Miniature art opens ‘Magical Portals’ in Dartmouth gallery

A Halifax miniaturist puts her tiny creations on display at the Craig Gallery in Dartmouth.

A Dartmouth, N.S., gallery is giving visitors a chance to step into a world of miniature cafes, doctor’s offices and teddy bear picnics.

The new exhibit, Magical Portals, pairs the photography of Nikki-Dee Maggio with the details miniature work of Jennifer Eames at The Main Craig Gallery.

“Well, the exhibit is called the Magical Portals, and it really is,” Eames said in an interview. “It’s a collaborative work between Nikki-Dee Maggio who’s a photographer, and myself. I’m a very amateur miniaturist, so it’s really a display of Fairy Doors, and then the miniatures kind of go with it.”

Eames said she and Maggio didn’t know each other when they applied to show their work. The gallery suggested combining their projects.

“I thought it was an excellent move, because they really do complement each other well,” she said. “The photographs are Nikki’s fairy doors, and my miniatures may be what you might find behind the door if you actually go inside and look.”

Her work includes small-scale versions of her childhood home’s entertainment room, a church, a DJ set and the steps of neighbourhood houses. Some pieces carry deeper meaning.

Eames said she built a miniature doctor’s office at the same time she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

“Sitting in rooms waiting for doctors and specialists to come in, I had something to do,” she said. “I’d look around the room and go, ‘oh, there’s a glove dispensary on the wall, how am I going to make that in miniature?’ So it was kind of therapeutic for me in some ways too.”

Eames has been making miniatures since childhood but said this is her first public show. She described the experience as both exciting and humbling.

“People have been so kind and generous with their feedback,” she said. “They’ve sort of helped me realize that, yeah, maybe there are a few magical, special things in here.”

The exhibit is on display for the public at the gallery, with Eames often volunteering on site to answer questions.

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