Lori Nix and Kathleen Gerber make for compelling documentary subjects. Beyond being incredible artists (they built the sets for a previous Short of the Week pick, The Sea is Blue), their rapport and wit is on display throughout this short. Nix’s dry sense of humor carries things forward at a brisk pace. Humor is often a large component of what makes a profile doc like this work, and, well, Nix’s sarcastic commentary is made for the camera—she’s droll, yet surprisingly insightful.

For Nix in particular, destruction is construction. As she remarks in the film: “I love throwing my scenes away, because it means I’m ready to start the next scene.” If there was ever a simple and poetic way of explaining the inclination for an artist to make something only to have a desire to create something else, that’s it.

Nix + Gerber’s work is is also just, well, fun to look at. Like my wife’s dollhouse, there is fascination in the miniature—you could look at the details in their various photographs for hours.