On A Small Scale -- Dollhouse Exhibits Bring Things Down To Size

Think small this weekend. The 16th Seattle Dollhouse and Miniature Show is at the Seattle Center Flag Pavilion, with dealers and exhibitors from the United States and Canada tempting collectors with their tiny wares.

Show producer Pat Williams of Manchester says about 75 displays will be featured, ranging from elaborately furnished houses to room settings and vignettes, handcrafted on scales of 1/4 inch, 1/2 inch and 1 inch to 1 foot.

It takes about six hours for many of the exhibitors to set up, including Stan Ohman of Port Orchard, who will show a dollhouse he completed this week from photographs of an 1840 mansion near Atlanta, Ga. It took more than three months to finish the project, ordered as a gift for a 9-year-old girl.

The show, billed as the largest such in the Northwest, is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. today and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. tomorrow. Admission is $5 for adults, $4 for seniors and $2 for children under 12.

More than 700 dolls, dollhouses and miniatures are on display daily at the handsome new Rosalie Whyel Museum of Doll Art in Bellevue.

Whyel, owner and director, built the $3.1 million private museum, opened in September, to share her collection.

"Thanks for giving me a peek at my past," several visitors have told Whyel after looking at the treasures in 8,000 square feet of exhibition space. A favorite with youngsters and adults alike are the glass-covered drawers that pull out from beneath display cases. They are filled with dolls and clothing that children can enjoy at their eye level, much as they would a toy drawer in their room. The only catch is that they can look but not touch.

A gallery on the entrance level for changing exhibits features "New Friends" through April 25, an eclectic collection of recent acquisitions, including a wood doll crafted about 1750 in England, with an extensive wardrobe of its original clothing. Another highlight is a finely detailed scene of a mid-18th-century Russian Orthodox wedding ceremony, crafted by Galia Bazylko of Vancouver, Clark County.

"Collections are for sharing, and we've received many dolls from people who want them to be preserved and enjoyed," says Whyel.

The next changing exhibit, "Many Faces - Many Places," April 30-July 25, will feature ethnic dolls.

Reserve several minutes at the museum for appreciating the Victorian dollhouse made by Rosemary Zilmer of Seattle. The detail is impressive. Don't miss the waterlilies in the outdoor pond and the pie cooling on the windowsill. "If we could only shrink, it's as though we could be totally comfortable in this home," says Susan Hedrick, museum curator.

The museum, at 1116 108th Ave. N.E., is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily except Thursday, when it is open until 8 p.m., and Sunday, when it is open from 1 to 5 p.m. Admission is $5 for adults, $4.50 for seniors and $4 for children 5 through 17. For details, call 455-1116.