The World Writ Small in Miniaturists’ Exhibit

The dust is so thick it makes your throat dry just looking at it. A parched house plant droops over a water cooler the Sparkletts man hasn’t touched in years, and a half-eaten sandwich gathers flies on a greasy workbench. Rusting tools and broken engine parts litter the floor under a faded sign that reads: “Mabe’s Movie Stunts. Crop Dusting. Fix-it Shop.”

A scene from a Steinbeck novel? Guess again. This gritty slice of life by miniaturist Ed Mabe comes courtesy of “Miniature Perspectives,” an exhibit of more than 100 miniature scenes, houses and collectables on display through Sept. 25 at the Fullerton Museum Center.

Under the direction of guest curator Robert von Fliss, “Miniature Perspectives” features such detailed scenes as this one, alongside doll-sized Victorians that could make Barbie and Ken sell the Dream House; tiny shops filled with Lilliputian china, glassware and toys, and a collection of toys and dollhouses dating from the 18th Century.

A miniature buff for more than 30 years, Von Fliss is co-founder of the National Assn. of Miniature Enthusiasts. Working with Fullerton Museum director Joe Felz, he brought together items from some of the nation’s top experts in the field, including San Francisco architect Tom Roberts, historian Susan Sirkus, and the Mott family, creators of “Mott’s Miniatures” at Knott’s Berry Farm.

“Miniatures help us create unique worlds . . . that we can completely control,” said Von Fliss, who, with his wife Dorothy, owns and operates High Button Shoe, a doll and miniature shop in Fullerton. “It’s a relaxing world (in which) we can forget all the complexities and problems of everyday living.”

Miniatures first came on the scene around 2000 B.C., and were popular again in 16th Century Europe as collectibles for the rich and royal. Apparently the hobby of creating and collecting them is enjoying another comeback: Since its formation in the early 1970s, NAME has attracted an international membership of about 15,000. Von Fliss has also founded the 200-member North Orange County Miniature Guild, which meets monthly at Independence Park in Fullerton for demonstrations and lectures.

According to Von Fliss, a successful miniaturist must be a “jack of all trades” with a sharp eye for detail. “Miniatures combine so many different arts and crafts,” he explains. “To create a room, you have to be involved in everything . . . leather, needlework, glass blowing. Perfect scale is the No. 1 requisite. . . . generally 1 inch to 1 foot is the standard we use.”

Two works by Tom Roberts especially demonstrate the effective use of scale and detail. In “The Egyptian Wing,” tiny artifacts are showcased in an elegant gallery of gleaming marble and soaring columns, and in “The Office of the Curator,” a delightful hodgepodge of small museum pieces fills every nook and cranny of an 1800s museum office.

Movie magic is the theme of “Stage 27 MGM Main Lot” by Ed Mage and Eve Karbolin; it’s a faithful re-creation of the studio sound stage used in the making of “The Wizard of Oz.” Other standouts in the show include two Victorian houses by Dick Tucker, based on actual homes in the San Francisco Bay Area. Both feature intricate gingerbread trim, working doors and windows and polished hardwood floors.

Antique dollhouses and models in the show include “Red Roof Dollhouse,” a German-made piece from the 1920s; “Bliss Houses,” crudely fashioned American toys from the late 1800s; and “Hinze House,” a turn-of-the-century architect’s model for an unusual, never-built home in San Clemente.

Free workshops and lectures on the art of miniatures are held weekly at the museum through Sept. 18. This Sunday’s 1 p.m. lecture will be a historical retrospective of miniatures by Susan Sirkus. Future workshops will include demonstrations of the making of miniature wicker furniture and porcelain, and a look at realistic “aging” of miniature pieces. Seating for the workshops is limited.

Running concurrently with “Miniature Perspectives” is “COMA,” short for the “County of Orange Museum of Art.” A video and installation by media artist Susan Schwartz Braig of Los Angeles, “COMA” is a pint-sized parody of what Braig calls “the quintessential museum of the ‘80s: cultural center, investment bank, shopping mall and theme park all under one roof.” Tiny, tongue-in-cheek exhibits include the “Carved Animal Petting Zoo,” “Underwater Sunken Treasures” and the “Neo-Expressionism Gallery.” A 20-minute video tour of the “museum” runs continuously.

The Fullerton Museum Center is at 301 N. Pomona Ave. in Fullerton and is open Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Thursdays and Fridays from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. General admission is $2, students and senior citizens, $1; children under 12 are admitted free. Docent tours are available. For more information, call (714) 738-6545.