Sold!

What an amazing thing it is when somebody loves something that you have created enough to purchase it and make a place for it in their home. How very wonderful! 

I'm somewhat sentimentally attached to this work, as it marks a pivotal change in my relationship to mosaic-making, so it's a bit sad to say goodbye. It will be missed, but it's found a new home.

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Etude, alternate view

Etude is the first in a series titled Music To My Eyes, which is inspired by classical music forms. This mosaic generally expresses the etude form, and was loosely inspired by Chopin's Harp Etude, Op. 25, No. 1.

Drinks are on me, y'all!

Decorative Mosaic Book: Update

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Two bits of news: 1)There will be a book and 2) The deadline is approaching! 

Based upon the submissions received thus far, I will be going ahead with a book featuring decorative mosaics!! However, I am still hoping for more submissions!

Do you need more time? Should I extend the deadline to September 1? If I hear from you that another month would help, I will be happy to extend the deadline. If I don't hear from you, the deadline remains August 1.

The book title, dimensions, number pages, and price are yet-to-be-determined. These decisions mostly depend upon the number of pages, which is primarily based upon the number of mosaics to be featured. More good news is that I will be able to sell it on my new storefront site, J MOSAIC, which will allow me to keep the price very reasonable for a softcover digital print book.

Keep those submissions coming!!

A New Old Lesson, con't

So I did tinker with that hair today and I am liking it more than I did pre-tinker. We'll see if I can leave it alone now and move on to the water. 

Adding a double dose of new to this project: My daughter gave me a new, big iPad for my birthday this year, along with an Apple Pencil and the Procreate app. I'm heading out to San Jose, Oakland, and San Francisco in a few days and then, immediately after return from CA, I'll be heading to the Aspen Music Festival for about a week. While vacationing, in my free time I'm going to play around with Procreate and try out sky ideas for this piece on an imported photo, like one above. Should be interesting!

Both of the above photos were taken with the iPad camera, and I'm really impressed with the quality. Also, because of the size of the mosaic, it's pretty difficult to get a good straight-on perspective shot. With the iPad, however, I can stand on a stool and hold the iPad as high above the mosaic on the table as I can. Still, you can see I can't get the entire mosaic, but it's good enough for now. 

A New Old Lesson

Well, I'm feeling brave today, or at least brave enough to post pics of my current challenge. Embarrassment notwithstanding, I will share this project as I go.

I started this piece over 15 years ago. At the time, I wanted to do something big, so I impulsively rushed into what turned out to be a less than half-baked idea. I wanted to work with some stones but had no idea where to get anything but the small, tumbled, polished ones that you see. I had the idea for the moon, the full feminine, and the earthy palette, probably inspired by the small slate tiles that I used in the border. Ceramic trim pieces, in a dark gun metal gray—more of a hematite— make up the border outlines, along with small mother of pearl rectangular beads. 

It did not take long for me to get stuck on it, and then overwhelmed by the fact that I had not figured out several square feet. The hair is where I stopped, lacking the skill and the patience, as well as an idea, of how to handle it. 

Also overlooked was the fact that the cement board needed both hanging hardware and some kind of support structure on the back, as it had too much flimsy in it for it to be stable. So, it was relegated to various storage locations throughout the years. What to do! It was so big that I could not just throw it away—I would have had to cut it up or have it hauled off. I liked the original idea, however, so continued to hang onto it, hoping that someday I would know what to do with it. 

Finally, after moving into my new studio, it was time to make a decision. I decided to finish it and, in the process, treat it like an exercise. I've added both a support frame and hanging hardware, and have the hair mostly under control, but will work on it some more—it's too organized. I did those mountains this past week and enjoyed working on some andamento. They are meant to appear silhouetted and far in the distance, on the other side of what will be a body of water in the lower left corner. 

The photo at right is a bit like what I am going for. I've never attempted a water reflection—neither sun nor moon—so that will be a good exercise.

I'm not sure that the new and the old will marry well and be harmonious and whole. The perspective is not realistic; in fact, none of this is realistic. 

Photo Credit: Naoe Suzuki

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Then, there is all  - - -  that  - - -  sky. I want to try something in the sky that will be new for me and also challenge me in what I think will be some very beneficial ways.

I've been studying Menossi's Tramonto, on left, for inspiration, with both andamento and the way that he layers the sky.

I've got about four shades of vitreous in a kind of gray-blue, and may work in a bit of sheared smalti for scant clouds. Gee! Not sure I can pull it off, but I will give it a go. 

No, I don't like the apostrophe shape in the moon. It was meant to be a swirl, but I can't say what happened to it. There are other issues as well, too many—too many to change. That's the deal: I won't change what I did in 1999 and I will try to be true to it's beginnings.

Time for Class?

I know I'm a little late i getting to this, as I thought I would have been ready before the spring. Well, so much for plans. Various things, including our dog's ACL surgery, have reordered my life a bit. Ah well, life is surprising that way. 

It's time, now, for me to start thinking about offering instruction here in my beautiful, new studio! I've had inquires throughout the years, but never really had the studio space, and was otherwise not ready to tackle it. I'm ready now, to at least start thinking about it.

To that end, I have created a survey that I hope will be helpful to me in determining where to start, and what may meet people's needs. If you are interested in mosaic instruction here in my Tulsa, OK, studio, please take a few minutes to complete the survey below. I will be very grateful in you do!

Class/Workshop Survey

What Is A Decorative Mosaic?

“Mosaic would qualify as decorative if its primary purpose is to beautify or decorate, as opposed to express a deeper meaning, communicate a point of view, or make a personal statement.”

— J.I.

So let's talk a bit about decorative mosaics.

The mosaic above is a decorative wall panel. It was inspired by a necklace found in King Tut's tomb (image at right, photo by Araldo de Luca). While the necklace itself is not purely decorative, my rendition of it is.

I was attracted to the repetitious and almost geometrical composition of the lotus flowers and buds, as well as the lovely composition of the fully opened flowers. I chose the color palette to go with a particular room. No deep meaning here, just wanted to create a decor item for the house.

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If you're not sure if a mosaic is decorative or not, explore the intention with which you made it. A still life, for example, may not be expressing a deep meaning, but it is probably expressing a point of view. Did you make the still life of flowers merely to decorate a wall or to match the furniture? Or were you trying to communicate your experience of those flowers?

Likewise, a pet or human portrait—while it may not be a philosophical statement, is most likely an attempt to communicate aspects of its subject.

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The above image shows two necklaces: A stunning mosaic pendant by Margo Anton, and a non-mosaic piece that I bought at a museum gift shop in Mesa, AZ.

Since Margo was one of the first to submit for my book, I am pretty comfortable saying that the necklace she made is a decorative mosaic. Her intention was to make something beautiful that someone would find joy in wearing. I can personally attest to the success of her intention. 

It's pretty clear that the other necklace's intention is to make a statement. While it is not mosaic, it can hopefully be a helpful example.

So, is all mosaic jewelry decorative? No. As the creator, your intention answers the question. After that, it truly is in the eye of the beholder as to with what level of art it will be embraced.

In a Mag

I am finally in possession of the May/June Oklahoma Today magazine that features my mosaic, Piercing the Veil, as the opening for its Roots section. 

The rather dramatic shading at the top and bottom are a graphic design choice and not reflective of the actual mosaic or the photo that I provided. Not complaining, not at all. I'm thrilled to have one of my works featured so prominently. 

STUDIO BOOK

STUDIO BOOK is something that I have been working on for at least the last nine months. I wanted to have photos in my studio of a couple of large commissions and some other works that I don't own anymore. But as I got started working on it, it kind of grew into a larger idea. 

The book contains the usual gallery-type display of mosaics: Three series, 10 non-series works, some decorative pieces, a few Small Things, and 6 workshop/class projects. Additionally, I've included some WIP photos—Inside the Studio—for 6 of the works in the book. I did my best to add brief commentary where I thought it might be useful. 

This is a big book, 12" x 12", and has some really nice, large photos, as well as a few studio, not-the-greatest pics, in particular the WIP photos and ones of my earlier mosaics—the oldest one being from 1996.

It will be another few weeks before it's officially finished, but it's finished enough for me to share some spreads with you.

STUDIO BOOK Preview

Call To Artists: Decorative Mosaics Book

Question: What defines decorative mosaic?

Answer: Mosaic would qualify as decorative if its primary purpose is to beautify or decorate, as opposed to express a deeper meaning or make a personal statement.

  For example:

• Interior Decor
• Architectural
• Public Works
• Pool and Garden
• Functional
• Jewelry

Click here for more information on submitting your work.

Call To Artists: Decorative Mosaics

As I write this post, I have been mosaicking bottles and frames for the last few months. Our dog's knee surgery has kept me downstairs and mostly out of my studio, so I'm continuing to focus on decorative work out of my kitchen until Lucy is recovered. 

All this decorative work has renewed my years-long interest in creating a book featuring decorative mosaics. Most of my early mosaic learning was through decorative applications. I've seen a lot of fine decorative work throughout my years in mosaic, including architectural, functional, public, pool/garden, and jewelry mosaics. 

So, I'm taking the next step in a book direction by calling on artists to submit their decorative mosaics. If I get a good response, I will move forward with the project. I've created a couple of nice mosaic books in the past—MENOSSI: i mosaici and Edible Bits & Pleasing Pieces—and I'm sure that I can do a good job presenting a variety of decorative mosaics, and their creators, in a beautiful format.

If you're interested, or know someone that may be, here's the link: Call To Artists: Decorative Mosaics

Lighting, lighting—Why Must We Keep Fighting?

Not satisfied with my pic from yesterday, I'm still trying to bring out the purple. The awesome glass that I used is a bit dichroic, sparkly burgundy from one side, and sparkly purple from another. 

The exterior shot on the right brings out a bit more purple and a bit more sparkle overall, but the lighting is pretty harsh. However, I like the way it brings out more of the detail. 

I've forgotten how to cut out an object from a photo in Photoshop, which is hard to be believe since I have done it extensively in the past. However, Photoshop has changed, and while it has been changing, my brain has been busy forgetting. 

A Facebook friend gave me some instructions that I will put to the test this afternoon. If I succeed, I hope I will have the sense to make notes for the next time.

Back To The Kitchen

When I first started experimenting with mosaic, we lived in a different house and I had no dedicated area in which to work. So, I worked at the kitchen table, cutting tess inside a box to catch the shards, and cleaned everything up at the end of the day. I worked that way for about a year and—strangely—do not recall complaining about it. 

Of course, I am thrilled with my new studio!!! Absolutely, completely, in love with my new studio. But for the next few weeks, I will be spending some of my working hours back in the kitchen. 

You see, our dog Lucy had ACL surgery on her right hind leg this week. For anyone who has been through this, you know that the recovery requires a lot of babysitting and takes many weeks. This means that, not only must she avoid stairs, but she must be either constantly monitored or crated as well. 

This morning, I'm easing into a routine that will accommodate her recovery.

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I can work in my studio for a few hours while she is in her crate, but I need to be downstairs for some hours as well so she can get out of her crate and basically lay around in a different location, under supervision, of course. 

This actually is quite doable while I am currently doing decorative pieces. I can cut my pieces upstairs and then move downstairs and glue. Trimming and shaping are mostly not required with this little deco technique of mine. Today, I am cleaning my latest bottle here in the kitchen. In the coming weeks, I will be taking care of those four frames. 

And guess what!?! She needs the same surgery on her left hind leg as well. Ugh! We're hoping that that left leg does not get too bad during her current recovery, while she is relying on it so much more. 

Other People's Work

Last week, I put the final touches on my studio wing and finished placing pieces of my very small collection of other people's mosaics. Take a look!

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Entering my studio, you can see my Brooks Tower and Irit Levy flanking the entry on right and left, respectively, and the little yellow Ilona Fried on the near right.

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I Gave You Latham, by Brooks Tower.

This Irit Levy piece may have a title but it is not on the back of it, and I don't remember as I acquired this several years ago. It may be called Nude or something like that. 

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This little yellow cutie is by Ilona Fried, and is also without title.

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My Sophie Drouin, the work on the right, is titled Red Tide.

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And here is a small grouping: Upper right is by Wendy Raven and is without title; lower right is Pam Givens' Bloom Where You Are #5; lower left is Jeannot Leenan's pretty blue pansy, also without title; upper left are by Heidi Easton-Pichler (in the back) and the little J mosaic is by Kathy Thaden.

Final Photo Shoot

As promised, here are final pics of the studio wing, after furnishing and a bit of decor. I absolutely love my new space! Our dog, Lucy, seems to enjoy keeping me company in this light and airy space. 

So here it is! I've included just a few before pics as well.

Before construction: Attic door at end of hallway.

Construction has begun: Most of the bedroom on the left has been removed, opening up the end of the hall.

Now! The entry to the studio wing.

Around the corner, where the bedroom was, is a small gallery and sitting area.

Standing behind that orange chair in the previous pic.

Construction has just begun: At the attic doorway, looking into the unfinished attic space.

Inside the studio wing, looking toward the double window that was a single window in the previous photo.

Just after construction began: Two closets on either side of the dormer window are taking shape. The attic door to the hall is off to the extreme right.

Dormer window area now.

From over in front of the dormer window.

Looking down over the garage, and the single window that was there has been replaced with a sliding glass door.

Looking down over the garage, which is now my studio.

From in front of the double window, with studio to the right.

Looking back into the attic from the sliding glass door at the end of the garage.

Now!

From just before entering my studio, my little kitchen. That shelf in the corner awaits a small microwave.

As far as future plans? There is a chance that my studio will be included in the next OVAC Tulsa Studio Tour. I've yet to hear for certain, but I hope that works out. I would also like to have an open house sometime this year. And once I've had the studio all to myself for awhile, I plan to organize a class or two. My space could easily accommodate a nice number of students.

So many plans! For now, I'll just make another bottle.

Coming Soon!

I've been pondering the idea of having a storefront for non-fine art for some time, and I've decided to give it a go. I've been working on it, off and on, for the last few weeks. Yes, I have considered an Etsy site but, for now, I'm going to try having a purchase option from my own website, which Squarespace does quite nicely.

Decorative items, note cards, books, etc., will be available. I've been working on a new book—Studio Book— which should be published in the next few weeks (I'll share a bit about it in an upcoming post), and I would also like to sell Edible Bits & Pleasing Pieces via my storefront. 

I just love a new project!

Commission Idea Board

I'm currently working with someone on a possible residential commission. She has a niche, measuring about 4' x 2' or 3.5' x 2' or 4' x 2.5'—something like that. The niche, in the entry foyer just to the right, is on a concave wall but the niche itself is not curved on the inside—it's like a box set into a curved wall. We are exploring the idea of a mosaic for the back wall of the niche, but a mosaic that is portable and can be removed.

The homeowner is not very familiar with mosaic and admits that her husband is more the art person in the family. She came by my studio a couple of Fridays ago to see some of my work and toss around some ideas. She had no idea what she wanted for the space, but I was able to glean some ideas about her preferences from our visit.

I'm not sure that she will conclude that my work, or even a mosaic, is right for her home, but she did want to move forward and see what I could come up with. I've got a design idea and have prepared some examples to help her better visualize the materials and what I have in mind. She will be by Friday morning to take a look. 

Even if she does not like it, I actually love what I've come up with and just might have my next project(s) in the works! 

A Look Back

A dear friend of mine sent me a photo this morning, a photo which took me back in time.

So many years ago, Carole wanted me to make an elephant mosaic for a triptych frame that she had bought. This had to be over 15 years ago—certainly in my early mosaic days. 

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The first pic shows the 3 small panels in the frame. The other pic, which my friend just sent me this morning, shows the panels, minus the frame, as they hang in her new place in Houston. As I recall, I mosaicked the original masonite backing panels that came with the frame.

It's interesting to look at old work.

Morning Light

Dabbling, that's what I am doing. Sticking my toe in the mosaic water. Easing in. 

Are you the type to just jump in the pool, or the type to go in from the steps, acclimating slowing? When it comes to swimming pools, I'm the go-in-slowly-from-the-steps type. In my mosaic life, however, I have been more the jump-right-in type. That served me well in the early years. Now, however, after time away from the work, while simultaneously being invested in the interior analysis of relationship to work, I'm committed to a slower, more thoughtful discipline.

That discipline is aimed at keeping in check both a penchant for taking myself too seriously and an obsessive precision that crosses over into perfectionism and hurt hands, as well as being observant of anything else that leads me to lose sight of the value of my experience of creating.

Well, there's a lot going on there but I am optimistic that it's not quite as heavy a lift as I just made it sound. I'm actually feeling good about getting back to work and believe that I am up to the challenge of such discipline. 

As I dabble in this Sunday morning light, on an unfinished mosaic that I've committed to finishing, I just love the way the light, through a skylight in my new studio, is reflecting off the surface of the mosaic. As much as I love this perspective on the work, this beautiful light is also hampering my ability to work. 

It's good to have the light shine on a process for the perspective that it offers. But that does not mean that so much light is what the process always needs, does it? Well, I did anticipate the problem of the morning light coming through the skylights, which is why I have ordered solar shades which will be installed next week. This should help a lot for the short time that the sun requires to rise above my roof. 

Before I Was An Artist, #11

With summer travels and home renovation, things have been incredibly busy the past few months. But the renovation is mostly finished and my new studio is operational. If you would like to see my new space, check out this blog post. 

After a few very small mosaic tasks, I'm almost ready to rejoin the mosaic world and focus on finishing a couple of works. My sabbatical turned quasi-sabbatical and then back to full sabbatical during the renovation has been very good for me. This blog series, as well, has been helpful, and I feel it will be even more helpful if I continue it.

So, we left off in about 2006 with the idea of essential mosaic, or work that is uniquely mosaic. My first introduction to the concept was by Gary Drostle, who described it as work that would not be as successful in any other medium. I'm pondering a tighter qualification, that being work that can only be successful in mosaic. What do you think?

As the riddle of essential mosaic nagged at me, I attempted to chase it and began creating abstract mosaics and working with a variety of materials. I came to realize that I love line. And simplicity of design. And minimal color palette. And precision.

Simplicity of design and minimal color palette gave me a sense of space. Precision gave me a sense of ease, which actually sounds nonsensical as precision is not at all easy. But precision made things make sense, made the pieces make sense to each other—to meet on equal terms, made silence instead of noise. I still feel the same way today, although I now understand how precision is vulnerable to perfectionism. 

In this time period, I was paying more attention to texture and was experimenting with dimension. I also began thinking in terms of works in series. Music To My Eyes was the first series, based on classical music forms and particular compositions in the form, as well as the use of mosaic gold to express movement.

Below are the first two in the series, Etude and Nocturne, 2007 and 2009, respectively

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Mosaic gold is quite unique and extremely responsive to light. The texture and shadow inherent in hand-cut glass and stone are also unique to mosaic. But, are these essentially mosaic? Would they be as successful in any other medium? 

Another series was called Vertical, but it is now called Lines. I was inspired by Brit Hammer's textural mosaics which were worked in lines, or as she referred to them, stripes. She worked mostly in glass and with a lot of color, and in a more relaxed style. Of course, I loved the idea of working linearly, but I did not want to copy her; I had to make it my own. 

Below are two early pieces from the Lines series:

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At left is the first piece in the series, Pulse, 2008. I was experimenting with a much wider range of materials and also with beads.

It was mostly easy to work monochromatically, in black, gray, and white, but combining the matte marble/stone vs the more highly saturated glass was a challenge that I would increasingly face as I tried to work with more color later on. 

Also, I did not want it to look like stripes, which presented the biggest challenge, both technically and compositionally, in changing materials—going from smalti-sized tess to very small beads.

In retrospect, I think that the best thing about this series was that I worked with so many different materials and learned a lot about how they work together, and sometimes how they didn't.

At right is another in the Lines series from 2008, Rhythms: September. For this Rhythms sub-series, I made an 8" x 8" mosaic for each month of 2008 in this Lines style

What do you think? Did I make my own lines, distinctive from Brit Hammer's? And is this essentially mosaic? Would these pieces work in anything but mosaic? 

During this time period of 2007 - 2009, I was working a lot and consciously trying to make art. I guess you could say that I was being an artist. 

Over time, as I was being an artist, I was increasingly taking myself more seriously, which just might be at the heart of my struggle with being an artist.  Part of the reason for this, I have come to realize, had to do with my increased awareness of and interaction with the—thanks to the internet— quickly expanding mosaic world. 

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That's enough for this post. I'll continue with around 2010 in the next post. Thank you for following!

Studio Wing, WIP (cont.) — PLEASE HELP!

I'm starting to think of organization for my materials in my new studio. I'll have shelves that line the long sides of the studio, probably enough shelving for my smalti (both Mexican and Italian), and vitreous, as well as all my stone, ceramic, other glass, etc. I'll be using clear jars for the tess. In my old studio, I organized colors within material, with only the most-used materials in the immediate studio area. I've got plenty of room in the new studio to have it all—or at least most of it—on the shelves along the walls, so I'm considering how I should group things.

Question: Group materials by color within material, or by material within color?

Color within material: For example, I would have the vitreous grouped together I'm one area, the Mexican smalti together, the Italian smalti together, etc., with each material then grouped by individual shade and value. 

Material within color: For example, material within color being all the blue vitreous along with all the blue Mexican smalti along with all the blue Italian smalti, and possibly any other blue material like ceramic, C3, etc. So, all similar shades and values of blues in the same area, regardless of material. Of course, they would then be grouped by shade and value within the color. 

Which makes more sense to you? How is your studio organized? I welcome your thoughts!