A Trade With My Buddy Barb Keith

I have long wanted a mosaic by Barb and finally I've got one! And oh how much I love it. She made me a mosaic of our family cat, Raymi, and it is just beautiful. The colors are fabulous, and the expression is so her. I love the whiskers! And she framed it and got cards of the mosaic made for me, too. So cool! She put so much thought into it all and I just adore it.

It's funny because I had considered making a mosaic of one of her pets, too, but since she has a few, I didn't want to single one out and make the others feel bad, haha. So I picked birds, as Barb has made many mosaics of birds and so I felt pretty confident she loves them. :) When I was getting close to finishing the mosaic, Barb and I had an email discussion about how long we've been penpals and friends. We came to the agreement that it was sometime in the beginning of 2007. The next time I worked on the mosaic, I saw us in the birds, and then it was only fitting to name the mosaic, "To Friendship." Thanks Barb, for the mosaic and the friendship!!

New Mosaic, New Trade!

I created this mosaic, "Gila's Tree," for who else, Gila! Gila Rayberg to be exact. She asked for a tree and I asked her for an animal, her choice. She picked a chameleon, well, actually, two (see the hidden one?). Another fun trade. Thanks, Gila!

Awakened One in Buddha Abides Exhibition

A little mosaic, Awakened One, is 5x5" and made with Mexican smalti and millefiori. It was created for a group show, Buddha Abides, which will open Saturday, May 1, 2010, 5-7 pm, at The Frameworks Gallery, 813 Anacapa St. in Santa Barbara, CA and run until May 29. If you're a local, come on by!

New Work: Beautiful Anyway

My newest mosaic, Beautiful Anyway, got its start in a Martin Cheek workshop I took at SAMA in Chicago last month. The class, using Mexican smalti, millefiori and fused glass pieces created by Martin, was an opportunity for me to use some materials I've never used in mosaics before, as well as to meet one of my favorite mosaic artists! He was great fun and I loved trying out the smalti. It is so beautiful and much easier to cut than Italian smalti, though tricky still when I am so used to stained glass. The mosaic is 8x12".

The title of this mosaic can be interpreted in any way you like, but for me, after it was grouted I looked at it and had to laugh because the eyes (fabulous eyes created by Martin) were looking in slightly different directions. Though I did this on purpose, it wasn't until that moment that I realized that the cat and I had something in common: when I was four, I had surgery on one of my eyes because it was "lazy" - it didn't look in the same direction as the other one! This made me think about how else I am different from others: I've never felt like I fit in anywhere, and as a teen, hated that, but as an adult, embrace it! Although since I've discovered other mosaic artists, I'm finding a place I fit, while still being uniquely me. And despite all my differences from others (or because of them) and my crazy eyes, I think I'm beautiful anyway. :)

Mosaic Trade!

The wonderful thing about knowing so many fabulous mosaic artists and having them as friends is the trading we get to do! This is my fourth trade now and oh, am I a lucky girl! This beautiful mosaic is by the ultra-talented Jane Denison. As soon as she posted it on Flickr I fell in love with it. I thought it was made for somebody else, so I quickly decided it couldn't be mine. I did, however, let Jane know how much I loved it, and lucky for me, it was available! Isn't it gorgeous?!! It is about 5 1/2 x 8 1/2", entitled "Bursting at the Seams," inspired by Hundertwasser's work. I love the colors, the fabulous Mexican smalti and millefiori cleverly cut in half and using the centers for the windows, the fused glass door! I love it all. And now I own two mosaics by Jane!

So Jane suggested we do a trade, and asked if I'd make a mosaic of the little orange cat who starred in "I Gotta Be Me." This is the mosaic I made for her, entitled "What a Glorious Day!" also 5 1/2 x 8 1/2," and made with stained glass, millefiori and vitreous, with gold wire for the whiskers. It was a joy to make and I'm so happy Jane now owns one of my mosaics. Thanks Jane!!

P.S. Two more trades are in the works with two more of my favorite artists. Who could they be? Stay tuned..... :)

At last Mosaic #4 for book is DONE!

I'm not really sure why this one took so long to finish! Started it in December and took a month off to make "I Gotta Be Me," but still took more than 100 hours to make. There were a lot of details in this and way more decisions to be made than in the previous three. This mosaic and the next three or four take place outdoors, and then it will be back inside again. I so wish I could share more details but I'm hoping the wait will be worth it! I'm having so much fun putting millefiori every place I can in the designs but with restraint! I don't want it to be TOO millefied :-)

I have a small mosaic to make now and then it's off to Chicago for the SAMA conference - can hardly stand the wait!!! So I'll start mosaic #5 at the end of next month. Guess I won't be finishing the book this year..... oh well....

New Work - I Gotta Be Me

I am still working on the book, I promise! Nearly finished with mosaic #4, but I had to take some time out to create this mosaic for the SAMA mini salon in March in Chicago (can I even express how excited I am to go?!). It will be my second conference and I've never been to Chicago but have always wanted to. Can't wait to reconnect with all my mosaic buddies and meet some new ones!!

I'm glad to finally make a mosaic with this theme. Not only do I feel strongly about being yourself in your art and not creating for others, only YOU, but too often I see people being affected by the judgments of others and letting them dictate how they feel about themselves, how they act and what they choose to be and do. I like to live like the little orange cat - knowing who I am and not being swayed by what others think I should or should not be, spoken or unspoken! It's a much happier life and I wish the same for all of you!!