Vernon carved the most beautiful pumpkin, with stars for freckles, and the out-cuts held high by toothpicks framing the tawny treasure in a star-studded stratosphere. Continue reading
Art
The Year of the Mosaic
Back in August, I made an offhand comment to a fellow art league member. An art student home for the summer was looking for ways to fatten up her portfolio, and offered to help us gain some additional community presence. “Why don’t you have her design something for the exterior of the building?” At 52, I could never pass for having been born yesterday. You’d think I’d have known better. Continue reading
Call for Mosaic Art
Sum of All Parts: Contemporary Mosaic Art in North America, will be held December 4, 2007 – January 30, 2008 at the Walters Cultural Arts Center in Hillsboro, Oregon. Submission receipt deadline is October 15, Continue reading
New Mosaic
A new piece, fast, fun, and happy. This one was made for a Tiny Art show and measures only 2″ x 8″ using a leftover scrap of wedi. Materials are millefiori, Italian and Mexican smalti, smalti filati, and glass. I call it “Baby Blues.” Larger image here.
Mosaic TaDa!
Well, she’s done. “My Mother Lived and Died” is 11″ x 23″ and uses Shell, Coral, Pearls, Transparent Smalti, China, Pyrite, and Ceramic. I made it as a stab in the dark at working through the death of my mother, but of course really as a way to order my mind around the concepts of life and death in general. The mosaic traces the concept of life from the central birth motif, through the varied passages of life, to the climb up the final mountain and release Continue reading
Mosaic on the Move: Shipping
“Which way do the bubbles go?” she asks. Click here for a cute read on Protecting Your Package. Still worried? Airfloat Masterpack is a Very Strong Box with egg crate cushioning sized to your exact specifications, specifically designed for moving irreplaceable art from one location to the next. The only downside is that you can’t pop the egg crates for a satisfying BANG when you’re peeved at a loved one. Nor are the pants as cute.
2007 Orsoni Prizes
Winged Geode by SAMA member Lynne Chinn was a finalist for Orsoni Prize 2007: International Award for Mosaic Fine Art. This magnificent piece measures 9” high x 29-1/2” wide x 13” deep, and is made with smalti, 24k gold smalti, 24k colored gold, transparent smalti, piastrini, smashed smalti pizza, and vitreous glass, no grout. This giant-seed-pod of a mosaic is fantastically conceived and so texturally executed that it spins my brain. Thank you, thank you, thank you Lynne! Detail shots are here, and click here to see all the Orsoni finalists.
Mosaic Play
I’m having a heck of a time getting the colors to photograph as they appear to the eye. Today I’ll work on a bit more fill and the cutting of more transparent smalti to place around the edges as surf fizz. I’m considering a couple of new titles. The working title is “My Mother Lived and Died,” which works for me. but maybe “Life: In Short.” “An Offering of Soul.” “Journey of the Soul.” “Fragments of a Life.” Or maybe “Even Mothers Die.” We’ll see. Comments welcome.
I have a strong emotional attachment to this piece, and of course that clouds my judgment. Objectively, it’s easy for me to look at it and think it’s just a collection of pretty things arranged in spirals. Not bad as pretty things go, but I’m always looking for more, and I wonder if it’s possible to create the “more” in an emotional piece. Because I don’t look at the art as an art teacher — I look at it with my heart. With no formal art background, it probably takes me a little longer to figure out what goes wrong with a piece. But I’m not one to disparage working intuitively.
Mosaic Addict Garden
A garden to live and die for, to sleep and dream in. Our lady of mirrors and grasses was created for the 2006 Chelsea Flower Show in London. Appropriately titled “Garden of Dreams,” it was designed by Chelsea gold medal winner Marney Hall, with Heather Yarrow. The yummy dreamer (who sleeps on her own private island in the garden pond) Continue reading
Mosaic Passion
The best news I have lately is that I’ve begun working on my current mosaic in earnest. I tend to be a slow starter in so many things, but I’m working with thinset for this one, and a “wrong” tile is so much harder to pry loose, so, in my world, this involves many, many hours of staring while the art muses arrange things in my head with absolutely no help from me, Continue reading
Pam Goode Writes 