Southwest Mosaics Series Begins

Above:
Steer Skull
Mirror and stained glass on Easyboard
36" wide x 28" tall
2009

Below:
Magic Feathers
Mirror, stained glass, leather and beads on Easyboard
16" - 18" long approx
2009

Calla Lily Mosaic Mural Installation

My latest project happened because of a breast pump.

A friend of mine was looking for one on Freecycle and ran across a woman she had known a few years ago who was giving one away - Amy Blackshaw.

They reconnected with mosaic talk and Amy voiced her dream to do a mosaic on her large garden wall.

The face is 9' x 4' and the side is 8' long and tapers from 4' to 2' tall.

However, she didnt feel that she had the knowledge or skills to do it alone so my friend got her in contact with me. It turned out she lived close by so I went over to meet her and VOILA the Calla Lily Mural was born.

Luckily for me Amy has a great sense of fun and adventure so she let me design whatever I wanted to.
All she asked was that I teach her the process from beginning to end.
She and her two kids - Maya, 7 and Milo, 4 - liked the idea
of using a theme of things one would see in a garden.
So I created a whimsical, large-perspective design of calla lilies,
nasturtiums, insects and their cat!
First I cut a butterfly, bee, lady bug, dragonfly, cat and small butterfly
out of Easyboard and mosaicked them with glass in my studio. The next step was to adhere them to the wall with thinset and connect them all with mirrored "flying lines" as I call them!
After that, the direct tiling began! (Amy did the nasturtiums).

Here are close-ups of the "grass":

Here are close-ups of the Easyboard insets:

Amy proved to be a great worker, tile setter and learner.
Maya, her daughter, helped with the buffing too.

This is me on the left with my "student/assistant", Amy:

The final result: a 56 square foot backyard mosaic mural
(front and side walls)...

...made by:

Summer of Art - Sacramento's 2nd Saturday & Jingletown's 4:20 Gallery

My art summer started with Open Studios at the 4:20 Gallery in Jingletown.

The 4:20 Gallery looked great!


The first two weekends in June saw Jingletown packed with
art lovers and party goers.

On Saturday, a street party rocked with the music of two bands and
a fundraising bar-be-que.

This is me with my dog, Kali. She loves to mix and mingle!

Cynthia - "the mayor" - had beer on sale in Jingletown glasses
as well as selling other memorabilia.
Nothing happens in Jingletown without beer.

A brand new art event in Oakland is Estuary Art Attack, an art walk in Alameda and Jingletown on the second Friday of each month. The first one coincided with Open Studios so, happily, the 4:20 was packed again! Many new faces came through the doors and were pleasantly surprised with the
quality of the art in this little neighborhood.

Some Alamedans organized a bike brigade to cover the miles of art galleries,
restaurants and events.

My third art event was Second Saturday in Sacramento, August 8th.
Also an art walk, it brings out thousands of art, music and food lovers every month.


My mosaics were in a show titled "The Art of Broken Pieces" in the Phantom Gallery at 1616 Del Paso Blvd.
The curator was Mariellen Layne.
She did a great job bringing 10 mosaic artists together because, as they say,
organizing artists is like herding cats!

It was great to be part of a mosaic show. I jumped at the chance to show my nudes.
Check out a video of the evening by Mariellen Layne.
The other artists in this show were
Madeline Behrens-Brigham, Donna Billick, Lynn Dowing, Frankie Hansbearry,
Mariellen Layne, Wenia Lee, Marsha Rafter, Sandy Weaver, Diana White.

Zebra Band Mosaic Commission

This is a recent commission. My client had seen my larger and more complicated "Zebra Band" mosaic and wanted a smaller version. The smaller size also necessitated a less complicated design. And so VOILA!

Zebra Band II
27" x 17"
stained and mirrored glass
July, 2009

My African-American Memorabilia

For my whole life I had thought this guy was a Black Man Cookie jar.
I love him but had no info about him and never had seen another cookie jar like this.
So I wrote about him here hoping to get more info.
Sure enough, a reader left a comment that clears up exactly what this is.
He is a Victorian era humidor. I had no idea!

He was owned by my father's mother - whom I never met - and he sat on our china cabinet for the entire time I lived at home.

He watched over our family's coming and goings with peaceful joy - like a Buddha.
Now he sits on my cabinet and stands watch over us too.

I knew nothing about him except that he is a spectacular piece of sculpture.

Yes, I know he is from a genre that is in questionable taste at best. But I think he is beautifully sculpted and painted. He is not a caricature.

His cigarettes and handkerchief stand out in full relief.

The cloth of his vest opens across his belly and his hand is partially in his jacket pocket.

Attention was even paid to the detail on the back of his jacket.

This genre may be a mocking one, but the artist was not mocking this person. I think he is beautiful. I have no idea how much he is worth. But he is invaluable to me.
My Black Man Victorian era humidor
10" x 8" approx

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.