Inspiration can arrive in some unexpected ways, and for Deb LaPointe it was breaking both her arms in an accident as a teen. Working with clay as a therapy tool, she discovered her talent for miniatures, combining bread and glue to craft expressive mice, rabbits and then castles.
LaPointe has an artists eye and picks up on details that most would miss. She began to create commissioned replicas, including Dodges Store and the Molly Stark Tavern, which are exact down to the details visible through the windows. “I made a whole series of witches one year, using masking tape,” she explains. “I couldn’t make faces for a long while, so it was practice, practice, practice.”
When LaPointe began to combine her love of nature with her art, creativity took off and Griffinhill was born. Her extraordinary fairy habitats combine greenery found across her 7 acre property in New Boston with bits of wood and fungus brought to her by friends all across the country. “I was inspired by old fairy books I found years ago at an antique show,” she tells. “I really love the habitats. It’s a product I’m so proud of!”
The fairies are crafted from polymer clay, and each stands barely 3” tall in a landscape lush with waterfalls, burrows, and foliage. The habitats are both stand alone and available in a smaller version as Garden In A Box. Larger pieces feature an inner light that brings out the sparkle of the ponds and details. All the pieces are sealed against dust and mildew and are completely washable.
LaPointe has only begun Griffinhill, but an Etsy shop is in development and her web site, www.griffinhill.net, features a variety of art dolls, habitats and replicas, as well as commission work. There are also greeting cards available with photos of the fairies. Having selling 7 pieces at the Goffstown Uncommon Arts on the Common in August, LaPointe knows that her creative side has finally found it’s niche. “I’ve always done art work, even when I was a kid. I was lucky I had parents who let me pain the walls!”
editors note: Please click on the photos to enlarge and view the detail of the Fairy Habitats!
