By Pateena Donnelly of the Northern Illawarra Art Trail

The Northern Illawarra Art Trail is back in November, with Stanwell Tops residents Sue and Jim Roach excited to exhibit their miniature houses.

Sue and Jim’s Miniature World has a variety of classic, historic and fictional buildings created and furnished by Jim and Sue. For about 15 years, they have been producing these incredible works of art.

Jim builds these mini abodes as if they were full-sized houses with standard materials like wood, brick, and sandstone. Sue (who is also a watercolour and sketch artist) decorates them with items created by herself or from a variety of suppliers. The majority of buildings are constructed using a 1:12 scale.

Clifton School of Arts commissioned Jim and Sue to build a model of the CSA and its proposed extensions. Being a larger public building, this model is in 1:24 scale and Jim is now enjoying using this scale for other buildings. The completed model is usually on display in the front window of the School of Arts but will be back at Stanwell Tops for the Art Trail. Sue and Jim have recently finished constructing a new miniature display centre at their house. See @SJminiatureworld on Facebook.

The Northern Illawarra Art Trail features open studios from Helensburgh to Thirroul, 10am-3pm, November 2 & 3, www.niarttrail.com