And then there were 5.....

Several months ago, a client contacted me about using her mother's china in a sculpture for herself and her sister-in-law.  I completed two sculptures using the china.  Fortunately, when these two pieces were complete, there was still enough china to create 3 more smaller sculptures!  I have just now finished these and they are with the shipper off to their new homes.  These will be gifted to my client's daughter and her 2 nieces.  What a wonderful way to remember someone special.





Kodak Theater Stairway in Smalti.....

On a recent trip to Los Angeles, we had the opportunity to visit Hollywood.  We were complete tourists and did all the things tourists do.  The kids put their hands in the hand prints at Grahmen's Chinese Theater, we took photos of the famous Hollywood sign and we visited the Kodak Theater where the Academy Awards are handed out.  How appropriate that the stairs leading to the theater are created in red smalti- just like the red carpet!  Mixed in with the red smalti are gold pieces, as in Oscar's favorite color.  What a wonderful way to commemorate the highest honor in acting with the best tile in the world!  So beautiful.... 

Commission Completed 2

This piece is the second commission sculpture I completed for a client using her mother's china.  You can scroll down inside this blog to see photographs of the first piece.  I love how the two are completely different, yet, using the same materials.  In this piece I used 2 rows of glass beads at the neckline, I have never done this before.  I like the effect and will likely use this idea again.   Let me know what you think about the two pieces and how I used the china.......

Commission Completed

I was so excited to be contacted in June by a client to create two sculptures using her mother's china.  The china had been passed down to my client and she wanted to commemorate her mother by creating a sculpture.  She generously also commissioned a second sculpture for her sister-in-law.  The challenge for me was to create two unique pieces using the same materials.  The china was mostly white with 2-3 pink roses per plate.  The stems of the roses are in a gray/black.  We agreed from the beginning that I would use pink or white beads at the neckline, however, when I was working with the china, I suggested we consider using black faceted glass beads.  The client agreed and now you see the result.  I am thrilled- there are so many things that I like about this piece.  I am delighted with how it turned out and hope that the piece will serve as a beautiful reminder to the client of her mother.

Mosaics Restoration in Italy

A wonderful website and daily email has been introduced to me by my dear friend and ardent supporter, Peggy Corrao.  When you sign up for the daily email, a treat arrives in your 'in' box each morning with something wonderful from Italy.  Today's email is a short article about an incredible mosaic restoration project currently taking place at a Villa in Sicily.  Click on the link below for the article and more pictures. 

Link to Italian Notebook Website

The New Bermuda

I created this piece using Italian and Mexican smalti.  The Italian smalti are the black and gold pieces, the Mexican smalti are the white pieces in the background.  I was experimenting at the time with creating depth and texture simply by the way the tile was cut and how/where it was laid.  I am so proud of how the hair turned out, the curls of the Queen's hair are created solely by the cut of the tile and their placement.  Using the same tile, I created the outline of her face, the eye, the profile of the nose and the mouth. Traditionally, color is relied upon to create these distinctions.  Suffice to say, this was a very difficult piece to create.

At the time I created this piece, Bermuda was undergoing some political and social changes that I wanted to address in my artwork.  The message I was trying to portray here is that our Premier at the time was not going to be happy until everyone, including the Queen, was Black.  His tagline on everything was 'The New Bermuda'.  Sadly, this Premier did not address the needs/concerns of the balance of the population of Bermuda.  A leader should be concerned with his/her entire constituancy. 

This piece was also recently re-photographed.  I am delighted with the photographer's ability to capture the details of this piece, the parts that to me, make it so enjoyable. 

Yummi Tribe Woman

I am so happy that I found a photographer in Carbondale who has the right indoor lights to photograph my mosaics up close and personal!  I have tried repeatedly to photograph this piece under different settings.  I struggled with light reflecting off the glass, whether it was flash or sunlight.  I think they did a great job and have fallen in love with this piece all over again!