tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-329737302011-12-20T05:08:34.828-06:00Welcome - I have always been a collector- the process of making mosaics fits that mold- from searching for, choosing, and collecting the individual tesserae- to integrating the collection into a mosaic. I am inspired by nature- both in design and material. Please fell free to provide comments and feedback.Garden District Mosaicshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02399654747929662064noreply@blogger.comBlogger361100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32973730.post-48004334577387571372010-12-31T10:25:00.002-06:002010-12-31T10:40:34.491-06:00

New Year's Eve and I'm looking forward to projects for the New Year. In February hope to see all of my Mosaic friends in Austin at the SAMA conference. I've got to come up with a final concept for my 3D structure. I've got some ideas but nothing solid-thinking on the lines of a comment on the state of our planet- I've been collecting all sorts of "debris" and think I may incorporate it into this

Garden District Mosaicshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02399654747929662064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32973730.post-5339778215688695742010-10-13T10:54:00.011-06:002010-10-30T07:24:44.264-06:00

As an exercise in taking my art seriously, I applied to the Mosaic Arts International competitive exhibition with my work “Relationships”. It was just an exercise- to get used to applying for competitions- I never dreamed in a million years that I would actually be accepted. Well, faint and fall over- I was!!! This competition is in conjunction with the annual Society of American Mosaic Artists

Garden District Mosaicshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02399654747929662064noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32973730.post-33588378557364746752010-09-13T11:36:00.008-06:002010-09-13T11:55:45.198-06:00

It's always interesting (and sometimes a bit scary)to hear someone else's interpretation of your work. I've been mulling over names and and how to "explain" my newest mosaic (above). The way I see it- and have been thinking about it was that it is about forms and shapes and maybe time. Construction , deconstruction; is it the forming of something new or the end of something old. I've been trying

Garden District Mosaicshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02399654747929662064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32973730.post-44422951514065471342010-08-23T08:42:00.004-06:002010-08-23T09:14:26.918-06:00

Hello Blog. It's been a while. I put aside my mosaics while remodeling and painting my home, vacationing on the beach with my dogs (and other family), and a number of other distractions. But I'm back in the studio now spending several hours a day nipping & cementing. Flashback to 2008- my first marble piece I became frustrated with- I have now begun anew -I've worked through several problems, and

Garden District Mosaicshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02399654747929662064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32973730.post-21259092387635505962010-01-10T12:51:00.005-06:002010-01-10T13:30:05.205-06:00

Lately I've found that I've been spending a lot of time reading other people's blogs rather than writing mine own. Here two of my favorite blogs right now:http://www.mosaic-blog.com/ - Emma Biggs' new(ish) blog. an interesting and thought provoking look into her world and amazing mind.http://mosaicartnow.blogspot.com/ - Nancie does a wonderful job of scouring the cyber-world for interesting

Garden District Mosaicshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02399654747929662064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32973730.post-57752223317375879942009-09-08T13:45:00.014-06:002010-08-23T09:21:38.572-06:00

Here are a couple of photos of my "organic" looking form that I made in Sherri W. Hunter's workshop a few months ago.Sherri is a wonderful teacher- and a great problem solver! Last year she won first place in the Best Architectural category at the Mosaic Arts International (MAI) Juried exhibit for her wonderful "Swimming Tiger" benches (we'll forgive her that they are Auburn tigers rather than

Garden District Mosaicshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02399654747929662064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32973730.post-58592765744986238372009-08-31T07:26:00.002-06:002009-08-31T07:42:31.697-06:00

Here is the second in a series of 3 mosaics --the first one was Anthology I (see below). This one is (obviously) Anthology II. I think I am more pleased with the way II turned out than I. Even though this one is smaller and does not have as many elements. The material is just so rich, for me, that makes the piece. I love the iron (or maybe it's copper or a combo of both) ore that has the

Garden District Mosaicshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02399654747929662064noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32973730.post-50219149511424073612009-05-14T09:18:00.006-06:002010-08-23T09:22:17.334-06:00

Anthology I --finally finished! I still need to clean it up a bit-then it is on to the other 2 matching pieces that will make it a triptych. I really like this piece-- the materials are so wonderful. There area couple of things that I might have done differently (like the white marble) but not much. This piece has so many different types of minerals in it- I'm not sure what they all are! I do

Garden District Mosaicshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02399654747929662064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32973730.post-53332853292037605672009-05-05T16:35:00.004-06:002010-08-23T09:23:26.788-06:00

Great news! I received a grant from Louisiana Cultural Economy Foundation (http://www.culturaleconomy.org/index.php ) that will pay for all of my costs to go to "Concrete Camp" with Sherri Warner Hunter in Bell Buckle Tenn. http://www.sherriwarnerhunter.com/Workshops%20in%20Bell%20Buckle.htmWhooHoo!In other news-- the Louisiana Crafts Guild site has gone through "phase 2" and we now have an on

Garden District Mosaicshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02399654747929662064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32973730.post-36096302798809910802009-04-19T14:07:00.006-06:002009-04-19T14:44:38.609-06:00

Here is my latest -- all I have left to complete is the upper left background. This is going to be a triptych - it is a commission made for a friend-- the same one I made the table for- this will be for her father and brothers. I have great material to work with! I'm still trying to identify all of the rock samples she gave me. I do know that all came from a copper mine. I'm using marble in the

Garden District Mosaicshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02399654747929662064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32973730.post-34311373983107209942009-04-07T18:56:00.002-06:002009-04-07T19:00:32.940-06:00

Well obviously I have not posted in a while. I am working on one of my most favorite pieces that I have ever done. A commission using wonderful natural material-- it will be a triptych. I'll post a photo as soon as I finish the first one.

Garden District Mosaicshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02399654747929662064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32973730.post-16121795159535972582008-11-21T10:55:00.005-06:002008-11-21T11:13:12.248-06:00

I mentioned earlier that I wanted to do a series. Well, here is what I have so far. They are "desktop" mosaics- each have an "anchor" or primary focal point - I now have all of these pieces for sale at the Alexandria Museum of Art. I really enjoy making these- -I simplified the steps to make them- I used a piece of wedi board with a thin layer of colored thinset and insert it into a frame. Then

Garden District Mosaicshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02399654747929662064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32973730.post-19416621415596865322008-09-08T13:23:00.004-06:002008-09-08T13:32:24.466-06:00

I finished the above piece yesterday (which will be a table top)- I named it "Cyprium" - which is the original word for copper the Romans used. It means "metal from Cyprus". Since the rock and mineral samples I used came from one of the Cyprus copper mines, I thought the name fit. Overall I'm pleased with the piece- of course, there are some things I would think about doing differently- I lost

Garden District Mosaicshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02399654747929662064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32973730.post-21877903793470200822008-08-24T16:42:00.005-06:002008-08-24T16:57:59.058-06:00

I began my mosaic table and am almost half of the way through - here is the first part. The other half is going to be lighter with gold highlights. I'm enjoying working with the mexican smalti - it is so easy to cut. I'm making the individual pieces of smalti a little larger that I would like- but I decided to do so since it is a table and I think it would make a more level surface.

Garden District Mosaicshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02399654747929662064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32973730.post-22175243094072764342008-08-16T06:14:00.003-06:002008-08-16T06:23:09.113-06:00

I've put aside my marble piece below to begin a commission-actually I have not done much in the studio in a couple of months. I've primarily been spending my spare time assisting with an Artist Development Workshop that was held a couple of weeks ago and also working on the committee for the Louisiana Craft Guild's new website. It's going to be killer!My new commission is a small table made

Garden District Mosaicshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02399654747929662064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32973730.post-34152348998768930262008-06-16T11:23:00.002-06:002008-12-09T01:52:39.502-06:00

I've been primarily working on one piece since January, 2008--I worked on it for a few weeks-decided I hated it and put it aside. Then-- I went to the SAMA Summit in April and got inspiration! I decided that I might be able to "save" the piece with the background. I was not happy the primarily designs in the piece-- which I actually started in a class with Emma Biggs in a 2007 SAMA workshop.

Garden District Mosaicshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02399654747929662064noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32973730.post-70079739950726850662008-06-16T10:51:00.004-06:002008-12-09T01:52:40.115-06:00

Alexandria Museum of Art Workshop Here are several of the works created by my adult students in the mosaic workshop I taught at the Alexandria Museum of Art in April, 2008. We had a small but creative group! None of the students had ever done mosaics before- I was very impressed with their accomplishments. The workshop was done under the Museum's "Art Smart" Program.

Garden District Mosaicshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02399654747929662064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32973730.post-48260645545596917542008-03-19T11:10:00.004-06:002008-12-09T01:52:40.263-06:00

Here is a new small piece. I've been thinking a lot about doing some small works that I can sell in the museum shop or the LA Crafts Guild galleries, that would be affordable. (translate- that would SELL!) I may actually give this one to the museum for their fundraiser. This is a bit different process for me--I start with the frame, and then make a mosaic that fits. I've generally gone with a

Garden District Mosaicshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02399654747929662064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32973730.post-3348261034145886362008-02-15T09:11:00.011-06:002008-03-20T08:49:58.534-06:00

Lots of news to report since my last entry. I now have several mosaic pieces for sale at the store Barnwell Center in Shreveport. Here is their web site for information on how to find them-although they do not have my pieces listed yet:http://www.barnwellcenter.com/the%20store%20at%20the%20Barnwell%20Center.htmI've signed up to go to the SAMA Conference (Society of America Mosaic Artist) in Miami

Garden District Mosaicshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02399654747929662064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32973730.post-3668516068624225182007-12-23T19:15:00.000-06:002007-12-23T19:24:55.939-06:00

Latest news-- I sold my Fleur du Coeur piece! yipee- Christmas money! I made some change to the piece. I'm about to start my piece that began in the design in for at SAMA in 3/06, a workshop with Emma Biggs. I'm looking forward to beginning this piece. In other news, I accepted a postition as a member on the Louisiana Craft's Guild board. I think this guild is going places - there lots of

Garden District Mosaicshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02399654747929662064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32973730.post-10758968497981921612007-12-02T16:00:00.000-06:002008-12-09T01:52:40.368-06:00

Here is my latest piece. I'm still working on a title. I love Elaine Goodwin's work & style. Not that this is in any way as complex or sophisticated as her pieces, but I tried to use some of the elements and materials that she uses in this piece. I guess you could say it is "inspired by". I've done several "inspired by" pieces... guess I am still looking for my own voice. The material in this

Garden District Mosaicshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02399654747929662064noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32973730.post-87962076272848099832007-10-27T20:25:00.000-06:002008-12-09T01:52:40.498-06:00

I taught my first mosaic workshop the 1st weekend in October. It was to a group of kids in South Louisiana. They each did an 8" x 8" mosaic using vitreous glass tiles and learned to use wheeled nippers. Here is the mosaic that they did for the Steve Irwin Memorial mural that will be installed at the Australian Zoo. It's of Mike the Tiger, a tribute to Mike V as well as Steve Irwin. I thought it

Garden District Mosaicshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02399654747929662064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32973730.post-38317818166896438912007-09-01T12:20:00.000-06:002008-12-09T01:52:40.657-06:00

Above is a photo of my booth at the Louisiana Crafts Marketplace. It was held on Magazine Street in New Orleans in conjunction with the 1st World Cultural Economic Forum that was sponsored by the Lt. Governor's office. This was my first actual booth- it was a lot of work, but fun. There were 52 Louisiana artisans there and most had amazing work! I was proud to be associated with the guild. The Lt

Garden District Mosaicshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02399654747929662064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32973730.post-57493421381532465482007-07-19T20:39:00.000-06:002008-12-09T01:52:40.828-06:00

Now back to the grind! I have been building inventory for a large event in New Orleans sponsored by the LA Crafts Guild and the LA Lt. Governor's office. We will have a Louisiana Craft Market in conjunction with an International Cultural summit. here is a "work in progress"- it still needs to be grouted and painting. It is made mainly from broken parts of one of Doug's fused glass pieces using

Garden District Mosaicshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02399654747929662064noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32973730.post-19602764367136298252007-07-19T20:22:00.000-06:002008-12-09T01:52:41.254-06:00

Since my last blog entry I have retired and been on my retirement cruise with friends- we went to Alaska- it was beautiful and fabulous! I have fallen in love with Orcas. they are probably as smart as humans- and are very social animal. They live in large groups called "pods" and they are a matriarchal society. We also had an amazing experience "mushing" sled dogs on a glacier. They LOVE their

Garden District Mosaicshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02399654747929662064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32973730.post-80624952089479584712007-05-18T17:37:00.000-06:002008-12-09T01:52:41.421-06:00

The first weekend in May, 2007 I was a featured demonstrating artist at the MayFest in Leesville, LA. It was a lot of fun- I don't have any photos of my demonstrating- but her is a photo of my friends and me with Irma Thomas- the Queen of Soul- from New Orleans- she just won a Grammy for her latest album. She played Friday night- and was great! Better seeing her in small Leesville where you can

Garden District Mosaicshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02399654747929662064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32973730.post-58374673043048757862007-03-30T11:42:00.000-06:002007-03-30T11:59:54.647-06:00

Last week I attended the Society of American Mosaic Artist Conference in Mesa, AZ. It was a well organized event, very informative and inspirational. I met lots of new folks and took 2 wonderful workshops. My first workshop was on design with Emma Biggs. She is so enthusiastic about mosaics- her workshops are a delight to attend and I learned so much. I brought my "Eclipse" piece to the workshop

Garden District Mosaicshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02399654747929662064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32973730.post-11888840403954940522007-03-15T18:30:00.000-06:002008-12-09T01:52:41.575-06:00

Here is my latest work- I call it "Eclipse" - as in eclipse of the pyrite sun. This was also my first attempt at gradation of color. I love all of the materials used in this piece- smalti, gold, copper, dichroic glass, and pyrite sun. I'm taking it to my design class w/ Emma Biggs at the SAMA (Society of American Mosaic Artist) - I'll be interested to hear the critique. I'll let you know. I'm

Garden District Mosaicshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02399654747929662064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32973730.post-53051076726861671662007-03-09T09:57:00.000-06:002008-12-09T01:52:41.782-06:00

Here is my "Fish Out of Water" currently hanging in the Alexandria Museum of Art, with the La. Crafts Guild Exhibit. It is inspired by a series of fish that Alexander Calder did. Actually, I did this fish before I began doing mosaics. There are a lot of fun things hanging in this fish - pieces of glass and bottles I found in the alley next to my house, a little doll's arm I found, my first glass

Garden District Mosaicshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02399654747929662064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32973730.post-30341926226571011722007-03-09T09:31:00.000-06:002008-12-09T01:52:41.952-06:00

Here is my first mirror. I completed it in the "Desert Jewel" style. It is going to the Alexandria Museum of Art to sell in the gift shop.My mosaic art was just accepted for the Louisiana Crafts Guild. Speaking of the Crafts Guild, the currently have an exhibit at the museum and I have a piece in it- it is my fish- I'll post it next.

Garden District Mosaicshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02399654747929662064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32973730.post-19489246458550619002007-01-15T16:48:00.000-06:002008-12-09T01:52:42.125-06:00

It was recently pointed out to me that I need to include some photos of my picture frames that I completed - especially the ones that sold! So here is some of my "functional art".The one on the left was the first frame that sold- at the museum auction. It is in the series I call "Desert Jewel". The one on the right is one of the Christmas frames that I actually reaped a profit from- it's in the "

Garden District Mosaicshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02399654747929662064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32973730.post-1168144767748973142007-01-06T22:38:00.000-06:002007-01-15T17:33:05.631-06:00

Exciting news! My piece Emerge was accepted into the Juried Art show at the Morrision Institute of Art in Natchitoches, LA. Here is their website- http://www.morrisonarts.org/. The show will be held January 12-29. In addition to that news I sold my first mosaics! My Christmas picture frames. As a result I have been making a few more frames and mirrors in the "Desert Jewel" series. I was also

Garden District Mosaicshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02399654747929662064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32973730.post-1159654146166287552006-09-30T15:41:00.002-06:002010-08-23T09:19:38.236-06:00

"Emerge" - September, 2006I began this piece at an advanced workshop with Sonia King and Emma Biggs in Dallas in August, 2006. I was a bit worried about taking an "Advanced" workshop- but should not have- learned lots- it was great! They are 2 of the best teachers. The piece has taken me about 50 hours to complete. I spent a lot of time thinking about this piece- almost a year in fact! The final

Garden District Mosaicshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02399654747929662064noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32973730.post-1156026693387243062006-08-19T16:25:00.000-06:002006-09-04T20:18:47.096-06:00

This is my first mosaic. I began it in a two day workshop with Sonia King in Dallas, TX. It took me almost a year to complete it (mainly a time issue). But I learned so much in that class and from this piece. It is a table top inspired by a floor in ancient Corinth. It is of a rooster, pecking the ground. My lack of drawing ability is showing on this one, but overall I like it- even thought it

Garden District Mosaicshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02399654747929662064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32973730.post-1156002974731132852006-08-19T09:40:00.000-06:002006-08-19T16:33:19.430-06:00

This cross was made for my friend Karen's birthday( it was a "special" birthday, we're not posting numbers!). It is made primarily of broken pieces of fused glass given to me by my friend, Doug, who is a Fused/ Stained glass artist. Nice friend to have, huh? I love it when one of his pieces breaks! (sorry, Doug). This piece also includes millefiori, smalti, and glass gems. It is grouted using a

Garden District Mosaicshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02399654747929662064noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32973730.post-1155948548388689302006-08-18T18:29:00.000-06:002006-08-19T10:05:26.716-06:00

The piece on the right is titled "Fleur du Coeur". It represents the love I have for my state and the pain that the recent hurricanes brought with them. I plan to do another piece similar to this one, to improve the design, a bit more abstract, fragmented . This piece was the first time I used Italian smalti for an entire project and I also used thinset as an adhesive for the first time. Smalti

Garden District Mosaicshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02399654747929662064noreply@blogger.com0