Welcome crafty gamer fam! I am INCREDIBLY excited about today’s interview. I recently spoke with Shoshie Bauer (Shoshie’s Magnificent Mini Painting) about miniatures painting. I first learned about Shoshie after attending Adepticon a few years ago. At the time, I was working on an ethnographic research project for school about the war gaming community and I was at Adepticon to interview some folks and do some participant observation. After I discovered Shoshie’s work, I was in awe! I have followed her work and updates on social media the past few years and was thrilled when she agreed to an interview for this series.
Rubina (Queen of Hearts), by Kimera Models, is one of Shoshie’s more recent projects. I love the color and depth she has achieved with this piece. Those reds… Beautiful!
To Play Is Human: How did you first get into painting miniatures?
Shoshie: My husband got me into painting minis when he and I started playing Warmachine when we were dating. What got me into painting professionally however was receiving my Reaper Bones Kickstarter. I wanted to make back the money I spent on it so I painted some of them up to sell. It pretty much took off from there.
TPIH: Do you play other miniatures games or other tabletop games in general (board games, RPG, etc.)?
Shoshie: Yes! Kingdom Death is my main game right now but we have all kinds of board games and I’ve played RPG’s since I was 10 years old (1980).
Here’s one of Shoshie’s most recent Kingdom Death paint projects:
Savior – 40 Years |Sculptor: Yannick Hennebo | Concept Artist: Yasmine Putri.
TPIH: What was your first RPG?
Shoshie: Dungeons & Dragons in the Red Box set.
TPIH: Do you come from a gaming family?
Shoshie: No, but my parents were geeks. My mom collected Golden and Silver Age Superman comics and my dad loved science fiction books and movies.
TPIH: Awesome! Geek parents! Who did you game with when you started D&D?
Shoshie: When I started playing D&D it was with two boys and my best friend in my fifth grade class. Our teacher let us stay in during recess.
TPIH: That’s awesome! I love stories about teachers supporting gaming!
TPIH: I love the work you’ve done with miniatures. What has been your favorite painting project so far?
Shoshie: My favorite project was Salamanca by Aradia Miniatures. I painted her as a commission and had a blast.
Sculptor: George Georgy | Concept Artist: Stefano Moroni | Box Art: Alex Varela
TPIH: I know you teach classes, too. When did you start that and what is your favorite thing about doing it?
Shoshie: I started teaching locally giving a few workshops and then started my Twitch channel to help build my brand as a teacher. I used to give drawing and painting lessons when I did watercolor and I still substitute teach so teaching is something I love doing. My favorite part about it is giving people tools and confidence to create art and get enjoyment from it.
TPIH: I definitely understand the joy that comes with giving people the tools, support, and motivation to do something creative. It must be a great way to interact with the miniatures community, too.
Here’s another favorite. I love the detail in the sculpt and in Shoshie’s paint work.
The Red Lioness | Confrontation/Rackham
TPIH: Who are your favorite painters?
Shoshie: Picking a favorite painter is so hard! In no particular order… Marina Ainagoz, Julio Cabos, Matt DiPietro, Mirko Cavalloni, Richard Gray, and Elizabeth Beckley-Bradford are the folks who come to mind.
TPIH: Are there any final words or thoughts you’d like to share with our readers about the hobby or anything else?
Shoshie: I want people to know that everyone has stumbles and roadblocks in their journey when making anything creative but just keep going. Keep creating. We are all on the same train even if we might be on different cars. (I think I read that last sentence in Julia Cameron’s The Artists Way).
TPIH: That’s great advice! Thank you SO much for doing this interview. I’ve admired your work for so long and now I admire it and you so much more.
Shoshie: Thank you!
Make sure you check out Shoshie’s work in these places:
Facebook | Twitter | Twitch | Instagram
One last piece to share here:
Thyphus | Warhammer 40,000 | Games Workshop
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
Do you have a tabletop gaming project that you’ve created? Contact me with some information and photos. No project is too big/small — as long as you made it yourself and you use it when you game, it is eligible for submission! I would love to see projects for board game upgrades and accessories, RPGs, miniatures (I would love to see mini paint jobs!), terrain, dice towers, custom playmats, custom dice, or anything else you have made.
Beautiful paint jobs!
Right?? I always love seeing her new projects.
Fantastic! What an incredible talent to paint like that.