Even more mosaic nudes!

 I'm on a roll with this subject matter and I'm enjoying the results very much! 

Each is glass mosaic on a 3D cement relief substrate.

"Bath" 20" x 26"

"Dialogue" 35" x 14"

"Untitled Teal/Green" 22" x 22"

"Untitled Blue/Gold" 26" x 20"

Whale Mosaic

This past winter we were treated to a weekend of whale watching up north of Mendocino. We saw dozens of them as we sat on a beautiful deck right on the cliffs. As a "thank you" I made our hosts this mosaic. "Whale!"  Approx 16" long.  

Glass mosaic on 3D cement substrate.

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".

Elephant Head Mosaic

I have neighbors who love elephants and have opened my eyes to their amazing souls and physical majesty. So I have started the first of 4 bas relief mosaics. These two photos are of the same mosaic. It is made of glass and mirror on Wedi board. The Wedi is covered with cement to give it a shallow 3 dimensional look. 18" x 18". 

Bluebird Of Happiness - mosaic commission

This piece was commissioned for a woman who was retiring. I thought the Bluebird of Happiness was an apt gift. Future so bright she's gotta wear shades!

-Bluebird of Happiness-

glass mosaic

16" x 24"

Summer 2013

My latest mosaic installation - a stem!

This latest piece was a lot of fun to do. The client was clear and concise about what she wanted and where it was going to go and then she let me do my thing! That is the way I hope all my clients are! 

This client has a very whimsical and beautiful back yard. She even has a koi pond and two tortoises. On this particular wall she had already hung a large metal flower sculpture and wanted a mosaic stem to finish it off with a flourish. And so, that's what I gave her.

The space for the mosaic measured approximately 4 ft x 7 ft. I designed the "stem", printed it out and taped it together, cut it out and then taped it up to be outlined onto the wall.

I had already created the pieces on Wediboard in my studio so it was just a matter of adhering them to the wall. Here it is, pre-grouting.

The next day was grouting day. Here is the design taped off to protect the newly-painted wall. Prep for grouting is my least favorite part of a mosaic mural installation. Just sayin'! I kept asking myself "why did you design a spiral? Why? Why?"

But alls well that ends well and this came out very well, I think! Here are some detail shots.

And here it is finished.

Mosaic Stem Installation

7 feet tall

Glass and tile

"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

"Unfurled" - a Mosaic Mural in Charlotte, NC

Recently I was one of many mosaic artists invited to be a part of a large mosaic mural headed by Pam Goode, who owns Ciel Gallery in Charlotte, North Carolina. The design consists of 3 large art-deco-ish flowers designed by Lin Schorr, of Novi, MI. 

My piece is a petal, numbered 2G. We were asked to create our mosaics on mesh using glue. It is approximately 19" across and was specified to consist of the colors, yellow, orange, pinks with hits of purples. So here is my interpretation:

This mural was installed during the Fall of 2013. And here it is finished:

Here are the final dimensions: Flower #1 is 7'1"H x 4'5"W. Flower #2 is 7'11"H x 4'6"W. Flower #3 is 6'7"H x 5'1"W.

The RIver of Life mosaic mural is finished!

This latest work is in the Unitarian Church of Berkeley, California. 

 As with my Tree of Life project at this church two years ago, the congregation was asked to bring in pieces of their lives - like pottery, jewelry, charms, bottle caps, beach glass, shells, mugs, etc - to be included in this piece. Each person wrote a little note explaining their offering. Some examples:

 Over the course of three Sundays this past winter, I led three mosaic workshops where the participants were asked to mosaic, using their pieces as well as miscellaneous tiles and objects, large shapes (on mesh) that I then put together into the large river design. 

 Here is the simple design and color-scheme:

There are 8 rocks in this river, each one representing a step along a spiritual path. 

 The previous post showed photos and explained the beginning of the process. This post continues the story! 

This piece has 6 different colors of grout so I ended up making one small pot of color at a time, rather than one large bucket of color. I began the grouting at the top left corner.

The installation took 6 days and the grouting took 9 days. I worked on a two-story scaffold for much of the time. 

My fingers took a beating too. 

This piece is 110 square feet on a light blue wall measuring 250 square feet.

Below are a few more notes with photos of where the objects are in the mosaic.

And finally, here it is again: 

The River of Life Mosaic Mural   
110 square feet

March, 2013

Unitarian Church of Berkeley California, 

1 Lawson Road

Kensington, CA

Rock Frogs, the latest

Green & Purple Frog
15" x 24"
11/08
mirror, stained glass, rocks

Red Frog

23" x 36"
11/08
mirror, stained glass, rocks

Dragonfly House Tattoo

I just finished a small commission for a neighbor.

She is a fan of dragonflies and so wanted one "tattooed" onto her house.

I made this small mosaic out of mirror and stained glass, adhered it to her stucco house and grouted it in place.
Check out the symbolic meaning of dragonflies.