In progress

I truly enjoy creating artwork for the garden.  The colorful patterns of mosaics lend themselves well to any outdoor setting.  This project is a bubbling fountain destined for a quiet garden in India.

VECAS

I teach mosaic class Friday mornings in Cedar Hill at Visual Expressions Creative Art Studio.  The facility is a new, ranch style building set inside a Texas landscape. I am working with the art teachers and some of the students as we create mosaic applications for the concrete supports surrounding the exterior of the school.  We have lots of room for people to join us as we create our Texas-themed mosaic patterns.  Here is a photograph of Tricia VanBuskirk's jack rabbit.  Other completed mosaics include the names of Texas cities all made with hand-made tiles by Kelli Howie, a crow and cardinal by Joyce Ward, bluebonnets at sunset and an armadillo.  Come out and see us and keep stopping by as we continue to mosaic all around the school. 

New Projects

I am taking a wee bit of time to clean and organize before the next projects begin.  Cleaning always causes me to start a new design or project.  The cleaning is good for, well, getting things clean and I can hardly stand to stay with it for too long as it's much more exciting for me to make things.  Works already in progress include large flowers for display at the State Fair of Texas, new designs for outdoor tables, a new fountain and an exchange challenge with my friend Rebecca Collins.  Rebecca and I are creating mosaic mask designs of one another.  It seems to be a tricky challenge and I've just requested to make a casting of her face.  I am not sure what will develop and am at ease with letting the ideas flow to me in small steps. 

Blogs

And yet, another blog post.  This time our show, Exquisite Creatures, was mentioned in the Mosaic Art Now blog.  http://mosaicartnow.blogspot.com

Here is a photo of the mosaic table we created at the elementary school this week.

Happenings

It has been almost a year since I've written anything for my blog.  We tend to move through many projects quickly and then forget that perhaps they made a difference in someone's life.  Earlier this year I made a mosaic tulip sculpture for the Susan G. Komen Race for the cure event.  In honor of Elizabeth's Garden I created a piece that could be placed in an outdoor garden.  Tonight, I attended the artists reception and met the family of Elizabeth, a woman who made a huge difference in the lives of many dealing with breast cancer.  Their appreciation of my sculpture allowed me to see that in some ways, big or small, I do impact the lives of others.  The sculpture, along with other art pieces by noted Texas artists will be on display at Collin Creek Mall through mid-June.  For more information, go to Elizabeth's Garden at www.KomenNorthTexas.org.

Yesterday and today, Taylor and I worked on a mosaic table top with the school children at George Peabody Elementary school.  It always amazes me how quickly one can accomplish a mosaic project with a well coordinated group.  Our tabletop design is a peace symbol.  I will post pictures soon.

We are also working on a mosaic stepping stone path for Dwell with Dignity's new offices.  This is another group project, initiated by my friend Sirena.  Check out the blog article at www.dwellwdignity.blogspot.com.

And, we just had the opening of the second mermaid and octopus show so check out the blog by Kerri Arista at http://kerriarista.blogspot.com/2010/05/in-octopus-garden-in-shade.html.