Haibun : Miniature Museum, Tucson, Arizona

Haibun : The Mini Time Machine Museum of Miniatures, Tucson, Arizona, USA

18th Century Violin Maker’s Shop created by W. Foster Tracy, 1979. The tiny workshop is encased in the body of a real violin. Scale is 1:12 so that hanging violins are only two inches long. The cello is probably four inches as a real cello is 48 inches but the museum recording didn’t say. Tracy made little tool replicas to hang on the back wall. The real violin’s body is only 2 inches deep and was cut away to hold the scene.

One of the cool advantages of traveling locally is finding places that are often “undiscovered by people of the world”.* The Miniature Museum is one of Tucson’s little known treasures opening its doors in 2009. Walking through the doors, instantly you become a giant in a magical Lilliputian world crafted with imagination and patience.

violin workshop
enchanted scenes, chortling tree
Ivan eyes Erte
Enchanted Tree, as you peer at the giant trunk and roots you can find different faces and little fantasy scenes

haibun and photos by M. LaFreniere

References:

*from Haruo Shirane’s translation of Basho’s poem “At the eaves– / blossoms undiscovered / by people of the world” in
Traces of Dreams: Landscape, Cultural Memory, and the Poetry of Basho

The Mini Time Machine Museum of Miniatures
4455 E Camp Lowell Dr
Tucson, AZ 85712
Tues-Sat 9am-4pm
Sun noon – 4pm
Mon closed
$9 general
$8 (age 65+ or military)
$6 ages 4-17
free ages 3 and under


Tribute to Erte


Historical figures by George Stewart: Martha Stewart, Ivan the Terrible, Erik the Red

In response to a haibun challenge : Haibun Road

Haibun Road : a haibun weekly challenge (wk 16): Basho notices chestnut flowers that passerbys don’t see

You can use the search bar to do an Amazon search as I did with “miniatures”. The results will vary. Today I saw a cute kit where you can make your own minilibrary with tiny books on a bookshelf: My Miniature Library: 30 Tiny Books to Make, Read and Treasure. Cool miniature books worth noting :

While I am an Amazon affiliate, this has no effect on your price. Amazon disclosure: “We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.”