GREENPOINT — A Greenpoint artist is using little pieces of the neighborhood to create miniature worlds.
Sculptor and painter Raimundo Rubio has spent the past year making artwork from rocks, wood and chunks of faux grass turf kicked up by athletes, all of which he finds in McCarren Park. He also uses glass and other discarded items he collected on Greenpoint's streets.
He combined these found objects with tiny animal and child figurines, creating scenes of babies roaming a mossy green knoll, penguins perched on ice, and frosting-covered pigs popping out of a slice of cake.
“Making miniatures takes you back to your childhood — there’s something dreamlike and surreal about what I make,” said Rubio, 58, a native of Chile whose paintings have been featured in East Harlem’s El Museo del Barrio and Washington D.C.’s Corcoran Gallery of Art. “I’m a big kid, so it makes sense.”
The figurines that Rubio uses in his work are little toys that he paints and embellishes, adding touches like glass eyes to his penguins, but he would like to get back to making them from scratch, like he did years ago when he crafted tiny lighthouses for a miniatures company.
He launched a Kickstarter campaign last month, hoping to raise $5,000 on the crowdfunding site to expand his miniatures series.
So far, he's about halfway to his goal, with $2,418 raised, and he has 10 more days to go.
The Greenpoint-based artist said he's looking to exhibit his little whimsical creations soon. You can also buy his pieces on his website, where prices range from $50 to $200.
"If I could keep making, and selling miniatures, I'd be very happy," Rubio. "And, I think, these miniatures, they make people happy."
