Copyright glasgowworld
An artist has created incredible intricate miniature sculptures of famous pubs and venues. Karen Bones began crafting the unique sculptures four years ago, after spending years working in pubs while doing freelance illustrations. After spotting a 3D-printed sculpture of a building online, Karen began to wonder if she could create something similar by hand - using just recycled cardboard. She sculpted a local cafe, Coorie by the Coast, and gifted it to the business - and the design quickly started gaining attention. Karen began receiving commissions and creating miniature replicas of her favourite buildings in her original hometown of Glasgow - from the city's oldest pubs like The Laurieston and The Scotia to iconic concert venues like the Barrowland Ballroom. Karen from Culross in Fife said: "It was someone that I'd seen online that does them, and I discovered that he 3D prints them. I wondered if I could do it myself, just using rudimentary materials rather than a 3D printer. I'd been an illustrator for years and worked in the pub trade alongside that, so when we went into COVID and the pubs shut down, I had a lot more time on my hands. "I started to illustrate the pubs and then started doing 3D ones as well. The first one was just made out of cardboard, and it was very basic, but it was really good fun - and it kind of took off from there. The first one was Coorie by the Coast, who I had done some illustrations for previously. It's just such a beautiful building, and then I gifted it to them as a thank you. They put it behind the counter, so everyone saw it when they came in. "I was based at the market in Culross every Sunday, so then I had lots of people coming along to see if I had any others, and the commissions started coming from there." Karen, who has a degree in illustration from Duncan Jordanstone College of Art and Design, spends between two days and two weeks on each piece, working from reference photos to painstakingly recreate each detail. She uses as many recycled materials as she can - from cardboard to coffee stirrers, straws, lids and beads. She said: "The ideas come from anywhere I go. I'm an absolute nightmare to go on holiday with now, because I'll go and my phone will be full of interesting buildings! "An average one can take a couple of days, but really big detailed ones can take a couple of weeks. Building the base can be done in a few hours, but it's building up all the layers on top of that and the tiny wee details that take time." Karen often receives touching requests, asking her to recreate wedding venues, family homes, and even buildings that are no longer standing. Each piece is shared on her Instagram, @bricksandbones_scotland. She says her favourite piece is the recreation of the Barrowland Ballroom - a faithful recreation of the famous venue, with working lights in the shape of its iconic sign. She said: "It's so iconic, and it's the one that everyone recognises - and it's the first one I had that was lit up, which was really tricky to do. I'm from Glasgow, so I have a real connection to a lot of the places. "Even though I don't live in Glasgow anymore, I'm there quite a lot. When I wander about, I look at places now with a new eye - places that I walked past a million times." Her sculptures can be seen across the city, in windows at The Laurieston or behind the bar at King Tut's Wah Wah Hut. Karen believes each piece is a labour of love, and hopes to keep on creating sculptures for years to come. She said: "I'm loving what I'm doing. Each one is completely different. I like the fact that I can make something from people's memories that they can have to keep. It doesn't matter if it's a council house or a stately home; they're all done with a story behind it and a part of me in it."
