BOSCO!

I was contacted in early November 2015 to be a part of an art project for Oakland Animal Services called "Home is where the heART is". The idea was to have art made of hard-to-adopt animals and then whoever adopted them would receive the art too. Here is a link to the rest of the art http://oashomeiswheretheheartis.tumblr.com/ 
This was a magical experience from the beginning. First, I was contacted out of the blue. I usually don't like to do free work much anymore, because I have bills to pay! But this was a very worthy project and I love animals. Then the morning I arrived to choose my animal, I saw Bosco and immediately knew he would be a great subject. One of the attributes I believe scares people about pit bulls is that many of them have huge heads. And Bosco was one of them!! But he also had sweet eyes and I knew I wanted to help him find a home. So here he is!

Bosco!

14.5" x 13"

3d cement sculpture on Wediboard

Glass and mirror mosaic

Another Elephant Head Mosaic

The second of four bas relief elephant head wall sculptures. I created the cement substrate and then mosaicked it in glass and mirror. 
Size: 18" x 18".

"Dos Coyotes": my latest Southwest-inspired work

This piece began as a commission but then the clients took some time out to think about it. I believed in this design so much that I went ahead and created it anyway. 

I envisioned a cave painting, kind of rough and not fussy. I also wanted to stay away from the typical coyote art: the lone howling animal silhouetted against the full moon. However I always like to give a nod to artistic cliches so in this piece you WILL see a howling coyote and a full moon! 

The two coyote images reminds me of Janus, the god of doors, usually depicted as a two-faced image, one looking forward, the other backward. 

"Dos Coyotes"

36" x 24"

mirror, glass, tile, ceramic

April, 2013

Taiwanese Mountain Dog Mosaic

This was a commission by a friend who owns two of these types of dogs. This piece is 11" wide x 22" tall. Since these are black dogs, the challenge was to make it an interesting piece of art! So, besides concentrating on the andamento, I used dark blue mirrored glass. Black "reflects" blue in certain lights so I felt that was appropriate. (And I love that dark blue mirror!)I am showing three photos of it here because, as usual, photographing glass and mirror isn't easy!

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.

Butterfly (popsicle)
18" wide x 16" tall x 3" deep
Stands 35" approx.
Fall 2010

Fish, side 1 (popsicle)
24" wide x 16" tall x 3" deep
Stands 28" approx.
Fall 2010

Fish, side 2 (popsicle)
24" wide x 16" tall x 3" deep
Stands 28" approx.
Fall 2010

Frog, side 1 (popsicle)
21" wide x 36" tall x 3" deep
Stands 51" approx.
Fall 2010

Frog, side 2 (popsicle)
21" wide x 36" tall x 3" deep
Stands 51" approx.
Fall 2010

Sunflower (popsicle)
20" wide x 27" tall x 4" deep
Stands 37" approx.
Fall 2010

Jingletown Open Studios '09

East Bay Open Studios starts tomorrow and runs the next two weekends:
June 6, 7 & 13, 14. 11am til 6pm.
Next Saturday there will be a STREET PARTY outside the 4:20 Gallery
from 1pm til about 4pm.
Stop by to see the art, eat some food, taste some wine and hear some live music!
There will be maps of the 'hood available when you get here.

Here is some, but not all, of my latest work I will be showing:

These "Heart Banners" are each 32" x 18" and made of mirror, stained glass and, in one case, high fire tile.

This is "Froggy Longstocking"
He is 28" tall x 16" wide and also made of mirror and stained glass.

Jingletown's Mosaics

There is a small neighborhood in Oakland that is a hidden jewel.

It's called Jingletown and it is covered in mosaics!
Relatively few people know about it though.

It gets it's name from back when it was a working-class neighborhood. The men would walk home on payday jingling their money in their pockets - hence the name.

I always compare this area to Balmy Alley in San Francisco - a neighborhood covered in art by artists working under the radar.

Many many mosaic artists, including me, contributed their skills and time to these murals.

But whereas painted murals are standard in the mural game, mosaic murals are much more rare, I think.
And whereas paint is a flat medium, mosaics are 3 dimensional and sparkly!

The neighborhood itself is little more than several square blocks of artists' warehouse lofts, condos, older homes and small businesses on the Oakland Riviera, between the Park Street Bridge and the Fruitvale Bridge.

It's an easy stroll for any art lover who wants to discover a new place.

These photos are presented here with very little description and are in no particular order.

I am doing this on purpose.

The mosaics range in size from sidewalk planters to creations that cover entire walls of buildings.

Just come, take a walk and experience this unique neighborhood for yourself.

Then have a nosh at Kefa Cafe or a drink and dinner at Tiki Tom's restaurant.

Jingletown is also a part of the East Bay Open Studios in June every year and holds an Art Walk of it's own in early December.

Again, these are purposefully presented with no information. Intrigued by what you see? Then come on down!

And note that some will be found inside buildings, not on them!



Mosaic teachers, students and volunteers all contributed to this neighborhood covered in art.
There are too many to name, really.

The orange dots on this map give you an idea where to find these mosaics.
Learn more about Jingletown at jingletown.org.

Jingletown Mosaic Frog Walk Installation

While you're in Jingletown, be sure to try to find all 20 (approximately) little mosaic frogs!

I've been told this is a new favorite pastime for kids and dog-walkers alike.

Here's a map to help you zero in on them.

Look for the frogs in the "red" areas.

These small frogs are sprinkled about the 'hood to be discovered when you least expect it!

Look high and low.

They're everywhere!

Have fun.
For more about Jingletown, click here.

The Bunny Room Mosaic Mural Installation

I just finished a mosaic that I am particularly proud of.

It is a mural in the Bunny Room of the Oakland Animal Shelter,
1101 29th Avenue in Oakland's Jingletown district.
Marcy Schaaf, the founder of Save A Bunny, a non-profit rabbit rescue organization
based in Mill Valley, CA, was given the project of creating a nicer space in the room
for the rabbits, volunteers and visitors to enjoy.
Rabbits are often overlooked when people are seeking to adopt a pet.
They are an animal near and dear to Marcy's heart and she works
tirelessly on their behalf.

Here you can see that the bunny room was not very pleasant.
It had been used as a storage room until very recently.
I started by checking out the space and designing a shape that would be cool and pleasing but also one that I could carry out and install by myself.

I came up with a ribbon design festooned with hopping rabbits.
Above is the mock-up.

Marcy is also a mosaic hobbyist and has a LOT of extra tesserae at her home.
I went there and chose a loose color palette that I knew I could work with.


Next I cut the rabbits out of Easyboard and mosaicked them with glass and mirrors in a patchwork style.
The ribbon itself was done in tile on mesh in my studio.

Mural painter Gael Antognini - www.gaudysgood.biz - first painted the wall
with a faux window treatment and a little rabbit near the floor which you can't see in this photo.

That meant I had to take great care to cover the entire wall before grouting.
Even then, I still had to do touch-ups to the paint job afterward.
I left my grout color decision until the end. As I was installing this I realized that one grout color wasnt going to work. So I ended up using three different ones - a bright red for the ends,

darker red around the maroon/purple tiles

and a modified dark blue for the center blue tiles.

These blue tiles in the center are actually made of glass. They are a blue color with flecks of gold and are very bumpy in texture. After I chose to use them I realized, uh oh, the grout is going to get caught in all that texture!

So I used a small wire brush to clean them off after grouting.
All the grout didnt come off so each is left with an even more interesting color gradation.

This mural came out really well.

It measures 15 feet by 2 feet, approximately.
I know it will please visitors and bunnies alike.