PRESS KIT

I sincerely appreciate your interest in my work!
For further information, please contact me at 240-478-5989, meg@megromerostudio.com

KEYWORDS:
I am a miniaturist.
I design and build “boxes, they are hand painted and highly detailed, but the real magic is INSIDE the box: miniature interiors, decorated with artful and exotic furnishings and designed to send the viewer down a path of an unknown narrative.

miniature(s)
handcrafted
box art
vignette
“Vignettes of Imagination”

My pieces often feature ‘found objects’: hardware, wooden bowls, silver dishes, old mechanical parts, ie: a rusty roller skate, a clock mechanism.

Please avoid calling them dollhouses; instead refer to them as vignettes, dioramas or tableaux.

FAQs for the press

That’s a tricky question! Each piece involves varying degrees of trial and error…
It can take a year, a few months, or if all goes smoothly, a few weeks.
I do keep on hand a collection of “parts”, ie: ladders, books, plants, doors and windows. Although this makes the actual furnishing of the piece go a bit smoother, I typically build a custom bookcase, or design site-special tables…or do custom upholstery for each piece. And the artwork is usually painted specifically for each room.
Ah…. There-in lies the trick! I have a tendency to want to KEEP GOING…. To add MORE!
If there is already three hundred books in the piece, is that good enough? Or do I need to add another hundred books?
“Deadlines” are very important in this regard, since you simply run out of time.
Sans deadline, it’s a fine line between ENOUGH and TOO MUCH. That’s when I solicit outside opinions…
Everywhere. My ideas come from EVERYTHING and EVERYWHERE!
A greeting card. An ad in a magazine. A conversation. (mine or overheard). Something that I found at the flea market.
Most often, I start with the end in mind, although sometimes I just start building and see where it goes…
“Miniatures” are the third most collected things in the world, after coins and stamps.
I am very grateful that there are people who do purchase these pieces: art collectors and miniature collectors. (..and some perfectly normal people too!)
There are lots of people in the world making miniatures! (There is a very active International Guild of Miniature Artists)
Although most of the industry has been focused on very traditional reproduction pieces, there is a growing number of artists who are introducing work that is very contemporary. They are creating breath-taking pieces with sleek lines and brighter colors, and they are using new materials.
Not… really. Although my work is the same scale of a typical dollhouse, my work is for serious collectors… The pieces are an investment, and these works are not for kids play with them!
No, I never put people in my work. The minute there is “a person” in the room, then the story is about THEM. Left un-inhabited, the story is about YOU, the viewer, and that is so much MORE FUN!
That said, it IS fun to add photos from the family vacation! I once made a miniature copy of a 1965 yearbook.
Generally, I work in 1/12 scale, or 1” = 1 foot. For example, if in reality, a bookcase is 6 feet high, in my work the case would be 6” high.
Occasionally, I will find a fascinating “something-or-other” (old clock, old copper radiator) that NEEDS to be furnished. In that case, I will scale the furnishings to be appropriate to that piece. (I have a gorgeous old view camera, that is BEGGING to be turned into a factory….now those will be some very small furnishings)
YES~ I do custom work! It’s great fun, working with a client on a very special piece!
It’s a honor for me to use parts that are meaningful to people: a well-used tool, family photographs, old love letters…favorite neckties. I once upholstered a chair with silk that was printed with a photo of the beloved pup!

My Studio:

Located right smack in the center of beautiful and historic downtown Cumberland, Maryland, Meg lives and works in an 1899 four story brick beauty. 16 years into a 30 year renovation project, her studio has 22 feet of windows, and looks out onto gorgeous turn-of-the-century architecture.

In the studio, all horizontal surfaces are covered with trays and boxes full to the brim with “parts”. A tray of miniature chairs looks quite at home sitting next to an assortment of full-scale vintage hardware. Books, real and miniature, spill off of shelves.
Organized on a rack behind the worktable, an assortment of baseboard and crown moldings, (measured to the 32 of an inch (!)
sits under a collection of old clock cases, some with mechanisms still installed.
And yes: lined up on the table are magnifying glasses, all sizes and types, including a special one that belonged to my grand-pop.

My work process:

I’m not an early riser! I work late and sleep late. My attention span is pretty short, so this work suits me PERFECTLY!
Like that Opening scene in “An American in Paris”, from the seat at my workbench, I can reach anything and everything I need to furnish a box. Drawers, and cabinets reveal compartments and surfaces unique for each task.

My work space is set up in a large U shape, so I can paint something here, move to the right and glue something, continue moving around the line. By the time I get back around to the first place, the paint is dry and I can move onto next step!