Summer is in full swing here on the Maine Coast! Ocean breezes, beach days, long distance ocean swims, gardening, kids running around the yard, bonfires, and visiting friends and family. - AND the start of a 10' x 8' mosaic mural!
Right after my last summer mosaic class here at the studio ended, the folding tables came out of storage, and the design for the new mural got laid out. This mural is going to be installed in the entryway of a new High School being built in Sanford Maine. A long time friend/author/teacher/artist, Hilary Zayed, and I partnered up for this Percent for Art Project. I'm thrilled to be working on something with her again!
Work has started on some of the smaller elements of the mural. I'm having a lot of fun working on the wild life along the water's edge.
March, 2018 How exciting to once again be in a glass show at the Somerville Museum in Massachusetts. THEN, after the show, my piece is returned to me with a People's Choice Award attached to it. Out of the 60+ mosaic pieces in the show, it's a MASSIVE honor to get this award!!
I'm excited to announce that I was recently selected for an artists residency in Ireland! I'll be traveling there in March of 2018, and staying on this amazing estate, painting, sketching, mosaicing, and drawing to my heart's content! The estate is owned by an artist and a historian... complete with old church ruins, beautiful gardens, meandering cows, and SO MUCH food for your imagination!
I will be the only artist in residence, and just can't wait! When my residency comes to a close, my children and husband will be meeting me there, and we'll spend a few weeks exploring all that Ireland has to offer. March can't come fast enough!
How is it possible that it's been so long? Where does the time go? Rather than try to back track, I'm going to just jump right into telling you about 2 cool projects I'm working on right now.
First, I had the total pleasure of sharing the art of mosaic with the women at Florence House a few weeks ago. Florence House is a home for chronically homeless women in Portland Maine. All of the women were so welcoming, and I loved seeing them get their creative juices flowing. Each woman made a mosaic flower, and now I'm putting them all into a garden mosaic that will hang in the entryway at Florence House. Here are some of their beautiful creations!
Then, the following week I was off to a small school in West Bath, Maine. There, I talked to the kids about mosaic art, showed them my work, and talked to them a bit about life as an artist. I've never met a group of 3rd graders that were so inquisitive! There were so many questions that I was afraid we would run out of time for them to create their own mosaic! The introduction to making mosaic that I gave them was for each of them to make a paper mosaic. Kids are so creative... it was great to see what they came up with. They don't know it yet, but coming up next month, they'll be visiting my studio, where they will each be making a mosaic leaf for a tree mural I'm creating for the school's entryway. What a fun day it will be when I see a school bus pull up outside the studio!!!
Other than these two great projects, my goal this week is to finally get this sunrise at Portland Headlight mosaic listed for sale...
... and to finish this mosaic of one of my favorite rocks in our little cove.
I'll try to be better about posting updates. Weird... I feel like I've said that before...
Well, Summer of 2015 is now over. How did that happen!? Although I made a true effort to enjoy & get the most out of every day, it still seemed to go by faster than ever. Days spent in the studio, in the garden, hanging out with two of the coolest kids ever (which happen to be my own), splashing in the waves, exploring the ever-changing cove we live on... summers in Maine are magical. But now, as Summer ends, I'm getting excited about what Autumn brings: sunny but cooler days that make you want to turn on the oven, the smell of candles, the changing colors of nature, snuggly days watching movies, and a seemingly endless amount of inspiration from the ever-changing environment of coastal Maine.
This summer I taught two great classes here in the studio... mosaic mirrors & a stained glass mosaic window class. Both were just fantastic! It's always wonderful to meet new people & see where everyone's creative juices will flow!
A student working hard on her awesome mirror... this was the first time she had done a piece on a wood substrate!
The past 3 months I've also been working on a 92 foot long mosaic
installation for Allagash Brewing.. and it's coming to an end! In the
next few weeks, I will be installing! The mosaic "time line" will be installed on the floor of Allagash's mezzanine, seen in the photo below.
This is just a small section of the mosaic... which is filled with all kinds of different elements used by Allagash... everything from ingredients, to beer bottles, to storage (barrels & tanks), and some other little surprises.
It's been such a long time since I was here, so I'm not going to fool myself into thinking that I can update this blog in one post. :) Instead, I'll do something much more reasonable, and plan on writing here once every couple of days for the next few weeks. For now, I'll jump right into the exciting news that Groutline Magazine ran an article about my project for the Ronald McDonald House of Portland Maine! To see more about the project, head here.
I'm
very happy to announce that my design, "Everyone's Tree House" has been
selected as the winning design for a 5-story mosaic mural at Boston
Children's Hospital. The proposal phase was long, and so many amazing
artists applied. I'm still stunned that my piece won the contract... but
beyond that, I'm thrilled & honored. I'll be a very busy camper for
a while now! I'll be sure to post many work in progress shots along the way.. so stay tuned! In the mean time, here is my design.
I don't believe I've ever written about my children on here... but today I was asked by someone what inspires me. The first thing I thought of was, "my children". They remind me to enjoy life... to laugh A LOT, to jump over the waves, to roll down hills, to not take myself too seriously, and to give love freely & as much as possible. The lessons I've learned from them come through in every piece of art I make. My work has no big hidden meanings.... it's just simply color, joy, love, and moments of imaginative freedom. I am so blessed to live with two such amazing people.Thank you Julian and Priya for inspiring me every day. xoxo
Julian and Priya... Flower Day & Spreading some Love on PhotoPeach
I
took my 12-piece exhibit down this morning, and the folks at the
library gallery said it was one of their most popular exhibits all year!
Apparently, different large groups came by to see it.. and often. They
said that a group of 8 people from Canada came in, and that they came to
the area just to see my work! I was floored, honored, and so
unbelievably grateful to everyone, every kind word, every wonderful
email... THANK YOU for making my exhibit so successful! xoxox
Doves are coming in all the time, from all over the world, for the Florence House Dove Mural. It's so exciting to open the boxes... and then I always get a little teary-eyed when I see the beautiful creations. Click here to head over the Florence House page and see the wonderful pieces that have come in so far!
I've been very busy with commissions, and putting together a proposal for a large mural for a New England hospital. More to come on that! I was thrilled to find out that I'm a finalist, and I'll be doing my presentation in early September. Keep your fingers & toes crossed for me... it would be a wonderful experience for many different reasons.
Hope everyone is enjoying these last weeks of summer! Peace, love, and laughter!
Summer is half over now... and what a busy summer it's been! Doves for the Florence House mural have been showing up at my doorstep, and each one is just so lovely & moving. There will be 17 doves in the mural when all is said and done. I'll be posting photos of the doves I've received so far VERY soon!
Yesterday, I hung 11 pieces of work at the Thomas Memorial Library, here in Cape Elizabeth, for a summer art show. My son is almost 10 years old, and he asked if he could be my assistant. He was amazing & such a joy to have there!
Here are a few more photos of the show. If you're in the Portland area, come by! - and if you contact me first (you can do that through the "contact me" page) I'll meet you there & take you through all the work. :)
Also in the news front, I was told that I was a finalist for a large mosaic mural project. Right now, I don't want to say too much about it... but more information will follow! It would be a dream to create this mural, for many personal reasons... so lets all do a collective positive energy surge, and maybe it will give me a little edge. :)
This has been a busy commission season. My current work-in-progress is a tree window. I'll be adding the last of the glass today, then grouting late next week. Stay tuned!
Thank you all for all the love & support... daily, I'm blown away by the emails & comments on my work. I never know what to say, so I just wanted to say THANK YOU.
A few weeks ago, I was VERY excited to be juried into the Art is Community III art show, in Buxton Maine. It was my son's first time going to an art show opening (he's 9)... and he was the one who first noticed that I had won First Place in the Mixed Media and Sculpture category! I think it was just as exciting for him as it was for me!
First Place! Woo-hoo!!
I was beyond surprised, and totally honored! To make things even MORE exciting, I received an email the next morning that I also was voted 2nd place in the People's Choice vote, the night of the show's opening!
My son, downstairs at the "create your own art" table.
If you get a chance to see the show, please do! It's a great variety of wonderful work from Maine artists! - and don't forget to head downstairs & see the "gift shop" full of artwork by the artists upstairs in the show!
It's Memorial Day weekend... the official start of summer here at the beach! - and what better way to start a new season than with a new big project? If you haven't heard of Florence House, in close-by Portland Maine, then please take a look at this video:
It's an inspirational place... and when you see a group trying to start over, and banding together in a place of support, love, and sympathy, you want to jump in and do something. As an artist, my mind always floats to mosaics... and so I approached my mosaic group, the Piece Makers, with an idea: to each create a mosaic peace dove, and I will assemble them all into a mural of birds in flight on a wall at Florence House.... each dove different, but coming together, and moving in the same direction... just as the women of Florence House are doing. So far, 14 artists have stepped up & are participating. It's a very exciting project, and I'm so honored to be able to do something special for this group of women who have been through so much.
Yesterday, I went back to the Children's Hospital, with photographer Kelly Ash, to take photos of my mural. Kelly is taking the photos that will be in Vidro Impresso Magazine. It was great to see the mural again, now that it's all settled into it's new home. Along with Kelly, I snapped just a few pictures of my own... because how could I not? Enjoy them!
.. and just a couple of detail shots.
I have also finished putting the last of the glass onto a window for a holistic medical practice in Colorado. This weekend, it will be ready to grout... and then the magic will happen. :) I'll be sure to post photos of it when it's finished. Here it is in all it's ungrouted glory this morning. I'm really looking forward to grouting it.... to seeing all the details pop, and finally being able to see the light filter through the colors.
I got a wonderful email last week from the Art Editor of Vidro Impresso magazine. They are going to publish a piece about my mosaics. I'm thrilled! A wonderful photographer, Kelly Ash, came by yesterday, and today we're heading to the Barbara Bush Children's Hospital to photograph the mosaic mural I did for them. I'm not sure which month my piece will be in, but I'll be sure to post more information about it as soon as I know more details.
This week, I've been busy working on a window for a holistic physical therapy studio in Colorado. The idea behind this window was to give the tree a mandala feel. The area outside the circle will be full of the many colors of water. Within the circle is the Spring/Summer tree, full of swirling leaves, and from behind it is the glow of the sun. I've hand cut over a thousand leaves for the tree... and seeing them come to life in the tree makes me so happy! I'm very excited to be working on this piece... and can't wait to see it all come together! It's about 26" x 28". More photos to come as it continues to grow.
This week, I've been working on a new window.... a shell surrounded by a burst of color. The window is complete, and yesterday I started the install. Although the edge work now needs to be completed, I couldn't resist taking a picture when I saw that late morning sun pouring through it for the first time. Once the window install is completed, I'll take another photo... but in the mean time, enjoy the glow!
It's finally snowing here in Maine!!! We've waited a long time for this storm, and my kids are over the moon that school was FINALLY closed for a snow day! While they play in the snow, periodically come in for hot cocoa & dry mittens, I'm trying to organize my studio & myself. Lots has been happening in the art world around here lately... and it time for me to lay it all out for myself so I don't loose track of anything.
The Surfboard I created for Surfscapes was recently part of a photo shoot with photographer Colleen Dubois (http://cduboisphotography.wordpress.com/). Myself & the entire Piece Maker Mosaic group (members created creatures for the board!) are feeling proud today that the board I worked on is one of the "poster children" for this cool project.
I finished up a smaller, really fun mosaic commission last week... bring on the Spring!
I'm working on 2 possible designs for Spaulding Rehab Hospital. Spaulding is building a new hospital at the Charlestown Navy Yard, right outside of Boston. I've been asked to create a 7' x 4' mural for a patient floor, collaborating with another artist who has asked to remain nameless for the time being. Here is an artist's rendering of the new Hospital... beautiful.
The idea behind my first concept is that the viewer would be standing, looking through the trees at the bridges ahead of them. With an injury, there is never just one bridge to cross... there are many. Some of the waters will be smaller pieces of glass... rougher waters. Some of the water will be flowing, larger pieces.. smoother, calmer water. The trees will be flowering, Spring trees... new beginnings & hope. The sky will be circular, and done all in light blues... the scene will be bright & colorful... signifying that Spaulding is there to create the perfect setting for their healing... and that you just need to be present, and take the steps, and have the hope needed for healing.
I'll be finishing my second idea/sketch today, and will try to post it tomorrow.
I was also able to finish & grout a mirror frame that has some special meaning for me. My Mother had a bowl owned by my Great Grandmother (we have others still that are in one piece!). One day, while cleaning it, the bowl broke. My Mom saved the pieces, and brought them to me.... so now the bowl will live on in this mirror. - and THIS is why I love mosaics. :)
UPDATE: The finished frame & eggs that I wrote about below. :)
****************************** Things are busy in the studio... life is plugging along... and I'm trying to enjoy every minute of all of it! I've got a number of projects going on right now, and am trying to keep a few non-commission pieces going at the same time. Here's a little look at whats been going on the studio this past week.
This mirror frame has been hanging around in my studio for the past year. I finally got around to finishing it, and will be getting down & dirty with it and some grout this weekend.
This is a sneak peek at a commission I started this week... two matching Ukrainian Mosaic Eggs. They're proving to be so much fun to make! A welcome break from the glass bead work of this next piece....
My Queen Elizabeth I wardrobe mosaic collage is slowly plodding along. I loose days in the studio working on the glass bead work on that lace.
... and work is about to begin on a large window for a health center in Colorado.
Through all the time I spend in my studio, life continues all around me. :) I join in every chance I get... and there is ALWAYS a space for anyone else who might wan to spend some time creating. This is often the wonderful view I have from my studio desk... my beautiful daughter, gettin' her art on.
Lastly, I got a call yesterday about what could prove to be a VERY exciting new project! - sized about 7 feet x 4 feet, for a new Rehab Center building outside of Boston.
Off to the studio I float now! Have a creative day all!
Wow... time keeps on chugging along. Here in Maine, it's been a very mild winter. Even now, I can see grass outside when I look out the window. What a strange thing that is. Spring will be here before we know it... and I can't wait to open the windows, hear the birds, listen to the waves at night, and lay in the sand again. But, for now, I'm taking full advantage of the colder months, and working on a number of projects in the studio. First, there was a studio move back in the beginning of January. I'm now in a larger space, more light, more organized. It's been a lovely change!
The natural light shines on the walls of glass in the morning... it always gets me in there to work. :)
I've completed a set of stepping stones & a house number sign for a customer out in Washington state.
I've started designing a window to be installed in a health center in Boulder Colorado. Hopefully, over the next few weeks, I'll be finished with it.... pictures to come! I've also gotten in an order for two outdoor pieces, that I'll be starting in the next few days. By the beginning of March, I should have most of the details for a large mural project I'll be working on for a Children's Hospital here in New England.
In other news.... in August, I'm scheduled to have a solo show, organized by the Cape Elizabeth Arts Commission. - which means that I need to put aside a little bit of time to finish up some of my OWN mosaics. :)
Here in our house, we've started a new mosaic project as well. We're going to fill our kitchen wall with a shell mosaic. We're always bringing home shells, sea glass, cool rocks, etc that we find. It's nice to have a reason to fill our pockets now. The kids are having a great time with it. We have a lot more to go, but here's a glimpse of the progress.
So, as we welcome the 2nd half of winter, I just try to remain in the flow... and keep the creative juices flowing. Happy February!
So far, it's been a busy year! Two commissions have already left the house, and two more are getting going this week. One is a cool garden stone, and the other is a window heading out to Colorado. Both are fun projects, and came in from great customers! Also, in the very beginning stages, is a 5-story mural for a Children's Hospital. More details on that to come, as things develop. These two smaller commissions will be the last commissions I take on for quite a few months though... with a 31 foot mural coming down the pike, there won't be much time for working on anything else.
Starting a new year is always so exciting! It's fun to look back at what you've accomplished over the past year... and start making plans for the new one! Here's a look back at my 2011... what a year of new experiences, artistic growth, meeting artists, and of course endless inspiration.
This was the year of the pennies! I completed my penny floor, and even ended up on the front page of the Home & Garden Section of the Portland Press Herald.
One of my mosaics went off to London, to be added to the London Hospital Trust Collection, and was then included in a book created by Karla Duterloo.
I started working with some new galleries this year.... Maine Art Gallery in Kennebunkport, ME, and also L'Attitude Gallery on Newbury Street, Boson Massachusetts. Through L'Attitude Gallery, I was commissioned to do an installation at Boston Children's Hospital.... this tree:
Then, at the same time, I was working on a large mural for the Barbara Bush Children's Hospital, here in Portland Maine.
I organized a collaboration mosaic, featuring all artwork by the Piece Makers mosaic group! This very cool surfboard will be auctioned off in the Spring, and will be installed in an outdoor, public area in Portsmouth New Hampshire.
... and of course, there were lots of mosaic in between all of that, these two being a few of my favorite creations from this year:
...and moving to a new home, family life, balancing work & family, friends, and lots of love and laughter. :) It was a wonderful year. I'm eager to move forward & see all that 2012 will bring!
If you're within driving distance (or even if you're not!) you should go check out the Christmas festivities happening in Kennebunkport Maine this holiday season. They call it "Christmas Prelude"... and it's amazing. HGTV voted Kennebunkport #2 Christmas Town USA even!
Maine Art Gallery is right there in the center of all the festivities, and they had some wonderful singers at their store the other day. My Autumn Tree Mosaic was the backdrop, which made me SO happy to see!
SALE!!!!
Head over to my etsy shop this week ONLY, and get 25% OFF everything in my shop! Enter Coupon Code hohoho2011 at checkout. Your savings could be HUGE... it could translate into hundreds of dollars off!
Although I have 3 mosaic orders sitting on my desk, I felt the need to start a mosaic for me. After almost a year of creating mosaics for other people, I just needed to at least have one of my own under way. :) I've been thinking about this piece for months... it's a mosaic of my favorite elements from the wardrobe of Queen Elizabeth I. There are elements from many of her pieces that I adore.. her coronation robe, her dress in the Rainbow Portrait, the lace designs, the hand painted fabrics, the hats, the embroidery... the list could go on and on. Her clothes were often hand painted with symbols (like eyes and ears), embroidered with symbolic creatures, were both feminine AND expressions of power. Although I have only spent 2 days working on this piece, it feels so good to finally be getting it out of my system.
Here is a sneak peek at one piece of the whole. The lace will be slow moving, but will be well worth the time & sore neck. For every 2 days I work on my commissioned pieces, I'm allowing myself to work equal time on this one. A little Christmas present to myself. :)
It's DONE! This is the finished Surfboard Mosaic, to be turned into a bench &
auctioned off to local business' in Portsmouth NH. Money raised will be
donated, and help to keep New Hampshire Beaches clean! The sea creatures
were donated by the PieceMaker Mosaic group (see the P.M. blog here). I organized the collaboration, designed the piece, added the creatures, and created the background.
It's been a fun process... and I've learned a lot! The PieceMaker Group is truly unbelievable.... full of such giving & creative people. I'm so honored to be a member. :)
In the Spring, all the benches created will be auctioned off... and you can be sure I'll post how much the closing bid on ours was & will be traveling to Portsmouth right away to see it installed in it's new home!
This
surfboard was a group project, by the PieceMaker Etsy Team. Members
sent me the creatures, and I created the rest of the board. It's being
turned into a public bench, donated, and auctioned off to local
businesses in Portsmouth NH. Money raised will be spent to help keep NH
beaches clean! See more information about the PieceMaker Surfboard
Project on our blog: piecemakersmosaics.blogspot.com/
If you're one of the artist's who donated a creature, please add a note above your creature! :)
Hopefully I'll get a better picture tomorrow when it isn't raining. :) Please check out the detail shots below.
Organizer, Designer, and background mosaic: Amanda Edwards Turtle: Betsy Greene Yellow fish, and Aqua Fish: Pal's Creations Mermaid: Waschbear Designs Dolphin & Clam: Renegade Rose Orange & Yellow Seahorse: Twin Brooks Mosaics Brown Fish & seaweed plant: Callas Mosaics Octopus: Flowering Moon Mosaics Orange Seahorse cruising around the rocks: Flying Kumquat Studio Hermit Crabs: Beaded Glass Mosaics Jellyfish: Tribou Mosaics Clown Fish: Lotus Mosaics Yellow & Purple Fish, and assorted wonderful sea-life "filler" critters: Tina's Mosaics
I went to see the mosaic I did for the Barbara Bush Children's Hospital today, and it looks wonderful in it's new home! It's located in the atrium, which is not a public area. The children's rooms open up on to the atrium, and it's a lovely big space, flooded with natural light from it's glass ceiling. It was so nice to see my piece hanging.. and the carpentry department did a wonderful job building the frame! I hope it brings a lot of enjoyment to everyone who sees it!
Please head over to the "gallery" here on my website to see more detailed photos of this piece.
We had our first snow over the weekend... and although it was just a powdering, my mind is swirling with ideas for mosaics inspired by snow, wind, christmas lights, pine, fireplaces, etc. Funny how all it takes is seeing that first snowflake, and it officially becomes Christmas Time. :) My first Christmas custom orders have come in as well... so bring on the Santa!
This weekend, I'm delivering my Autumn Tree mosaic window, and a few other pieces, to "Maine Art Gallery", in Kennebunkport Maine. It's always exciting to start working with a new gallery, and I've heard wonderful things about them. Here's to hoping that my window will find a new, happy home this Autumn.
If you're around Kennebunkport, stop by... it looks like an amazing gallery space!
The Barbara Bush Children's Hospital Mural was picked up today by the Carpentry Team. They're almost finished building it's frame, so it should be installed by next week! I can't wait to see it. Here are a few pictures of the panels leaving the house this morning.
It looked so pretty in the natural light. It will be hung in the hospital's atrium, which has a glass ceiling. I can't wait to see it hanging there in the sunshine.
I'm a stained glass & mixed media mosaic artist living on a beautiful beach in Southern Maine, with my husband & two children. Simply put, I love glass. I love the textures, variety of colors, shapes, sizes, reflections, even the sound it makes when I’m scoring and cutting it. Glass allows me to take a thousand little pieces of color and turn them into a flowing representation of my very active imagination.