I decided to call this project Victoriana. The dual meaning of this word (name of the era, an adjective that describes that era) encompassed 100% of what I wanted to convey as well as being a universal word in my two cultures, the Spanish of my birth and the English I’ve acquired Before proceeding I would like to somehow convey a new concept to collecting miniatures, A collection of miniatures not only gives us (as any collection) major distraction to counteract the monotony of everyday life or the personal satisfaction to see what we can create ,I would add that a collection of miniatures can be a great source of cultural learning.I encourage all the collectors and craftsman to add a different didactic "modus operandi" when creating scenes 1 / 12. I recommend everyone to try to reproduce scenes documented that replicate real houses or decorative architectural styles. The free access to information provided to us today by the Internet can be used as a platform to search all kinds of information and then reproduce it in our homes, why put a Bakelite phone in a Victorian house, if it was not manufactured until 1940´s? A simple visit to the network will give us the information needed to optimize our 1/12 interiors. In Victoriana not only have I enjoyed the assembly and decoration of the house, hours reading writings about the Victorian era,but it has given me joyful time’s equals to, or even more than the purchase of any miniature! , enriching for free what is commonly termed "general culture".
I dedicate this to my grandmother, Josefina Arche, and to the enderless conversations about the past, which have helped me understand my present,and Victoriana like part of it. To my parents for supporting me and helping me in every one of my creative adventures. And of course my brothers for their patience to "take and hold" to look from a few meters behind "before nailing."
José Alesón
October 2011
London
Aleson Miniatures Collection