Interview on Cat Lady Confidential

Today I was featured on a lovely blog called Cat Lady Confidential. I talk about my cat mosaics and embroidery, as well as the beautiful cats in my life, past and present. Read it here.  Thank you for the interview, CLC!

Me and Christopher

Published in Glass Patterns Quarterly

Several months ago I was asked by the editor of Glass Patterns Quarterly Magazine to create a mosaic tutorial for their winter edition and I just received my copy! There are four pages of step by step instructions to create this 10" stained glass mosaic titled "It's Cold Out!" It includes  a list of all of the materials you will need, plus many, many color photos illustrating the process. Also included is a full size pattern. 

Look, I'm on the cover, too!  You can buy the magazine or download the pattern directly from their web site here. If you make it, please share with me - I'd love to see your version!

Full size pattern and color coded



Easy instructions!



Mosaic for Glass Patterns Quarterly Magazine

It's Cold Out! - 10", stained glass, millefiori, beads







I was recently invited by the editor of Glass Patterns Quarterly Magazine to create a mosaic tutorial for their winter edition. This mosaic is 10" in diameter and is made with stained glass, millefiori and beads. The tutorial includes the design pattern and gives step by step instructions and photos on how to create it. The issue will be available in December and will also be available as a purchasable download.  



Grouting in progress

Teaching Yourself Mosaics

A couple of my mosaics and a bit of my story as a beginning mosaic artist are included in this fun and informative blog post by Helen Miles Mosaics about self taught mosaic artists and their methods for learning. Check it out here and be sure to catch part one, as well as an awesome archive of articles and stories for the mosaic art lover.  Thank you for including me and my art, Helen!

Featured on Folt Bolt

My book was featured on the colorful and inspirational blog of Folt Bolt, which features "amazing artworks from all around the world." Visit their blog here.  Thanks, Folt Bolt!

Article in Mosaico na Rede Magazine

The third edition of Mosaico na Rede, a magazine published in Brazil, is now available and there is a lovely article in it about me, my art and my book, The Night Before Christmas. I was contacted last year by the editor, Magaly Floriano, who interviewed me and collected several photos of the mosaic illustrations in the book. The magazine is printed on nice, quality paper and includes many other interesting articles and images of beautiful mosaics throughout. It is printed in Portuguese and English. You can purchase a copy here.

My Art Featured in Bonnie Fitzgerald's New Book

I just received my copy of Bonnie Fitzgerald's new book, Guide to Mosaic Techniques - what a great resource and inspiration, check it out! 




Thank you for including my artwork, Bonnie, and congratulations on your new book!

"This complete resource of mosaic techniques and design ideas is sure to become your go-to reference. With clear step-by-step sequences, mosaic artist Bonnie Fitzgerald shows how to draw up an idea, cut and arrange tiles, and lay designs successfully. All tools, materials, and equipment are clearly explained, and you'll find helpful hints on setting up a comfortable workspace, as well as essential information on installing your finished mosaics.
Includes 10 project descriptions, such as a mirror frame, table top, house number, and two- and three-dimensional artworks. Plus, you’ll find tips and sample mosaics from some of the world’s leading mosaic artists throughout the book!"

Buy Bonnie's book here. 

Kathy Temean features me on her blog, Writing and Illustrating

Ooh look!  I was interviewed by Kathy Temean for her terrific blog, Writing and Illustrating, which was posted today. Learn a little more about me, my stained glass mosaic illustrations process, and see lots and lots of photos of my art.  You can read it here.

Kathy’s blog is such a great resource for published and unpublished authors and illustrators. She posts information she gets from her interactions with editors and agents in the industry and shares thoughts and techniques of other writers and illustrators in the field. I always look forward to her weekly “Illustrator Saturday” posts, and now I am a feature! Check it out and leave a comment if you wish - we’d love to hear from you.  Thanks so much, Kathy!!

Betsy Bird on Fuse #8

Betsy Bird featured my book on her blog, A Fuse #8 Production, on the School Library Journal's web site, saying it's "one of the most beautiful Christmas children's books I've ever seen."  Read the post here.  Thanks so much, Betsy!

Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast!

Oh yay, I’ve been featured on my favorite children’s literature blog, Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast!  Julie Danielson has posted my detailed process of how I created my book with tons of pictures, most of which I’ve never posted before.  If you’ve ever been curious as to how I did it and what my thoughts were as I made it, please go over and read it on her blog, here!  And stay awhile if you love children’s literature.  She’s been doing it since 2006 and has a wonderful archive of the most interesting interviews and of course, fabulous children’s book art!  Thanks so much, Jules!!

I've Been Interviewed!

Jacqueline Iskander, fellow mosaic artist, interviewed me on her blog about my experience with printing my book. Read it here and then read the rest of her blog series On Making Books. Thanks, Jacqui!

A Goodreads Review

On my dear friend's piano (my son painted
the Santa when he was five)

Just wanted to share this review I received on Goodreads this week.  I had a book giveaway and one of the recipients posted this review:

 

This new 2013 edition is illustrated with talented Christine Brallier’s absolutely stunning stained glass mosaics. The accomplished artwork gives the familiar Christmas poem a warm and antique look. I know nothing about making stained glass mosaics, so was delightfully surprised to discover that this medium can portray movement so convincingly (unlike the frozen-stiff figures so often seen on church windows.) The pages are full of details that invite the reader to linger, such as the patterns on Santa’s hood and on the reindeer blankets, the long white strips of glass that make up Santa’s beard and the reindeers’ manes, and the stripes in the cat’s tail. 

The cats are a particular delight, especially the grey and white cat modeled on the artist’s cat Raymi. For a story-within-a-story, follow this feline through the pages of the poem for the cat’s perspective on the Christmas Eve happenings. Note her realistic poses and behavior: curled up on her owner’s bed and completely oblivious to the mouse sleeping in the living room wreath; peering out the window to check on the clatter on the lawn; diving to hide under an armchair as Santa appears in the fireplace; peeking out curiously from under the chair; cautiously considering Santa’s outstretched hand; batting the side of Santa’s chair as Santa strums the guitar; clawing Santa’s beard; and finally curled up again on the bed, purring and kneading and dreaming about those perfect cat toys Santa just delivered. There are also other wonderful cats shown in the framed photos on the wall of the house. 



On the shelves at Chaucer's Bookstore

Recommended for children of all ages including pre-readers, for art lovers, for cat lovers, and for just about everyone else except Grinch and Scrooge. I’m sure our copy will become a treasured family Christmas book, brought out every year along with the holiday decorations. 

 

Thank you so much, Alexandra!

My book is available here.

Book Review!

Hooray!  My first book review, how wonderful.  Much gratitude to Tasha Saecker at the blog, Waking Brain Cells, where she reviews books for children and teens.  Head over there to read her review of my book and if you're a fan of children's books, there's plenty to explore there!  Her review of my book is here.

About Tasha from her blog:  My name is Tasha Saecker, and I am the Assistant Director of the Appleton Public Library in Appleton, WI. I started my library career over 20 years ago as a children’s librarian, and continue to be connected to books for children and young adults.
I hope in Waking Brain Cells, you find a warm, friendly place where books for children and teens are celebrated.

Thanks, Tasha!!

Featured in Santa Barbara News-Press

Family Portrait
Artist illustrates "The Night Before Christmas" with mosaics featuring her loved ones

December 8, 2013 12:22 AM
By DAVE MASON, NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

Christine Brallier wanted to create a children's book unlike any other.

So she worked painstakingly for four and a half years creating 15 mosaics, made mostly of stained glass pieces, to illustrate Clement C. Moore's "The Night Before Christmas" (Brownian Bee Press, $16.99). What's more, she put her family in her first children's book — and had Santa play the guitar!

The Goleta artist added a modern touch to the 1823 poem with images of husband Greg Brallier, their son, Jack, and their cat, Raymi, a domestic short-hair mix, along with their own decorations and ornaments.

"TheNight Before Christmas" was released recently and is being sold on State Street at Granada Books, where the mosaics are on the walls (but not for sale) through December in Mrs. Brallier's first major solo art show. Her books also are at Chaucer's Books, as well as Curious Cup in Carpinteria.

She will also sell and sign copies during the Winter Sing and Marketplace, 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday at Goleta Family School in Goleta, where some of the proceeds will go to the school's PTA.

All but one of the mosaics are 15-by-24-inch, and they appear at two-thirds of their actual size in the book.

"I always wanted to do a children's book before I was doing mosaics, but my painting skills were not that great, so I never felt confident enough to do one," the 45-year-old self-taught artist told the News-Press at her home. But she felt inspired when creating a mosaic of a mouse and a skunk, and people said that would make a great children's book.

"I had never seen a children's book done with mosaics before, and I thought that would be really cool. So I was writing down ideas, thinking about it, nothing was coming," said the Bellflower native, who wasn't interested in a tale about the mouse and skunk. "On Christmas Eve, we were reading the story ('The Night Before Christmas'), as we always do, and I was thinking about how cool it would be to do it with my family in it and make it more personal."

"I tried not to look at other 'Night Before Christmas' books as much as possible because I didn't want to be influenced by them and didn't want to feel like I was copying any elements," Mrs. Brallier said. "I did want to look at other Santas (on the Internet) and make sure mine was unique."

Instead of the traditional American version, Mrs. Brallier went with a more classic European look: robe and hood instead of suit and cap.

"It's not what I grew up with. Anything that's different from what I'm used to is interesting to me."

Having never seen Santa play a guitar, the artist thought it would be another way to make her version unique.

In another scene, Santa gives her husband, a guitarist for the longtime Santa Barbara band Tearaways, an electric guitar for the verse, "He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf."

"My husband wanted a guitar like that," Mrs. Brallier said. "I thought it would be fun to give it to him in the book because I couldn't afford it in real life." She laughed.

Their son, who's now 15, is shown as a young boy sleeping for "all snug in their bed."

"He said, 'How come I'm not in it more? My dad's in a bunch of pictures; I'm only in one,'" Mrs. Brallier said with a grin. "I said, 'Well, I'm only in one.'" The mosaic of her is based on a photo her husband shot while she slept, Raymi the cat lying on top of her.

Throughout the book, Raymi watches Santa in the house and eventually warms up to him. (When Santa comes down the chimney, the surprised cat leaps behind a chair!)

Photos on the Internet inspired Mrs. Brallier's depiction of reindeer. She saw how their tongues stick out to the side as they run. So she had a reindeer do that as it flew in her book.

"I was going for something realistic, but at the same time, a more stylized look: playful, colorful, whimsical," Mrs. Brallier said about the entire book.

The illustrations, she added, reflect herself: "Happy, joyful, fun, playful, silly, colorful. I love life. I see the world like a kid in a way."

Since childhood, Mrs. Brallier loved to draw, paint and play the piano. She decided to work with kids in art or music therapy. After graduating in 1986 from JohnMarshall High School in Los Angeles, she worked in preschools in Los Angeles and attended Los Angeles City College. In 1989, she moved to Santa Barbara, which she preferred over smoggy L.A., and went to Santa Barbara City College. She earned a bachelor's degree in psychology in 1994 at Antioch UniversitySanta Barbara and a master's in the same field there in 1996. She married Mr. Brallier in 1998 and worked as a masseuse.

Mrs. Brallier said her desire to help kids was fulfilled by becoming a mother, but she still wanted to create art. She said she struggled with her painting and drawing skills, but found a do-it-yourself mosaic kit in 2005 at the Michaels craft store near her home. "I made this box, and I was totally hooked. The process was so fun and meditative. I get to go into my own world."

She joined the Goleta Valley Arts Association and participated in its group shows at the Goleta Branch Library and the Cabrillo Pavilion Arts Center on Cabrillo Boulevard.

To learn more about mosaics, she traveled around the U.S. for conferences of the Societyof American Mosaic Artists. In Lexington, Ky., she was the lead artist for the society's project in that city and created a large mosaic of a nest and birds for The Nest — Center for Women, Children & Families .

Mrs. Brallier dedicated "The Night Before Christmas" to her husband, son, cat, and her mother, Robin Nichols, a Los Angeles resident who recently died from pancreatic cancer at age 67. "She was a big animal lover and loved the book, especially the cat."

For her next project, Mrs. Brallier has received approval to create a mosaic of trees and plants that her mother loved for a chapel at newly renovated Goleta ValleyCottage Hospital. She's waiting for fundraising to be completed.

The News-Press met with Mrs. Brallier again after the mosaics went up at Granada Books, where co-owner Sharon Hoshida, 66, said the art immediately made customers interested in the new interpretation of a classic.

Mrs. Brallier couldn't stop smiling as she stood surrounded by her mosaics. "This is the first time I've seen them all up. It's exciting! More people can see them."

Mom would be proud.

email: dmason@newspress.com

FYI

Christine Brallier will sell and sign copies of "The Night Before Christmas" (Brownian Bee Press, $16.99), the 1823 Clement C. Moore poem that she illustrated with her mosaics, during the Winter Sing and Marketplace from 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday at Goleta Family School, 711 Ribera Drive, Goleta. Part of the proceeds will go to the school's PTA.

Her book also is being sold at Granada Books, 1224 State St., where her mosaics are displayed; Chaucer's Books, 3321 State St., 682-6787; and Curious Cup, 929 Linden Ave., Carpinteria, 220-6608.

"The Night Before Christmas" is available here.

Photo of reindeer by Mehosh Dziadzio
All the rest of the photos by Thomas Kelsey, News-Press

*Links added by me :)

Local Newspaper Doing Feature Story!

I was just interviewed and had my picture taken at Granada Books with my art for an upcoming Santa Barbara News Press article. I will see about posting it here when it comes out, or at least a link.  For all you locals, check out this Sunday's paper in the Life section.  It's gonna be big!

My artwork has been published!

My mosaic, Portia, has been published in a new book called Mosaic Fine Art Portraits by Irit Levy and Pam Givens (Mosaic Fine Art Books, 2010). It is a beautiful book with some gorgeous portraits, many by mosaic artists who are new to me, so that was a nice surprise. The next book in the series will be Mosaic Fine Art Abstracts (tentatively named). There is currently a call out to artists to submit for this book. If you're interested, click here for more information. Deadline is February 10, 2011. I won't be submitting for that book as I don't create abstract art, but I hear one of the future books will be on animals and you can bet I will be submitting to that one!

This is the second time Portia has been published. The first was inside and on the cover of Mosaic Artist's Bible of Techniques by Teresa Mills (Quarto Publishing, 2009).

Also, last year, one of my cats, Pounce, was published in Laurel Skye's book, Mosaic Renaissance (North Light Books, 2009). This is one of my new favorite books, all about using millefiori in mosaics, so I'm very proud to be in it. If you work with millefiori in mosaics, you will love this book!