IT'S A SMALL WORLD AFTER ALL; MINIATURES CUT CRAFTSMANSHIP DOWN TO SIZE.

Byline: Karen Thacker Daily News Community Columnist

While most people see the cap of a soda-pop bottle as a lid, those who work in miniatures would more likely view it as a pie plate.

Artists and hobbyists who create miniature versions of rooms, houses and furniture - almost anything that could be created full-size - look around them for materials.

``Anything you can think of in true life, we try to emulate,'' said Beti King, one such artist.

``Miniaturists are very peculiar people,'' she continued. ``Everywhere they go they look at the road, the sidewalk. . . . They pick up things and they use them.''

A silver gum wrapper is a potential mirror. Macrame waxed yarn makes excellent wicker furniture, said 20-year miniature veteran Bernice Ludwigs.

``When you are in miniatures, you save everything,'' she said.

A drawer in her home is filled with items for future use. She already has turned her patio into a museum for miniatures - about 90 percent of them made by hand.

Both King and Ludwigs are members of the Oohs and Aahs Miniature Club. They regularly enter the Antelope Valley Fair's miniatures competition.

Those interested can see a few of the club members' creations in the front display case at the Lancaster Library this month. Those wanting to see more can view miniatures entered in the fair.

Miniatures range from a single room or patio to an entire house, store or other building - all on a scale for dolls a fraction the size of a person. Furniture, rugs, wallpaper, flowers and other accessories are proportionately tiny. Popular scales are a ratio of 1-to-48, 1-to-24 and 1-to-12.

Originally, such miniatures were made to depict what a tradesman could offer in full size. Many famous miniatures today are tiny copies of the settings or accessories of history, ranging from Thomas Jefferson's home to drums from Africa.

For those entering competition, the fair will have two new categories: one with no designated scale and one for competitors younger than 18.

Some miniaturists make a business of their work, as does club president Sharon Granicy, who owns Hooked On Miniatures in Lancaster.

Most club members, however, enjoy the work as a hobby.

``We do it for our own amusement, primarily,'' said King, who has been in the club five years. ``We're not collectors. We're doers.''

``Once you get into miniatures, it's like a disease. You get so you work on it 12 hours a day,'' Ludwigs said. ``I don't like to read. I like to work with my hands.''

She and her husband, Gerd H. Ludwigs, began crafting miniatures after he retired long ago. He ordered a kit to make a grandfather clock, declared the parts too small and handed them over to Bernice. She got interested, and he did, too.

They created tiny versions of the Iowa farm where he lived in boyhood and of the old church down the road.

Some hobbyists create a childhood bedroom or a dream house.

Initially, the Ludwigses worked from kits. Now they assemble their own materials for their own designs.

``It's amazing what can be done,'' King said. ``The other day I went to a meeting, and they used film containers to make furniture.''

The Oohs and Aahs Miniature Club was organized 17 years ago this summer.

``People look and say, Isn't that lovely - ooh, aah,'' King said, explaining how the founders came up with the name.

About 20 members are active. King, the club librarian, says more are always welcome. They meet from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the third Thursday of each month in the recreation room at Leisure Lake Mobile Estates, 48303 20th St. W., Lancaster. For information, call King at [phone]. An evening group also meets. Call Mo Ogan at [phone] for the time and the place.

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Photo: (1-2--color) Sharon Granicy, president of the Oohs and Aahs Miniatures Club, stands by a display of members' work at the Lancaster Library. She touches a chair in one exhibit.

Jeff Goldwater/Daily News