Los Angeles Cityscape Architectural Model

“We wouldn’t presume to think of ourselves as artists,” Robert Paisley says. “We call ourselves draftsmen; the architect is the artist.” A bit of an understatement for Robert and brother Gavin, who fled an office-software business for their creative venture Chisel & Mouse. With both traditional plaster-cast methods (the “Chisel”) and today’s 3-D printing and computer-aided design (“Mouse”), not to mention Google Earth and satellite data, they turn out painstakingly accurate architectural models. The smooth white plaster replicas of such landmarks as the Bauhaus Dessau and New York’s Guggenheim Museum are stylish and also quite personal, adds Robert. “I love the idea of immortalizing a place that’s special to people.”