Is it?
How do you decide if art is good? Do you like it? Do you respond in an emotional way? Does it evoke memories? Does it make you smile? Do you have interesting philosophical thoughts?
WHAT DOES YOUR GUT SAY?
All of these questions make viewing and buying art an emotional and intellectual challenge. Do not be intimidated.
BUY WHAT YOU RESPOND TO!
My Mosaic Journey.
A commentary on my creative process and how it takes over my life. I have always been aware of the art of mosaics however until recently I had not tried creating artwork using mosaic methods. My journey began 2 years ago when visiting my sister in England. Claire has dozens of boxes of mosaic supplies organized by colour. A visual kaleidoscope of inspiration. These five small pieces were made keeping in mind I had to carry them home. I am a puzzle nut and found fitting the shapes into spaces appealing. They sat in my studio for two years.
In November of 2013 I was fortunate enough to visit St Petersburg, Russia. Upon entering a church I was surrounded by millions of mosaic tiles covering every surface in intricate designs. I had to try this!
Experiencing jet lag my first night home I found myself at the kitchen table at 3am with a meager supply of tiles found at the back of a cupboard that had been bought for my daughter and never used.
The grey and white mosaic was made in a rush of excitement and an ahhh moment when I realized the tiles did not have to lie flat. The added dimension intrigued me. January arrived and now I had time to experiment some more, creating the small on edge mosaic. I needed more supplies……always the fun part of creating. While waiting for supplies to arrive I had to use what was available in my studio. Marbles, buttons, beads, rocks, lake glass, a forgotten box of flat glass sheets, and anything else I thought I might use, all came off the shelves. The purple landscape and turquoise pieces were made in a whirlwind of excitement.
The rocks and glass came next. A bit of restraint amid chaos. In the back of my mind a growing idea to create a piece using only glass, all on edge started to take shape. I love this piece. It is like nothing I have seen anywhere. I am itching to try more in this style.
The river of life was another experiment using some of the display tiles from the gallery. Breaking them with a hammer and delighting in the complicated task of placing them. The smalti and glass supplies arrived! The blue with red beads piece was a response to the colourful tiles now in my possession. The two large pieces were done in the gallery over a week or so. More supplies were ordered. More items came off the shelves in my studio. I am consumed by the acts of exploration and creation. The green stone piece with added ball bearings used stone tiles bought at The Restore. All the new pieces have been created in the last three weeks. I have images and ideas of where to go next with this inspiring process constantly swirling in my head.