Crafting for a Greener World
A Story in Dioramas
by Robyn Coburn
 When I was young, one of my favorite outings was to the Natural History
Museum in Sydney, Australia. Housed downtown in one of the oldest and grandest
sandstone buildings of Australia’s Victorian colonial era, it seemed like an
endless maze of huge rooms. The best part was the miniature dioramas. Part of
the fun was searching for these small windows in each new room. You put your
face up to the little square peephole and behind the glass would be a magical
miniature scene – diminutive dinosaurs roamed swampy landscapes punctuated by
lurid, distant volcanoes; tiny wooly mammoths stomped through glacial scenes;
and cave men squatted around faux fire pits.
At first, it was a question of finding all of them. In subsequent visits,
keeping count. Oh, the excitement when a new diorama was added to the exhibits!
The science may have been made obsolete by new discoveries, but the dioramas
remained as charmingly nostalgic illustrations of the progress of thinking about
natural history, with new labels pointing out any factual flaws.
Nowadays, we love to visit the Natural History Museum here in Los Angeles, where
the California exhibit features dioramas of early life in the region. Scenes of
Native American daily life, a cross-sectioned model galleon, and miniatures of
some of the first missions are featured in glass cases. Disneyland’s California
Adventure also has some miniature diorama windows that we never fail to revisit
– in the foyer of the tortilla factory.
Today, these have just as much charm for me and for my daughter Jayn as those
beady eyed, tail dragging dinos did when I first glimpsed them over thirty-five
years ago. We have been making our own dioramas – tiny three dimensional
pictures – on and off for a couple of years, using recycled packaging and other
materials. I have made ones from boxes the size of a lipstick box, with a single
cut out figure. Jayn has made tiny 3-D pictures using polymer clay pictures and
bits of spare jewelry. 
But recently, we have been inspired to make our own miniature art dioramas, in a
slightly larger version, using the perfectly good leftover cardboard food
containers that I have been collecting for arts and crafts purposes. Without a
doubt, this has become our newest favorite crafty pastime. Jayn and I just can’t
seem to stop. Luckily, with the plethora of raw materials available to us every
time we come home from the market, we don’t have to.
The variations are endless. The illustration can tell a story, take you on a
whimsical journey, or just be inspired by a favorite song or fairytale.
Here’s the How-To:
Start by carefully opening and flattening your box. Don’t cut off any of the tabs – they make it easier to put the box
together later. Clean off any crumbs. Fear not – we have found that the slightly
waxy coating inside many of these boxes is easy to clean but still accepts glue
and acrylic paint perfectly well.
Using a ruler, measure and mark a frame in one of the large sides. I leave about
half-an-inch as my window frame, which seems a pleasing proportion and still
allows plenty of room to view the scene. Cut out the window and set that
cardboard piece aside to use for other cut-out shapes later.
Now start making your background. I have found that it is
important to extend your background design to the walls on the side, and to be
aware of the floor or ground and the roof as you create.
What to use as a background? Jayn calls it cheating, but I like altering color
pictures from the travel section of the newspaper sometimes. For example, I
found a wonderful perspective drawing of a European village, complete with a
bicycle leaning on the wall, which cried out to become a diorama. I added
cut-out people and a tree, and Jayn painted a face peeking out from a window.
It’s like a little hope chest, depicting my dream of travelling around Europe
one day with family.
 Jayn usually prefers to paint her background freehand. In her diorama of “The
Flower Seller” (left), she created a flowered hillside meadow. Another alternative, as
shown in my “Circus Dancer” diorama (right), is to use collage to make something
abstract. I layered cut pieces of my tie dyed paper towel paper to create a
swatch of color and then went joyfully nuts with glitter paints and sequins from
my stash. I made the banner garland from folded tissue paper and colored
embroidery thread.
Once the background is done, it is time for the three dimensional elements.
Items can be glued to the back as appropriate or be free-standing. I have been
cutting very simple figures from card, and Jayn particularly enjoys the detail
work of painting their clothes and faces for me. However, you can use small toys
or family photos glued to card, or make little figures from polymer clay.
Clothespeg people could be an alternative, or wooden Japanese Kokeshi figures.
I have even made abstract people from glass beads glued together. Their clothes
can be painted or collaged.
If you have a collection of any kind of miniature figures, a diorama box is a
great way to display them or repurpose them.
Plan where your people or things will go, then put the box back together. I like
to fold the box so that the front tabs (around the window) go over the back
ones. In this way, the seam is facing the back of the box. I glue, but I also
use masking tape over the outside seams. This creates a better finish later.
Then it’s time to insert the figures or other visual elements. I started by
cutting out a cardboard folded tab base to glue my figures and plant elements to
the ground. Jayn prefers to make a triangle shaped support glued vertically to
the back, and to be honest I think she’s got the better idea. It’s less fiddly
to cut out. For my circus dancers, which are en pointe, I coiled a stand from craft wire and glued it on, and this has been the
best method of all, since it remains flexible. Either way, we use hot glue for
speed. With younger folk, white glue might be preferred, although you may have
to prop the figures until the glue has dried.
The outside of your diorama is also a canvas for your story and creativity. I
like to start with a white wash front, sides and back – usually two or three
coats of white craft or poster paint to cover up the brand art on the box. Then,
for some dioramas, a simple translucent wash might be sufficient….nah, where’s
the fun in that?
Embellish! Stamp! Decoupage! Glue on bits and pieces! Make the outside equally a
part of your miniature narrative as the inside. It’s possible to attach little
feet to your diorama. It’s also possible to plan to stack them by not putting
3-D elements on the top or bottom. You can use letters, buttons, cloth, ribbon,
twigs, foam shapes, bottle caps – anything that fits. I tend to like the look of
an aged finish – but it’s not essential.
Where can you find ideas for your own dioramas? They can be like cool 3-D
scrapbook pages if you use family photos. It can be a shadow box of memorabilia.
A haunted house, an abstract assemblage, a festive wish book. A favorite story
or fairy tale illustrated like Macy’s Christmas window in miniature. A
historical interior, a recreation of a famous painting or scene, a vision of the
future, the four seasons. Jayn never seems to lack for an idea, usually writing
a story for the picture. The depicted story could be printed out and decoupaged
to the back side of the diorama.
This column was originally accompanied by a contest, which is
now over. You can view some of the entries here.
After a long career designing for theater and independent films,
Robyn Coburn finds her joy as an unschooling mother who also writes and crafts.
She has been a confirmed greenie since working for Greenpeace during her college
years in Australia. Robyn is currently working on two crafty books, a fairy tale
screenplay and a TV series about doll making and collecting. A past speaker and
funshop presenter at Live and Learn Unschooling conferences, she contributes
regularly to unschooling e-lists. She lives in Los Angeles, California with her
husband James and ever inspiring daughter Jayn. Contact her at
dezignarob@gmail.com or visit www.Iggyjingles.etsy.com.
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