PHO TOS BY DANIEL LI PPI TT
It's A
Small
World
After All
Ronni Silberman is
mad about miniatures.
SUZANNE CHESSLER SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
Ronni Silberman: Authentically detailed and stylized scenes.
oomy" takes on a new meaning
at Ronni Silberman's West
Bloomfield home, where she
howcases dozens of rooms — all
in miniature.
Using a work area upstairs and anoth-
er in the basement, Silberman crafts and
displays slightly larger than shoebox-size
rooms open at the top and front for view-
ing.
Filled with authentically detailed and
stylized models of people, furniture and
decorative pieces, each room captures a
scene from life. Inspired by people and
places she has known, some serious and
others whimsical, most of her scenes rest
88
A family seder in miniature.
on a shelving unit in her second-floor work-
space.
One replica depicts a family seder in a
formal dining area. A second shows ele-
gant people enjoying tea in a plush living
room. A third is energized by child-like
dolls in a play nook. A fourth dramatizes
a group coping with a kitchen spill.
Silberman hopes that all her tiny rooms
will make their way to galleries to be sold.
Currently, she is represented by Art Lead-
ers, Grosse Pointe and the Riki Schaffer
galleries.
"I want to go to the [highest] degree of re-
alism and capture a moment in time," said
the artisan, who also has constructed views
of a bedroom pillow fight, a man shaving in
a bathroom and a birthday celebration.
Silberman doesn't make all of the re-
alistic looking objects that fill the model
rooms, which she constructs with power
tools. She buys one-of-a-kind dolls, some
of the furniture and a number of acces-
sories at trade shows around the country.
Her self-taught personal touches can be
found in the wallpaper, clothing and home
accessories such as planters that round
out each of her lively scenes.
Although Silberman has been fascinat-
ed with doll houses and dolls since she was
a child, her artistic ideas did not take shape
until nine years ago, when she found ex-
tra time during the day.
After her daughter and son
were grown and out of the
house, she began at-home work
by setting up a day-care
arrangement for three infants
at a time. While the babies were
napping, she worked on her
rooms — all made to scale.
"My interest in doll houses
and dolls never went away," she
explained. "At the time I start-
ed taking care of the babies,
which began as a favor for my
working nieces, I happened into
miniature stores that were not
too far from my home. I haunt-
ed those stores for a while be-
fore buying my first doll house.
"I finished that lickety-split
and got another, which also was
finished lickety-split. I kept go-
ing on and on until people sug-
gested I build scenes into
separate rooms instead of entire
houses. The rooms took off from
there."
With the encouragement of
her husband, Richard, Silberman designed
and crafted rooms ordered by family and
friends and made other rooms as gifts.
"I couldn't stop because I was having
such a good time," she said. "I travel to the
trade shows constantly, and the dealers
get to know what I want.
"I've only been selling the rooms for
about two years. My sister- in-law [Ros-
alind Smith] came over one day, put three
or four in her car and took off. She placed
them at Art Leaders Gallery."
Silberman, 50, recently gave up her day-
care business and works at her craft al-
most all day.
Besides the residential scenes, there are
commercial settings as well — people sit-
ting on stools in a diner, adults and chil-
dren in a clothing store and a fortune teller
and client looking into a crystal ball.
Outdoor views include a couple sun-
bathing on a patio that has lounge chairs,
a barbecue and rich folinge, and a man fish-
ing at a small pond.
The most intricate piece stays in Sil-
berman's living room. It is an apartment
building with several floors. Viewers get
to look inside by opening the walls as if
they were doors. On the ground floor is a
millinery shop with elaborate, colorful —
and, of course, tiny — hats.
"My joy comes from making these scenes
and seeing the finished products," Silber-
man said. "When I'm done with one, I'm
happy and ready for the next. It's really
not hard to part with them.
"I get a kick out of the fact that so many
other people enjoy these miniatures. That
also keeps me going."
❑
For information on the availability
of Ronni Silberman's miniature scenes,
call (248) 661-4688.