One of the joys of being a miniaturist is getting to know fellow miniaturists from around the world online. Even better is getting to meet those people in person. Over the years, I've had the pleasure of meeting in person miniaturists whom I 'met' online though groups such as Small Stuff Digest, and Yahoo Groups The Camp and Canada Minis.
In April, 2013, I went to The Tom Bishop Show in Chicago for the first and only time. Tom Bishop had kindly given The Camp a room in which to meet and a group of us got together to meet in person. That's when I met Wanna and her daughter, Dana. She lived up to my every expectation.
Wanna was a consummate storyteller and miniaturist. I was a big fan of hers and we would occasionally exchange emails about the inconsistencies of the English language. She once told a family story that echoed a story from my family history so we discussed that.
She died last week after a very short battle with cancer. You can see her obituary here.
Her website is here. It's full of wonderful miniatures, great stories, trash to treasure, tools, and so much more. I hope you'll take some time to look through it.
One of my absolutely favourite stories is the Pigness Protection Program.
She posted tutorials here.
Michael's hutches haven't been available at Michael's for years but they're such a staple that many of us still have them or have been able to pick them up at the club estate sales. Wanna has a whole section of her website dedicated to them. Check it out here.
Her Cheap Thrills section contains lots of Trash to Treasure and a Tool section. It's here.
Those are just my absolute favourites and only about 10% of her website. Please take time to check it out and enjoy the legacy she has left to all of us.