Mosaic Trio of Egrets

Another commission for a birthday - this one for a bird lover. Again, these are 3D bas relief cement sculptures for mosaics. The tall bird is 30" tall. The "hunched" bird is 19" tall and the flying one is 18" long.

Mosaic Hippo

This mosaic is for a little boy's birthday. He loves purple hippos! This is a 3D cement sculpture with a flat back to hang on a wall and is approx 16" long.

 

Private Mosaic Mural Lesson for Anne Marie Price, SAMA Scholarship Recipient

In November 2014, I hosted Anne Marie Price for a two day intensive on mosaic mural making techniques. Anne Marie had won the Society of American Mosaic Artist's scholarship and chose to use a part of it to have me teach her the basics. I was thrilled! Anne Marie proved to be a fun person with a lot of innate artistic skills! She was here for three days during which we did a tour of local mosaic murals and shopped for and learned about new mosaic materials. Before she came, I had given AM some homework: she was to bring two mosaic flowers on mesh to be installed on a cement garden wall. While here, she learned to clean and evaluate a wall, do a skim coat of cement or Thinset to even out the wall's imperfections, use Thinset (and Bonder - my technique) to adhere the art to the wall, and also make an impromptu tile mosaic for the wall. We also discussed the several ways to create mural art and transfer it to a wall. Anne Marie learned about proper body mechanics for using materials, power tools and during installation. The actual pieces added to the wall were small but the education was huge!

Teaching at Institute of Mosaic Art, Berkeley CA

This past October 18 - 19, 2014, I taught a sculpture class at Institute of Mosaic Art at 805 Allston Way in Berkeley CA. My class was on making 3 dimensional bas relief wall hanging cement art. The base is Wediboard and the technique uses Thinset, mesh and quick setting concrete. The class was held on a Saturday and Sunday, from 10am to 3pm,  and the students went home with 4 (at least) small cement substrates ready to mosaic and hang on a wall. The reason I call this "3D Bas Relief" rather than "sculpture" is that these pieces have a flat back and are meant to hang on a wall rather than be free-standing. The class was a huge success - a lot of fun with 11 great artistic women! It was so well received that I will be teaching again in March, 2015. Check IMA's website.
One student said this: "You have a special touch and a unique style that so many people appreciate, including me! Some people are talented artists but not necessarily good teachers but you have both abilities and that is very special! Several students commented on how much you cared about our success and that's why we all walked out so satisfied."

My Vintage Christmas book, illustrated by George Hinke.

"Jolly Old Santa Claus" - my favorite illustrated book! As a child it totally filled my mind with the colors and visions that I still associate with Christmas and Santa Claus to this day. The story is simple: Santa at home in the North Pole prepares for Christmas Eve and then recuperates the day afterward. The colors and warmth and sense of place in these illustrations is beyond compare!   Illustrations by George Hinke. Published by Ideals Publishing Co., Milwaukee 1, Wisc. Copyright 1958. Edited and prepared by Van B. Hooper. Written by "Sparkie". I hope you enjoy these as much as I do.

Guitar Mosaic - 1939 Gibson

This is a mosaic commissioned for a 30th anniversary. The recipient plays guitars and owns this particular one - a 1939 Gibson with the rounded top and the beautiful coloring. This is my interpretation of that classic guitar. I created the substrate out of cement on Wed board to create a bas relief wall hanging. Then I mosaicked it with glass and mirror. Size: 30" x 12".

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".