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Making miniatures is no small feat; crafting tiny worlds from scratch is both an art and a science, and it draws from a long history of reflecting realities and generating new ones. In this workshop designed for beginners, join Amanda Kelly of Panda Miniatures to learn how to create realistic, textured miniature furniture from scratch. Over the course of five weeks, we’ll build a 1:12 scale wooden side table with drawers, a fabric mattress, and various small accessories for a room using various techniques. We’ll also learn how to paint using distressing techniques, and those who’ve taken Amanda’s previous course can add their tiny creations to their abandoned room. While students who have taken this course are highly encouraged to enroll, there are no prerequisites to take this course; miniature makers of all levels are welcome!

SYLLABUS AT A GLANCE

TThis course includes five total sessions, each lasting for 2 hours on five consecutive Wednesdays beginning May 15, skipping the week of June 5.

Session 1 (Wednesday, 5/15, 7–9:00 PM ET)| Foundations and Scale: Sizing up (or down) our project

After introductions, we’ll talk through the supplies we’ll need over the next five weeks, as well as how to understand scale. Amanda will demo cutting pieces for a side table so that you’re able to cut your own after class.

Session 2 (Wednesday, 5/22, 7–9:00 PM ET)| Making the Side Table

We’ll put our side table together and paint it to give it texture. For homework, you’ll wrap up any work on the side table you weren’t able to finish during class.

Session 3 (Wednesday, 5/29, 7–9:00 PM ET)| Making the Bed: Miniature mattress making

We’ll spend this class crafting a small mattress and using distressing techniques.

-week off-

Session 4 (Wednesday, 6/12, 7–9:00 PM ET)| One Person’s Trash Is Another’s Tiny Treasure

Today, you’ll follow along as Amanda moves through crafting tiny trash bags using a crumpled fabric technique. If there’s anything you haven’t completed, you’ll be encouraged to finish it as homework.

Session 5 (Wednesday, 6/19, 7–9:00 PM ET)| Open House: Sharing our miniature creations

We’ll wrap up class with a showcase of all student work, an opportunity for feedback, and a a final Q&A segment with Amanda

BETWEEN SESSIONS

Students will be expected to wrap up anything that wasn’t completed during class and prepare materials for the next session.

YOUR INSTRUCTOR, AMANDA KELLY

Amanda is currently pursuing her Master's in Fine Arts with a focus on Sculpture at Radford University where she is also a Graduate Teaching Assistant. She has built miniatures for various clients including Coca-Cola, Disney, and Netflix. Her work has been featured in art galleries and museums including The Museum of Museums in Seattle, the Greenpoint Gallery in Brooklyn, and the Floyd Center for the Arts in Floyd, VA. In 2020, she was a finalist on the HGTV show Biggest Little Christmas Showdown. Originally from New York, Amanda now lives in Virginia with her fiancée and 3 cats.

WHAT TO EXPECT

This is an interactive, small-group seminar that meets over Zoom. Students may be encouraged to participate in discussions, work on assignments outside of class, and workshop projects with their instructor or classmates. Due to the interactive nature of this course, we strongly recommend students attend as many live sessions as possible. Within 72 hours after each session meets, students will receive access to a recording of the live session, which they can watch for up to two weeks after the course concludes.

Instructors may use Google Classroom to communicate with students outside of class. While students aren’t required to use Google Classroom, instructors may use this platform to post resources, discussion questions, or assignments. This platform also offers a space for students to connect with one another about course material between sessions.

COURSE MATERIALS

Various materials and supplies will be needed to participate in this course. A list of all materials (around $50-75 total) will be sent out to enrolled students closer to the start of this course.

ACCESSING YOUR COURSE

Once registered, you’ll receive a confirmation email from Eventbrite that will provide access to the class meeting. Please save the confirmation email as you’ll use it to access all sessions of your course via Zoom.

PRICING OPTIONS

In addition to full-price tickets, a limited number of no-pay spots are available for this course. Please note that these tickets are reserved for those who would not otherwise be able to take this course and who expect to attend all sessions. No-pay spots are distributed via a randomized drawing two weeks before each course begins. For more information and to apply for a no-pay spot, please click here. To learn more about our pricing model and randomized selection process for no-pay spots, please visit our FAQ page.

COMMUNITY GUIDELINES FOR STUDENTS

Please take a moment to review our community guidelines for students, which aim to share our classroom ethos and help set the stage for the best possible learning experience.

ACCESSIBILITY

We provide closed captioning for all of our courses and can share transcripts upon request. Please reach out to us at experiences@atlasobscura.com if you have any questions, requests, or accessibility needs.

ATLAS OBSCURA ONLINE COURSES

Atlas Obscura Courses offer opportunities for participants to emerge with new skills, knowledge, connections, and perspectives through multi-session classes designed and taught by expert instructors. To learn more about our current course offerings, please visit www.atlasobscura.com/online-courses. For answers to commonly asked questions, check out our FAQ page here.

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