In memory of Pam Scott, 1944–2011
By Anna-Carin Betzén
Pam was a very creative and productive miniaturist, and is known to many through the "Little Enough News" newsletter she published, and later through the Yahoo! group she hosted. She also pursued several non-miniature interests, including shell collecting.
She's been selling her original sculpted and painted 1:48 scale miniatures through eBay, as well as doing custom orders. In the past she's also sold her own line of kits.
We know Pam as inspiring, encouraging, and always full of ideas. May there always be many miniaturists like her!
A great contributor to the world of miniatures
In 1997, I heard of a newsletter on 1:48 scale, named Little Enough News or LEN. I subcribed, and got a personal reply from editor Pam Scott, saying how happy she was to have a Swedish subscriber, as she herself was of Swedish ancestry! I got to know her thanks to this fortunate coincidence.
She was born in St. Charles, Illinois, an area where many Swedes settled. While she still lived there, she worked at the local history museum, and learned to use the archives so she could research her family history. When we became friends, I started researching her roots in Swedish archives. With her interest in history, she always liked to hear about Swedish culture and traditions, and even recreated some Swedish folk art items in miniature.
The LEN group
In 2001 she started a Yahoo! discussion group as a benefit for LEN subscribers. When she eventually stopped publishing LEN, she kept running the group - now open to anyone who liked to join.
Besides being a group owner and moderator, Pam took an active part in the group, sharing hints and joining group swaps.
Collecting shells
Pam had been a shell collector for many years, and was a member of multiple shell clubs. She often went to Sanibel Island (near Fort Myers, Florida, where she and her husband lived), to gather shells.
Having been a serious shell collector, she was familiar with the Latin names of various species, but she also liked using shells creatively in crafts and artwork.
She was particularly fascinated with the salor's valentine (framed designs made up of tiny shells, originally a Victorian-era souvenir) and even made some in 1:48 scale, using the tiniest real shells and coral pieces.
One of her last major projects was a miniature beach house for herself. She built the house and furniture from kits, and displayed a large collection of pretty shells in the living room, definitely making it a shell collector's home.
Kits
I don't know when Pam started making kits, but the kit for the 1:144 scale scene shown dates to 1990, and was reviewed in Nutshell News two years later.
During the early years of LEN, Pam was making and selling her own line of wooden furniture kits. After assembling and painting the furniture pieces, you decoupaged them with artwork included in the kit - these were photocopies of Pam's own miniature paintings.
Later, she sculpted pieces to cast in resin for a completely different style of kits, including 1950s style furniture to go with the Fifties Moderne house she designed for LEN.
Original creations
Pam had been doing special orders all the time, but when she'd stopped making kits she focused instead on offering original creations for sale. For a while she sold them through her website, then moved to eBay.
In recent years, she often worked in Fimo, which she then painted. Food was one of her favorites - a Tudor feast, seaside cooking, cakes, and so on. She also made a number of character dolls, including several special orders.
Pets and other interests
Pam was fond of animals - both wildlife, cats and dogs, and strange creatures in the sea. She and her husband opened their home to a number of abandoned cats, taking great care of them. She enjoyed growing tomatoes and other vegetables in her back garden.
On her blog she shared many photos of her miniatures, as well as various crafts she tried - her shell work and button flowers springs to mind. She also showed pics of the salt and pepper shakers she collected, and her and her husband's collection of wedding cake toppers.