Abigail Goldman, a former Las Vegas Sun crime reporter, produces tiny, twisted dioramas of her own design, snow-globe-sized worlds of murder and mayhem, reports the Los Angeles Times. She calls them “die-o-ramas.” They feature corpses, shallow graves. and improbable characters, like the gunman in a pope costume, the decapitated man sitting next to his severed head and a guy dispatching his victim with a lawn mower. Much of the madness involves gardening tools. “You can do so many things with a pair of hedge trimmers,” said Goldman, 30.
What started years ago as a pet project is creating a stir on the Internet and in the Las Vegas art community. In May, Goldman's husband, Stephen Jackson, posted 13 miniatures on the website Reddit under the heading “My Wife Makes Dioramas.” It since has provoked more than 4 million hits. Within hours the pieces were sold out. A recent art gallery exhibit titled “Little Lives” that displayed several of Goldman's plexiglass boxes has evoked a waiting list of people who want to own one. She's made 35 miniatures, most 4 inches tall, that have sold for $65 to $500.” Goldman is now an investigator for the federal public defender's office.