2012 Calendar on Sale!

It's May already.  Where did the time go?  Therefore, I have decided to reduce the price of THE COOKIE ZIEMBA COLLECTION 2012 Calendar to $11 with the postage remaining the same at $4.00 (not by my choice).  So if you are interested, please send me an email at cookiemax@aol.com .  I will be selling at the Sturbridge Miniature Festival on June 2-3, so if interested, I suggest you contact me quickly as they may sell out there, especially at this price.  Thanks!

The Cookie Ziemba Collection available as a 2012 calendar!

A BIG MOMENT IN MY MINIATURE WORLD!!!  I have published MY VERY OWN CALENDAR for 2012, entitled "The Cookie Ziemba Collection."  It is high quality printing on glossy, heavy card stock and is a full size calendar, approximately 11" wide by 8 1/2" high when closed.  I have shown three of my dolls houses, including the 16th century Leicester House on the cover, followed by 4 pages of the interiors.  The next grouping is the 17th c. Dutch Canal House exterior and a few rooms, and then the 18th c. Mansion House and some interiors.

To make it even more useful to miniaturists, I have listed several miniature shows in the United States, and a few in England, Spain, Germany and the Netherlands.   Each show date has an icon to highlight that particular date.

I sold out my first printing at Molly Cromwell's Miniature Festival in Sarasota, Florida this past weekend and have now re-ordered so I will have stock available.  If you are interested in making a purchase, they cost $18.00 plus shipping of $4.00 in the United States.  I will find out shipping costs for any International customers.  Please contact me at cookiemax@aol.com with all inquiries.  Thanks!        

                                              

Newest Miniature Crewel Embroideries, available for sale. Inquiries welcome via email: cookiemax@aol.com

Hatfield, Turned Leg Bench

                                                               Carlisle, Square Pole Screen

                                                                 Brighton, Round Pole Screen

                                                               Marlborough, Fireplace Screen

                                                        Northampton, Fireplace Screen

                                                               Darlington,Cabriole Leg Bench

Sarasota, Florida Miniature Show, weekend of January 14-15, 2012

Just returned from my weekend in Sarasota, Florida at the Molly Cromwell Miniature Festival where I had a very successful show, once again!  It is so gratifying to meet and greet potential customers, some of whom become friends.  I love to hear all the warm compliments about my embroidery and paintings, so thank you to the folks I met there.  I will add photos in my next posting of the new items I have available and will also add them to my website, http://cookieziemba.weebly.com a bit later.

Molly had some wonderful dealers including Michael Mortimer, whose company name is -9 (don't have an explanation for that, I guess it means something to him).  He is from the U.K. and sells Tudor furniture in one inch scale and one of his shelving units came home with me.  He doesn't seem to have a website, but I do see many dealers represent him in the U.S.  Michael Reynolds is from Atlanta, GA and is a real Renaissance man, making wonderful pieces of burl-wood furniture and beautiful paintings.  I love looking at his very elegant display.

Sis Blecman of Gulliver's Emporium in Florida had a couple of pieces of furniture from the Butterfly Collection, Goebel Miniatures.  They are beautifully finished plastic pieces made back in 1977 and are very collectible.  They have now joined my own collection.


After the show, I stayed at Molly Cromwell's house on Sunday evening, sharing a room with Val Casson.  On my way home, I spent a couple of hours at an outlet center where I shopped till I dropped.  

Then had to face the rest of the trip home across the Everglades on a road known as "Alligator Alley."  I was so pleased to see they built two new rest stops along the way.  At one time, the only stop was about 50 miles in at an Indian reservation that had some food and gas.  That is still the only place to buy gas so I filled up to the top before that portion of the drive.  I have all sorts of images of meeting up with panthers, gators and snakes (sing that to "Lions, Tigers and Bears, oh my") which inhabit this huge area.  I found out at the rest stop that the Everglades covers about 300 miles in the center of Florida, starting all the way up in Orlando and goes south, simply massive.  Some call it "The River of Grass" as the grass grows up through the water and sways gently in the breeze.  I know there are tons of animals, but I've never even see a bird while crossing.  Guess they stay away from cars going 80 mph.  Smart!

I had planned to cross in daylight, but ran late and the last 40 miles were in the dark, so it was a welcome sight to see the lights of civilization on the horizon.

I guess Australians and South Africans may not be impressed with this trip, but for me driving alone, it's something to think about. 

Mini Europe...From my trip to Brussels this past summer.

These are pictures of Mini Europe which includes some of the most important buildings from all the countries in the European Union.  It is located on the outskirts of Brussels very near the Atomium which shows in the back of the last photo.  This a a huge model of an atom blown up to an enormous size.  You can go inside and see a wonderful view of the city.  It is easily reachable by a local train and has a movie theater nearby so you can end your day at the movies!

Nuremburg-style Kitchen

Ooops, sorry, I see this was somehow also listed in a posting from 2010, so forgive me if you see this twice with similar verbiage...
Wanted to share some pictures of my Nuremburg-style kitchen.  I found this display box sitting out in the rain in front of an antique shop in New Jersey years ago.  I thought it would be great for a miniature club member as half of them were antique-ers, and already had it in the trunk of my car, when the dealer said, "Wait a minute, I have a stove that just might work."  When I placed the stove in it, I decided it was mine!  The day after I returned home, wondering how I was going to decorate it, the plumber came for repairs and was taken with the piece.  He found the copper "stove pipe" in his truck along with 4 copper caps that fit the top of the stove perfectly.  From there on, it went very easily because I started shopping at full size antique shows and found most of the items you see at reasonable prices.  I had so much fun doing this room up, not caring about matching scales as that is only a contemporary idea.

From the National Gallery of Art's website...

I found this blurb on the web site from the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC about the wonderful Dutch painting exhibit that was held from February 1–May 3, 2009.

Pride of Place: Dutch Cityscapes of the Golden Age

Overview: 49 paintings and 23 maps, prints, and illustrated books by some 40 Dutch artists were shown in this exhibition surveying the tradition of Dutch cityscape painting from its origins in 16th-century maps and city profiles through 17th-century depictions of Dutch cities, including genre paintings of daily life. Jan van Goyen's 15-foot View of The Hague from the Southeast, painted for the town hall of that city, was included in the Washington venue of the exhibition.

Exhibition curator Arthur K. Wheelock Jr. presented an auditorium lecture, City Views: Pride and Prosperity in the Dutch Golden Age on the opening day of the exhibition. Teacher workshops were held on February 21 and 28. A family weekend, "Weekend in the Dutch Republic," was held on April 25 and 26. A miniature Dutch canal house (conceived by Cookie Ziemba and designed by Peter Mattinson), the imagined home of painter Pieter de Hooch, was on display in the Founders Room during the family weekend. A teen studio program, "Painting: Approaches to Perspective," also was held in conjunction with the exhibition. Inspired by the exhibition, concerts of music of the Dutch Golden Age were held during March. The Garden Café served a special menu of Dutch cuisine as Cafè Amsterdam.

The exhibition was organized by the National Gallery of Art, Washington, and the Royal Picture Gallery Mauritshuis, The Hague. Arthur K. Wheelock Jr., curator of northern baroque painting, National Gallery of Art, Washington, and Ariane van Suchtelen, curator, Royal Picture Gallery Mauritshuis, The Hague, were exhibition curators. The exhibition was made possible by Greg and Candy Fazakerley and Eijk and Rose-Marie van Otterloo. It was supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities. The exhibition booklet was made possible by Mrs. Henry H. Weldon.