Microscopic Miniature By Nikolai Aldunin

I have a question to all of you. Can you put a camel through the eye of a needle? It’s a simple question, but I think no can answer this except a Russian man called Nikolai Aldunin. Actually, I had written a hub related with mini sculpture. We called it a micro sculpture. You can read my hub with a title “Willard Wigan, the man behind the smallest sculpture in the world”. He is amazing sculptor who dedicated his life to make a beautiful art creation. It’s unusual artwork, because not all of us can do this. How do we make something in microscopic size? We need a high level of accuracy and high level of concentration. Of course, it’s difficult for us to achieve such this precision. We need a microscope to see the detail of the microscopic art creation. Personally, this is this very difficult and interesting craft as well.

The first time I saw the microscopic miniature, I said “wow” and “wow” and makes me speechless. We can call this a microminiature art. I found a great artist from Russia and many people call him as a master of microminiature. His name is Nikolai Aldunin. We know that there are several streams in sculpture. But microminiature give me a new spirit to find out more about the man behind the beautiful art creation like this one. From this hub, let me introduce a Russian artist recorded for his microscopic art described as “masterpieces”. Beautiful art created by working between the beats of the heart, Nikolai Aldunin created masterpieces "so tiny". It can only be seen through a microscope lens…..”wow”…amazing. I can’t even begin to imagine how he does all his works and about the patience in making such of wonderful tiny miniature. Can you make your hand steady to create one of these miniature masterpieces? I think one breath could destroy the work, right! Curious…please continue to read!

Nikolai Aldunin was born on September 1, 1956 in South Village Lamovatka Voroshilovgrad region, Russia. From the history of life, he fell in love with metallurgy from his childhood. Growing up he decide to dive deeper into metal and also all the secret of its. He had experience worked as a metal turner at the same Tula region plant for 25 years. He quit his job and decided to start his career as microscopic sculptor which is very difficult for common people. Eventually creating these miniatures make him famous around the world. He works only with a microscope. I heard that almost of his pieces have been sold, even there are some pieces of his work that are simply priceless. The rest of his masterpieces will be placed in a new museum being built for Nikolai in Moscow. Creating the master of miniatures, Aldunin works between the beats of his heart, in order to keep his hands perfectly stable. If something goes wrong, Aldunin decided to start all over again. He usually used superglue, toothpicks and also syringes. Because of all his creations so tiny, a microscope is needed to see them. He also said that everything in his soul is transmitted to his hands.

He took six months to create 34 replicas in tiny scales which is just 1.625 millimeters long. He usually worked at night. He also wore headscarf and mask to prevent his breath from blowing the fragile parts. The most stressful section is keeping his fingers trembled with every heartbeat. He said that he needed to earn money, but he think that he's doing what he want, and it's great. Sometimes he need took breaks by watching cars from the balcony in the eastern Moscow dormitory suburb of Novokosino. It's a good way to relax his eyes after worked long nights. Just information, Aldunin inherited this apartment. Another story came from the assault rifle. He said that he lost the gun's butt after working on it for two weeks and he could not find it. But, he decided to start all over again.

Gun on a Matchstick

He spent weeks tirelessly melding a small model of an AK-47 or commonly called "Kalashnikov" (about six months). It’s the post-war weapon famously designed by Mikhail Kalashnikov (Soviet lieutenant general). AK-47 replica assembled from 34 separate parts and made by the pure gold. It’s amazing art creation and unusual which is smaller than the width of an ordinary matchstick.

A group of camel’s miniature and arrange them in a thin needle's eyes with height of between 0.08 mm to 0.1 mm, the material used is platinum. The idea to make camel's carvings was inspired by the biblical. Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God (Matthew 19:23-24). It was taken from http://www.kencollins.com.

This sculpture is the replica of the Soviet T-34 tank. The background is a cross-section of the apple seed split in half and described as perfect copy of the real vehicle. It composed of more than 200 pieces and made of pure gold.

It is a heated metal container traditionally used to boil water in Russia. The miniature of teapot rests on a needle next to a grain of sugar. The replica of a Russian samovar that's smaller than a granule of sugar.

The miniature inspired by a famous Russian tale about Levsha (in a story by 19th-century writer Nikolai Leskov). Aldunin is able to put horseshoes on a flea. He also completed his work with four golden shoes, three nails, saddle and stirrups as well. He convinced that his work is better than the work on display at the Polytechnical Museum, in Moscow. If they have two shoes, but Aldinun has four.

Aldinun engraved a portrait of Leo Tolstoy on a grain of rice. Leo Tolstoy was a Russian writer who primarily wrote novels and short stories.

I hope all of you enjoy this hub and we can learn about the spirit of Aldunin in making such of wonderful art work and all of them are totally awesome. Maybe we can interpret the meaning of " the achievement of the purposes of human life depends on the will: the higher the goal, the greater the desire".

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