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Channel: Kasia Polkowska Art
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"The Match Girl: A Body of Work by Kasia Polkowska"

May 30, 2011, 8:41 am
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Yesterday, with the wonderful help of Kyle, Gavin and Mia, we installed the works for my upcoming solo show at the CMS Gallery at the Chicago Mosaic School. Please come out and join us for the opening reception this Friday June 3rd 6pm - 9pm.


Here is an excerpt from the press release by Gavin from the Chicago Mosaic School:

"This summer the Chicago Mosaic School Gallery is proud to exhibit fine contemporary mosaic work by artist Kasia Polkowska. The CMS Gallery seeks to exhibit the finest in mosaics, as well as supporting work in other media of creative expression. This show presents a range of Polkowska’s work in varying media including oil on canvas, ceramics, and contemporary stained glass mosaic. Born in Poland, Polkowska has lived in Brooklyn and Chicago where she now continues working in and deepening her mastery of the mosaic form. On her online blog,* she comments on her process, “I draw my inspiration from [… ] the endless magic, mystery, and magnificence of Mother Nature. I am particularly fascinated by mountainous landscapes, rock formations and natural patterns.” New work for this exhibit includes interpretations of Uxmal in Mexico in addition to a series of landscapes. The exhibit will be open May 31 – July 27, 2011. ..."

Located one the second floor of the building one block north of Irving Park Road, west of the Metra track at Ravenswood, just off the Brown line Irving Park “L” stop. Parking is available in front of the building on a limited basis, but there is parking on Cuyler and Ravenswood on both sides of the tracks.

CMS Gallery Hours:
Monday Closed
Tuesday 12:00PM - 2:30PM
Wednesday 7:00PM - 9:30PM
Thursday 11:00AM - 2:30PM
Friday 10:00AM - 3:00PM
Saturday 10:00AM - 12:30PM
Sunday 10:00AM - 4:00PM
Also by appointment.
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Match Girl

June 3, 2011, 7:06 am
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Match Girl, stained glass mosaic on plywood, 40" x 30", 2011   available for purchase

I just completed this mosaic for an upcoming show "Match Girl: a Body of Work by Kasia Polkowska" The exhibit is at the CMS Gallery @ the Chicago Mosaic School running from May 31st till July 27th.

The mosaic is based on an image I painted a few years back while studying at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. My original painting depicted the imaginary spaces I thought up while reading Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Match Girl" - one of the most memorable fairy tales from my childhood.

In the upper left hand corner (inside a room, among the apartment buildings) my mother is reading the story to me and my two sisters. As she approaches the sad ending - an ending I've heard before - I leap out of the room landing in the story. Though I am too late; all that is left of the little girl is a shadow surrounded by light, as her soul ascends to heaven.
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Cannonsville Reservoir

June 12, 2011, 10:35 am
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Cannonsville Reservoir, stained glass mosaic on board, 10" x 13", 2011   available for purchase

A couple years ago - while spending a weekend in the Catskills in New York - I stumbled upon this beautiful place.  

While admiring the beautiful scenery from the passenger's seat, I spotted a small clearing in the woods and asked Kyle to turn around.  We follow the little path down to the reservoir and were greeted with this magnificent view!  It was an accidental find but the image has stayed with me since.  The shore made of stones and the hazy, old mountains in the distances were imbedded in my little artist register in my head.  I knew then that one day I would recreate this view in a mosaic.


 
Above on the left is a in progress shot.  You can see some of the little sketches I've made, trying to figure out how I'd like to cut the glass to get the desired effect.  I used the nippers quiet a lot to shape the stones and the little ripples in the water - which is what created all the little glass shards in the photo to the right.  I try to sweep often while I work, to avoid tracking the glass all over my apartment, where my studio is located.  Sometimes I sweep the shards into a little mountain and only discard it after I complete the mosaic.  Its a trophy of sorts.  This one was particularly interesting.

To the right, is my mosaic with a different sky I first created.  Despite making preliminary sketches, I had some issues when it came to the sky.  After completing it and having lived with it for a couple weeks, I decided that the sky had to go!  I knocked it of, and started fresh to get a much better effect.
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Milwaukee Avenue Arts Festival

July 15, 2011, 9:58 am
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Coming up during the last weekend of July, I will be participating in a very exciting group show at the Milwaukee Avenue Arts Festival. The exhibit will display "the works of contemporary artists of Polish descend who upon moving to United States became extensively “open” or “perceptive” to the ideas of their new culture and its existing art trends." 

"Once a year, Logan Square's commercial corridor transforms into a full-blown arts district". 

"This year's Milwaukee Avenue Arts Festival features dozens of independently curated visual art galleries, interactive arts activities for the whole family, a spectacle of performance arts, and an electrifying music line-up on multiple stages."

"While the arts and music feed your senses, also enjoy craft beers by Revolution Brewing, gourmet mobile food trucks, an open-air market of local artisans and more!"

When: July 29 - 31, 2011 Friday 4 - 11pm, Saturday & Sunday Noon - 11pm

Where: Along N. Milwaukee Avenue between California and Kimball in Logan Square, Chicago 
My work will be displayed at Unzipped II at the following address 2314 N. Milwaukee. 

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Pink Floyd's Echos

July 22, 2011, 10:59 am
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Last month, a friend asked me to listen to Pink Floyd's Echos; that was his one specification for a project he commissioned me to make.  The rest was up to me.  Here is a youtube video of the first part of Pink Floyd's Echos live performance at Pompeii (that was the main inspiration for the image).

Below are two photos of my mosaic interpretation of "Echos".  Its a dynamic piece that changes with the light (special effects in glass ... fitting to interpret a song with such incredible special effects).  Most of it is created with iridescent glass so I included 2 images to show how it can change with just a slight change of light or the shift of the viewer's head.  


Echos, stained glass mosaic on board, 8 5/8" x 16 5/8", 2011

Echos, stained glass mosaic on board, 8 5/8" x 16 5/8", 2011

Some of the lyrics I choose to base my image on:

... And deep beneath the rolling waves, In labyrinths of coral caves, The echo of a distant tide ...

... But something stirs and something tries, And starts to climb towards the light ...

... Strangers passing in the street, By chance two separate glances meet, And I am you and what I see is me ...

... And no-one flies around the sun ...

... And so I throw the windows wide, And call to you across the sky ...

Click to read full lyrics
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Imagining Winter

September 8, 2011, 8:31 am
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More Snow Is Coming, stained glass mosaic on board, 7 1/4" x 28", 2011   available for purchase

Here is my latest Vermont landscape. A couple years back while driving through VT in the winter I was completely mesmerized by the snowy, yet brownish mountain-scape all around me. Right away I wanted to capture it in a mosaic.  This particular landscape also happens to be part of a series of mosaics of my favorite view of the green mountains as seen from the porch of the yurt I lived in while staying in Vermont.

Here are the triplets from my Bonnieview Farm Landcape Series all framed and ready! 
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Art For Heart

September 26, 2011, 9:01 am
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Here is a little change of pace from mosaics, a glimpse at some of my drawings. This upcoming weekend I will be exhibiting 10 landscape and architectural drawings. One of the drawings will be auctioned of to benefit the Gift From The Heart Foundation as well as the Polish Museum of America.

Location: Polish Museum of America
984 N. Milwaukee Ave, Chicago
When: Fri 7-11pm, Sat 12-7pm, Sun 12-6pm
Opening Reception: Friday September 30 7-11pm

Below is the flier with the event information.  

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Design Cloud

November 30, 2011, 11:33 am
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Its been a very busy month. Between planing a long distance move and finishing up a couple ambitious projects, I haven't found the time to post an important update about the latest exhibit I took part in. The opening was on November 17th. It was actually the grand opening event for Design Cloud in Chicago. It was a great party with live art and great energy. The show will be up till January 7,2012 so if you're in the Chicago area its worth a look! I have a brand new mosaic sculpture on display (collaboration with designer/artist Kyle Cunniff). In addition I have two 2D mosaics along with three charcoal drawing in the show.
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Matryoszka Collaboration with Kyle Cunniff

December 2, 2011, 7:30 pm
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Kyle and I have recently collaborated on a Matryoszka Doll Sculpture. Kyle sculpted the shape, we worked on the design together and I mosaiced the sculpture. In addition I created a mixed media 2D mosaic Matryoszka.. Here is a glimpse into our process. Go to Kasia Mosaics on Facebook to view the full album (you don't need a Facebook account for this).  I'll try to post photos of the finished mosaics soon!  Meanwhile if you are in the Chicago stop by Design Cloud Studios where you can see both pieces till January 7, 2012.
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Mt Elmore

January 2, 2012, 12:04 pm
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Kicking of 2012 with a new Vermont inspired landscape! I began working on this piece a few weeks back in December. It allowed me to time travel to a sunny spring day at Mt Elmore =)

Spring in Vermont is amazing to watch. Living in the Northeast Kingdom was filled with so many beautiful things but one of the luckiest things was witnessing the changing flower fields. Every week the grassy fields would be covered by a new color and a new flower. Each week I was surprised to see patches of yellow, white, pink, purple or orange. I watched in awe!

Mt Elmore, stained glass mosaic on board, 8.25" x 18", 2012   available for purchase
Driving in Vermont is another phenomena.  There are no billboards and everything is picturesque.  While gazing out the passenger's window, I caught a glimpse of an extremely pink field.  We were on the way somewhere and couldn't turn back to take a closer look or a picture but it has stuck with me because it looked so unique.

Then last spring, driving here in the Midwest, I've spotted pink flowers on the highway and was reminded that I wanted to recreate this in a mosaic.  I looked through my glass and one green piece stood out to me as Mt Elmore so I decided to combine the pink flower field with one of my favorite scenic mountains.  I got to watch Mt Elmore from my porch for half a year but my favorite view of it was also caught while driving.  I liked seeing it standing alone, apart from the other mountains and I dressed it up with my own field of pink flowers. 


Process shot of Mt Elmore.  All the circles have been shaped and its onto the trees!

Messy process shot.  The aftermath of shaping the little pink circles that are my flower field.
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Night Owl

January 20, 2012, 12:38 pm
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Night Owl, stained glass mosaic on wood, 26" x 16", 2012    available for purchase

A few weeks ago I  decided that this year I will finally start sketching out my ideas for a large series of work I've been planning in my head for the last couple of years.  I won't get into explaining what it is just yet but it involves a bird - to be more specific a hawk.  This bird will be a recurring character though out most of the pieces in the series (12 - 20 large drawings with mosaic counter parts).  Because the project will be so large and intricate, I've decided to begin a study of the hawk to understand its physical structure so that I will be able to portray him (actually a her) as best as possible.

During my research, I kept getting distracted by photos of owls.  After a few hours, I couldn't get the owl out of my head so I decided that the only way to be able to focus on my hawk was to first make an owl ... a couple of weeks later my 'Night Owl' is finished and I am so happy that I decided to go on a whim and make this playful piece. Rather than creating a full mosaic, I glued my owl to a panel of wood I stained to look like a forest at dusk.  I was a little bit nervous about it but I think it turned out well.





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Matryoshka (Matrioszka) Doll

January 23, 2012, 9:17 am
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Matryoshka Doll, stained glass mosaic on plywood, 30" x 23", 2011   available for purchase

This is the first part of the Matryoshka Project.  Last year Kyle and I collaborated on a 3D Matryoshka Doll sculpture. We worked on the concept together.  He designed and fabricated the 3D form and I designed and fabricated the mosaic pattern.  This 2D doll was created by me to work out the design for the 3D doll.  Though she took on a life of her own and became her own piece.  

I love the fresh and lively feeling of the combination of blue and green.  I wanted her to look youthful, modern and full of good energy.  Her belly is imprinted with the lotus flower - a symbol for purity and divine life.  For me she is the symbol of a youthful woman, full of life and energy.  As a nesting doll she is curvy and symbolizes the fertility of a youthful beauty.

Below is some of the process of how she came to life.

Left: Color Concept Sketch   Right: Black and White Mosaic Sketch



Mosaic Fabrication Over the Color Sketch
Left: Detail of the Cheek   Right: Detail of Lotus Flower
Left: Progress of the Face   Right: Laying the Tesserae
Left: Mosaic Taped and Ready for Gluing   Right: Grouting

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Collaborative Matryoshka Sculpture - A K+K Project

January 29, 2012, 2:29 pm
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The Matryoshka Doll sculpture was a collaborative effort between me (Kasia) a mosaic artist and Kyle a designer.  We have collaborated in the past, but this is by far our most fruitful project to date.  For a couple of years we've been toying with the idea of creating a mosaic sculpture.  Finally when the doll came up, we knew that it was the perfect subject.  The curves are pleasing to the eye and the form is suitable for applying a mosaic to it.  Creating the form alone was a huge undertaking.  Kyle spent weeks researching, sculpting and prepping the form for me to mosaic over.  I've also spent weeks researching the doll, designing our concept, theme and colors, and fabricating the mosaic.  Our doll is a youthful, curvy and joyful.  She is a symbol of fertility as other Matryoshka dolls are.  She is pure and vailed in white.  Her eyes and the pin that holds her scarf in place are green like the jade stone which symbolized life and growth.  Her belly, which will swell with life and protect her growing children, is covered with a lotus flower which signifies purity, enlightenment, self-regeneration and rebirth. 

Mosaic Matryoshka Sculpture (front view), mosaic by Kasia Polkowska, sculpture by Kyle Cunniff, 24" high, 2011  available for purchase
Side and Rear View of the Matryoshka Doll
Below are some photos of the process of  the constructing and the sculpting of the doll form as well as of the fabrication and the application of the mosaic onto the form.  These are only a few of the many steps we took to bring our doll to life.  If you'd like to see more photos of our journey, visit Kasia Mosaics on Facebook.
Kyle creating the form of the doll
To the Left: The geometric plan for the Lotus Flower  To the Right: Detail of working on the face


To the Left: Ungrouted Top View  To the Right: Gluing piece by piece

Staying up late, working in in parts, hoping to finish in time for the exhibit

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Vermont Inspired Drawings

April 28, 2012, 6:17 pm
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Matted and Framed Drawings (19" x 23" framed) ... (drawing alone 11" x 13.5")   $350 each
Over the last couple of years the state of Vermont has found its way into my heart.  For half a year I've lived and worked on a sheep dairy farm in a region known as the Northeast Kingdom - a place that has given me infinite inspiration for my art work.  Recently I decided to revisit some of the imagery I've taken away from this incredible land.  Here are four drawings I've worked on recently; each one was a pleasure to work on and a way for me to travel back in time through my charcoal pencils.

Evan's Barn, charcoal on paper, 11"x14", 2012    $350 (framed and matted 19" x 23")
The Road, charcoal on paper, 11"x14", 2012   $350 (framed and matted 19" x 23")
Gathering the Sheep, charcoal on paper, 11"x14", 2012   $350 (framed and matted 19" x 23")
Marshland, charcoal on paper, 11"x14", 2012    $350 (framed and matted 19" x 23")
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U's Firetruck Mosaic

April 29, 2012, 7:57 pm
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U's Firetruck, stained glass mosaic on board, 16.25" x 24.25", 2012
Here is my latest mosaic - a welcome-into-the-world gift I created for my soon-to-be nephew =) I wasn't quiet sure what image to make and then I remembered that when Kyle (my boyfriend and U's uncle) was a child he wanted to be a fire truck (not a fireman) when he'd grow up. I figured that since they share a gene pool, the little boy might also grow up to be a fan of firetrucks and therefore enjoy this mosaic.

concept sketch in process
For this project, I  tried a new approach by doing a full color sketch for this before starting the mosaic. With all those colored pencils I felt like I traveled back in time to my childhood ... which I hoped would help me achieve the childlike quality I wanted for this piece.

colored pencil concept sketch
snapshot of the mosaic in process
Here is a glimpse of the mosaic gluing process. To the left you can see the completed but not finished mosaic still taped on the face before the gluing begins. Next you can see a piece of the custom built substrate. Next the taped mosaic is flipped over for gluing. Below to the left you can see the back of the substrate. Next the mosaic is flipped over for gluing (the glue is spread on the mosaic as well as the substrate - not seen in photo). Finally both are joined together and smoothed with my working hands =) This is left to dry over night.  Then the tape is removed from the face, the excess glue is cleaned off and the grout and sealer are applied.
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Mountain Spring

June 1, 2012, 1:23 pm
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Here is my latest, largest and loudest landscape mosaic yet! During the month of May I've decided to direct my energy and focus into mainly large scale mosaics. Over the last five years I've made numerous pieces mostly on smaller scale due to limited resources. Each and everyone of those pieces is unique, has its own story and is filled with the discovery and the play that has shaped me into the creator that I am today. Every once in a while I've made sure to take the time to go wild and create something with no boundaries. That is where the biggest magic happens! I live and breath each one of those pieces for months before they come to life. When I finally get to work on one - it owns me. As I work it takes on a life of its own (all my does this) pulls me in and demands that I search and dig deep within myself and give everything I got and more ... during this time I always find something new, something I wasn't aware of. I work, work, work and then I look and think and often go blank, stop and wait ... eventually I get it and I am able to keep going till the final, finished piece unveils itself to me. I am simply along for the ride and as I get closer and closer my curiosity grows exponentially. When it is all over I can sit and breath and wonder how this came to be - I love this feeling!

Mountain Spring, stained glass mosaic on 36" x 36", 2012
Through my work, I explore many aspects of my interests.  I love nature, landscapes, patterns and colors.  I've been drawn to mountains ever since I was a child and am still fascinated by them in particular by the mountainous landscape after the snow melt when everything slowly comes to life in vibrant colors.  I am fascinated by flower fields that spring up in these environments, away from most people, hidden in beautiful secluded places.  While I lived on a remote farm in the beautiful Vermont, I got to see the fields change every week - it was spectacular.  One week a field was a green blanket of grass, the next week yellow dandelions covered fifty percent of it - I've never seen anything so beautiful and undisturbed.  The flowers took turns.  Another week the field was pink with clover and so on.

Here is a close up of the mosaic field and trees taken in bright light outside; it shows how colorful the glass really is and how its intensity changes in different light.  You can also see the nice, raised texture that the glass pieces create. 
I feel that purple flowers in particular are a sign of the arrival of Spring. I often see them shooting up through the snow letting us know that its that time of the year. It is my dream to find myself in a purple field like the one that I've created in this mosaic. I want there to be a variety of flowers some more pink some more blue but all in harmony with each other existing in that magical moment when its their turn to come out from the earth for that brief moment and to breath in the pure mountain air.

Below are some of my process shots.  For more photos and process visit Kasia Mosaics on facebook.

Left: glass choices for mosaic     Right:  shards of glass after snipping and shaping the glass into circles
Left: mosaic in process     Right: my glass scoring tool finally called it quits
Left:  divided mosaic sections ready for gluing     Right:  me gluing the last section of the mosaic
Left: applying grout     Right: making sure to cover the whole surface and fill all the crevices
Left:  whipping away the grout to reveal the mosaic     Right: polishing off any remaining cloudiness

This is a good size comparison of the mosaic next to me while I am finishing polishing the piece after grouting.

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Father's Day Comission

June 19, 2012, 7:48 pm
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Ella's Mosaic, stained glass mosaic on board, 9" x 12", 2012
This cityscape mosaic is my latest commission.  I was approached by a friend to create something special as a present for her husband for his first father's day.  Her husband has been a fan of my work so she thought that this would be a perfect gift.  The project was very open and the most important guideline she have me was to incorporate the date of their daughter's birth.  She also mentioned that her husband likes the color blue and is very passionate about their home city - Chicago. 

Basically my friend gave me complete artistic freedom and wanted to be surprised with what I would come up with.  Seeing that someone had such confidence in my abilities was great and at the same time a little bit intimidating.  Thinking of all the possibilities,  I approached this project with excitement but soon I became nervous and afraid that I may go in the wrong direction and end up disappointing my friends.  After a lot of pondering, sketching and going back and forth, I finally decided to create a calm sunrise over the city of Chicago and Lake Michigan.  I associated the birth of a new life to a new beginning like a new day - a perfect day in which two people were blessed with a beautiful baby girl.  The project really came together in my head when I figured out a clever way to include the birthrate of their daughter into the design of the lake. 
I am so happy with how this mosaic turned out. Every commission is an opportunity to create something I would never have made on my own.    
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Green Mountains

July 14, 2012, 2:37 pm
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Green Mountains, stained glass mosaic on board, 36" x 36", 2012  available for purchase
I've always loved mountains but none as much as green mountains!  I don't just love mountains but hills as well - combine mountains, hills and a perfect blue sky and I'm in paradise =)  I feel that I am on a quest to find my perfect landscape, my perfect green hills that roll back into the distance and evolve into magnificent mountain peaks.  When I lived in Lismore, Australia I was mesmerized by the endless rolling hills covered by beautiful carpet of green grass.  I used to look out the bus window and as it glided up and down the sloping road, I breathed in the scenery and daydreamed of walking through the beautiful landscape.  This is my first tribute to 'Green Mountains' veiled in my ideal sky.

Below are a couple detail shots which show a little bit of how the light plays with the glass.  Photos by Kyle Cunniff


Here are a few process shots also taken by Kyle Cunniff

concept sketches and concept colors
Sketching out the concept on the board
the mosaic is coming along

 ready for gluing and then grouting
grouting - my favorite part =)
polishing the grouted mosaic


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Koru - A New Life

July 26, 2012, 9:34 pm
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Koru - A New Life, stained glass mosaic on board, 11" x 16", 2011  
I've completed this very special piece at the end of last year.  A good friend/aunt of mine commissioned me to create a unique surprise present for her daughter and her partner who at that time just found out that they were expecting a baby.  She and her husband have just given it to her daughter and her partner just a few days ago so I've finally decided to share it with the rest of the world.  I was felt very honored and was very excited to take on this wonderful challenge.  These were my guidelines "I'd like it to be abstract but also have the joy of creation, the beauty of a new life coming into being..."

Because I know the recipients of this mosaic so well, I knew that they really love bright, bold colors, especially yellow (optimism, renewal, hope, enlightenment, joy and happiness) and orange (energy, balance, enthusiasm, warmth, and vibrancy).  At the time of the commission, we didn't yet know the gender of the baby so I thought that these colors would be perfect.  Another inspiration for this piece was the spiral (koru) as the basis for the composition. Koru is a spriral shape that is based on the unfurling of a silver fern; it symbolizes new life, growth, strength and peace - all that come with the creation of a new life.  I've always been fascinated with spirals so I was extra excited about incorporating it into a mosaic design.

Below area  couple process shots which I took while working on this piece:

Here I am in my old Chicago studio carefully scoring the next little piece of glass which I am about to snip into a little circle.
A peek at the mosaic in process.  You can see how I build most of my pieces on top of a rough paper sketch.
I've worked on this piece with it being oriented as the one in the lower right hand corner but once I completed it and turned it in all the possible orientations, I had a hard time deciding which way I liked it best. As a result I've put four different hooks on the back so that the new owners can decide which on their own which way feels best. Plus as they live with it they can keep turning it to change it up =)
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Vermont Spring

September 1, 2012, 1:20 pm
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Vermont Spring, stained glass mosaic on board, 18" x 36", 2012   available for purchase
Here is my latest mosaic landscape. It is inspired by part of the beautiful panoramic view I used to have from my porch while living and working on a sheep dairy farm in Northeast Vermont. In the spring and in the summer, the fields and pastures would blossom in colonies of flowers, change color almost every week as different flowers took the spotlight. I especially loved seeing the yellow and the pink and here I recreated it in another mosaic, again reliving some of my most beautiful memories I carry with me forever.  

Below are a few process shots of this mosaic.
the final sketch all ready and the color palette picked out

the flower field coming along
left: mosaic coming along and almost ready for grouting    right: grouting in charcoal black




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