Tiny art, big buzz: Gallery 408 in Camas to unveil mini-gallery

Mini-gallery curator Lara Blair holds a tiny pair of scissors (yes, they actually work) and a tiny card listing participating artists. (Taylor Balkom/The Columbian)

Artist and curator Lara Blair reaches inside a mini-Gallery 408 on Wednesday at the human-sized Gallery 408 in Camas. Gallery owners created the mini-gallery as part of the Worldwide Sidewalk Joy Project, which celebrates miniature art installations around the world. (Taylor Balkom/The Columbian)

Miniaturist Lara Blair places a tiny figurine inside the Gallery 408 mini-gallery on Wednesday. The mini-gallery will be displayed inside the front window of the larger gallery where passersby can see it. (Taylor Balkom/The Columbian)

Mini-gallery curator Lara Blair, left, and Gallery 408 co-owner Kim Nickens chat Wednesday next to their mini-gallery. (Photos by Taylor Balkom/The Columbian)

Gallery curator Lara Blair sets up a small bench inside a miniature gallery Wednesday at Gallery 408 in Camas. (Taylor Balkom/The Columbian)

Owner Kim Nickens holds miniature posters for the grand opening of a mini art gallery Wednesday at Gallery 408 in Camas. The mini-gallery will be included on a map produced by the Worldwide Sidewalk Joy Project, which celebrates miniature art installations around the world. (Taylor Balkom/The Columbian)

A miniature Gallery 408 sits on a stand inside the regular-sized gallery Wednesday at Gallery 408 in Camas. Gallery 408 co-owners, their husbands and Camas miniaturist Lara Blair built the mini-gallery as part of the Worldwide Sidewalk Joy Project, which celebrates miniature art installations around the world. (Taylor Balkom/The Columbian)

A tiny but incredibly detailed rose painting by Jan Patricio hangs on a wall inside the miniature Gallery 408 on Wednesday at Gallery 408 in Camas. The mini-gallery, which currently displays works by eight artists as well as by miniaturist and mini-gallery curator Lara Blair, will become a destination on the Worldwide Sidewalk Joy Project map, which tracks miniature art installations around the world. (Taylor Balkom/The Columbian)

Gallery 408 co-owner Kim Nickens holds two of her intricate paper art pieces. The teensy artwork on the left will hang in her new mini-gallery, which will be officially “opened” with a ribbon-cutting attended by the mayor of Camas at 5 p.m. June 5, complete with tiny scissors and tiny ribbon. (Taylor Balkom/The Columbian)

Artwork by Chuck Bloom and other artists hangs on the walls of a miniature gallery. (Taylor Balkom/The Columbian)

Gallery 408 co-owner Kim Nickens, from left, co-owner Michelle Purvis and curator Lara Blair remove the roof of a miniature art gallery Wednesday at Gallery 408 in Camas. The teensy gallery, designed by Blair and constructed by the gallery co-owners’ husbands, will become part of the Worldwide Sidewalk Joy Project, which celebrates miniature art installations around the world. The mini-gallery will officially “open” with a ribbon-cutting ceremony June 5. (Taylor Balkom/The Columbian)

Miniscule stitches evoke the feathers of a swan in Michelle Purvis’ tiny artwork, regarded by a teensy dog atop a tiny stepladder inside the miniature Gallery 408. (Taylor Balkom/The Columbian)

A miniature heart by artist and mini-gallery designer Lara Blair sits atop a tiny, custom-made pedestal. Actual tiny artworks are displayed inside a new miniature art gallery at Gallery 408 in downtown Camas. All of the tiny artworks are for sale, ranging from $40 to $120. (Taylor Balkom/The Columbian)