A secret diorama is a diorama built in an unexpected place. This gives the diorama a level of not only visual delight but also discovery. And the theme of the diorama can be closely linked to the location, which makes it really special.
Many years ago I built a complete and extensive diorama in a dresser drawer. I remember this diorama very basically because it wasn’t just a miniature place, it was also a hidden place. There is an added level of fun in a diorama that is hidden away and waiting to be discovered. Here are some tips and advice on where and how to make secret little dioramas.
Places to hide your secret diorama
It can be hidden almost anywhere, but ideally it should be hidden somewhere where people will discover it. Inside a dresser drawer is a nice place, but this will get very little discovery from others!
Think about your hobbies and this will give you clues as to where and how to make your diorama. You read many books? In fact, you could take the pages out of a large book, build a diorama inside, and then put it back on the shelf. Do you play a musical instrument like the guitar and have an old one that you no longer use? Build a diorama inside the body of the guitar. Do you entertain guests a lot? How about building a diorama inside a cookie tin and then leaving it on the coffee table with the lid on? When someone asks if they could have some cookies, imagine the delight when they open it up and see a mini diorama. If you have an extra shelf in your kitchen cabinets, you could build a small diorama of a kitchen right on it. And this brings me to the next topic of linking the location of the diorama to the actual theme of the diorama.
Make the theme similar to the location.
If you want to add an extra level of enjoyment and wonder to your diorama, you need to tie the location to the theme. What I mean is that let’s say you build the kitchen cabinet diorama, you could make the diorama a small actual kitchen scene much like what would be found inside a dollhouse. If you’re making a diorama within a book, you could make the diorama with a theme that complements the title of the book. For example, if you’re using a book about the history of dragons, you could make the scene inside a dragon scene. Inside your guitar you could make a diorama of a small symphony orchestra. The only limits are the limits of your imagination.
Let’s get really creative
Inside the freezer there is a fun place to hide a little diorama and you can turn it into an igloo and penguins. This is a wonderful little theme to make and being inside the freezer will make anyone who discovers it laugh. If you live in a climate where it snows, you could spend some time outside making little snowmen, igloos, or other things out of real snow and then put them in your freezer diorama.
If you’re ambitious, you could start thinking big by tackling a diorama project in a closet. This is a project that has a lot of potential for creative exploration and allows you to use larger objects or use many smaller objects in a very complex scene. You could even make the closet a small dollhouse-like structure.
Making a secret diorama is a great project because it has multiple levels of enjoyment. You enjoy doing it, you enjoy watching it, and you get the added pleasure of seeing other people discover it. And there are a million different ideas you could use for your diorama. Just look around your house for small enclosed spaces and you’ll be amazed at the ideas that come to mind.
