Kim Larson Art, Mosaics + More: October 2010

Latest Mosaic Art Fall 2010

I took the summer of 2010 off (mostly) to travel to the Southwest,
paint the kitchen, etc. But here, and in the next two posts, I show
you some things I've been working on.

I love the Southwest, especially the earthy art. The first time I traveled there in 1988 I came home with a (sort of nasty) large steer skull. I've had it ever since and had thought of decorating it. But its natural, aged and weathered condition is too beautiful to mess with. So I made a large steer skull mosaic instead. This sold at Jingletown's Holiday Art Walk last year.

Steer Skull '09
Glass mosaic on Easyboard
37" x 25"

A few weeks ago, I was commissioned to create another one to be hung in a home in Arizona. Here it is:

Steer Skull '10
Glass mosaic on Easyboard
37" x 25"

I am taking part in an online auction of mosaic art to benefit Doctors Without Borders. The art will be online starting at the end of November and the auction will take place in April 2011. Read more about it here:
Lin Schorr and DWB Auction
This is my entry:

Rooster
Glass mosaic on wood
10" x 10"

And finally, this is my "alternate entry" for the auction. I had second thoughts about "Rooster" after I had finished him. I know millions of people collect rooster art so I wanted to tap into that market. But a simple farm animal? I didnt know if that would be "sophisticated" enough. So I made this nude.

Nude
Glass mosaic on wood
10" x 10"

In the end I chose to submit the rooster and give the nude to a friend who I know would love it.

3D Mosaics

A few weeks ago I ventured into trying my hand at 3D cement sculpture. My intent was to create sculptures as substrates for a mosaic. In the photo above are a couple of large mushrooms and a cat
I made as my first 3D attempts.
The cat measures 16" wide x 31" tall.
The armature for these is styrofoam (insulation from Home Depot. $19 for a huge sheet) cut and glued/taped into a rudimentary shape.
The next step is just like papier mache only using a slurry of cement (instead of flour) and water. Fiberglass mesh, cut into strips, is dredged through the slurry and wrapped around the styrofoam armature until a close rendition of the final shape is achieved. Once that is dry (24 hours or so) a layer of concrete creates the smooth "skin" of the piece.
I learned in this process that fine sand, rather than coarse,
is the way to go when mixing the concrete!
In the pictures you will also see mosaics on rebar that I am calling "popsicles" for lack of a better word. I describe them in more detail in the following post.

Green Mushroom
Cement and tile
15" wide x 19" tall
Fall 2010

Blue Mushroom
Cement and tile
15" wide x 27" tall
Fall 2010

Green Mushroom in situ
with Butterfly popsicle

Blue Mushroom in situ
with Sunflower and Saint popsicles

More substrates waiting!

Latest Work Aug/Oct '10

Hello again! As you can tell by the date of my last post, I havent written much lately. I have been working on new - for me - ideas.
First, I took the summer off to take a driving trip around the Southwest.
I love it there and we just meandered around,
camping and being off the grid - sort of.
But by the end of the summer I really wanted to get back to work.
I get really depressed if I dont have projects.
I love 3D mosaics, especially large sculptures. So I tried my hand at what I am calling "popsicles." They are shapes cut out of styrofoam, skewered on a 1/2" rebar, covered with fiberglass mesh and cement slurry, then finished with concrete. Then I used these as
substrates for mosaics. Some have the same mosaic
pattern on both sides, some are different on both sides.
These are my first attempts and are extremely imperfect.
But I am definitely on a path toward 3D mosaics and I love that!
Its a steep learning curve though.