New Website!

I am so happy to say that my new website is up - http://www.piece-of-mind-mosaics.com/.  Please e-mail me at info@piece-of-mind-mosaics.com for mosacis related messages.

Amy Guskin of Fjordstone Inc. Graphic & Website Design did a wonderful job and I can't thank her enough. 

I have met some truly awesome people on this path.  Thanks to all who have supported and encouraged me along the way!

Out And About - Fall 2011

Here's the schedule for fall shows, classes, and the Open Studio (to celebrate having my studio revamped into a real working space!).

Open Studio:  Saturday October 29, 10am - 4pm at 71 Lyndell Road, Downingtown PA 19335, (610)585-5641

Shows:

October 1 -  23rd Annual Bridge Bust - 9am - 4pm, Rt 462 Veteran's Memorial Bridge, crossing the Susquehanna River between Lancaster & York Counties (www.parivertowns.com)

December 2 & 3 - Kimberton Waldorf School Craft Show, Friday December 2, 6-10 pm, Saturday December 3, 10am - 5pm.  410 West Seven Stars Road, Phoenixville, PA 19460  (610) 933-3635 (www.kimberton.org)

Classes:

October 12, 19, 26 & November 2 - Mosaics with Vitreous Glass.  Downingtown Area Recreation Consortium (www.darcinfo.com for registration). Tuesday evenings, 6-9pm at United Sports Training Center on Marshalton Thorndale Road in Thorndale.

October 15 & 16 - 2-day Intensive Mosaic Workshop, 9am-5pm Saturday & Sunday.  Offered at my home studio.  This is a chance for more individualized instruction, tailored to the desires of the participants.  Classes will only have 2-3 people.  (610) 585-5641 or info@piece-of-mind-mosaics.com - be sure to put Mosaic class in the subject line!

October 22 & 23  - 2-day Intensive Mosaic Workshop, same as above.

November 5, 12 & 19 - Spirit Animal Mosaic Class for Adults.  Gallery School of Pottstown (www.galleryonhigh.org for registration). 10am - 3pm, Saturday November 5 & 12, 10am - 1pm, Saturday November 19.

  

The violin (from last blog) will be exhibited throughout the year at concerts by the Community Music School of Trappe, PA.  There will be 20 violins raffled off at a Gala dinner in October 2012 to support the music school.  You can buy raffle tickets at the concerts or by contacting the music school (610) 489-3676.

Many thanks to all who have supported me in this new venture...could not have done it without you!

The Painted Violin Project

As a fundraiser, The Community Music School in Trappe, PA selected 20 artists to create individual works of art using violins as their canvas.  Each violin was done according to a music theme.  I was selected to create a piece with the theme of "Appalachian Spring".  The violins will be shown at the concerts performed by the music school for a year and raffle tickets will be sold throughout the year. The violins will be raffled off in October 2012 at the 20th Anniversary Gala.

"Appalachian Spring" was my first choice of theme.  I lived in Virginia for a few years at the foot of the Appalachians and Redbuds and Dogwoods defined spring for me there.  I am extremely honored and excited to have been selected for this and am looking forward to seeing all the violins.

I finished the piece last week and here it is!

I'm also looking forward to getting some professional photos of the violin as part of the agreement.  I've found mosaics to be difficult to photograph because of the reflections from the glass.
Amy

Mixed Media

I'm delving into a new world - mixed media using glass mosaics, poly clay and encaustic paint!  If you don't know what encaustic paint is, never fear, I had no clue what it was before a few months ago!  Now I see it all over the place.  Encaustic painting is painting with pigmented beeswax, of all things.  I had first seen it at the Phoenix Village Art Center in Phoenixville at a show where they had an encaustic artist demonstrating.  She let me try it and I was completely blown away!  Not only was it great fun but it lit up something in me and I have been dying to use it with my mosaics.  I got the chance when I was asked to submit a piece of artwork for a competetion for MOSAIC Community Land Trust of Pottstown.  It seemed a perfect fit so I first tried a piece of my own and then did a couple of pieces to be incorporated into the exhibit.  It's still a work in progress but here is my first attempt at encaustic and the work in progress for the competition.
Details on the competiton can be found here - http://pottstownclt.wordpress.com/arts/
I welcome any thoughts!
Amy

Summer/Fall Classes

Upcoming Classes:

Saturday, July 23 & 30 at Pottstown Gallery School http://www.galleryonhigh.com/

Tuesdays, 6-9pm, October 4-November 1, Chester County Night School - West Chester, PA  http://www.chestercountynightschool.org/ (Will be listed with Fall Couses)

Wednesdays, 6-9pm, October 12 - November 2, Downingtown Area Recreation Consortium - Downingtown, PA  http://www.darcinfo.com/ (Will be listed with Fall Couses)

Saturday, 10am-3pm, November 5 - 19, Pottstown Gallery School http://www.galleryonhigh.com/  (Will be listed with Fall Couses)

Photos of Students Work!

When it Rains, It Pours!

Well, thank goodness, I got my kitchen mosaic done...the floodgates just opened and I am up to my ears in projects!  Yeah!!!  I just found out  I have been selected to mosaic a violin as one of 20 artists who will be using violins as a medium to express various themes based on 20 different pieces of music.  Mine is "Appalachian Spring" and I am looking forward to jumping into that one!  Then, I have also entered a contest to design a mosaic for the MOSAIC Community Land Trust in Pottstown (how appropriate!)...And another exciting thing is that Amy Guskin is working on a real website for Piece Of Mind Mosaics - you should see her awesome website designs - www.fjordstone.com/web.  We really need the rain and I am thankful for the rainwater we got today and for all the great opportunities coming my way.

"How Fun!"

My favorite thing to hear people say about my mosaics is "How Fun!".  I like it because to me it means my work makes people happy and because I do have fun creating my mosaics.  If it weren't fun and exciting, I wouldn't be doing it.  From the moment an idea comes into my mind to finishing off the grout, it's an exciting & creative process. Every step of the process is fluid and a meander in any step can create a totally different expression.  So I might have one thing in mind when I start but depending on how much I surrender to the process, it could end up with a whole different look!  I usually start with a rough sketch of the design and a general color scheme but allow  my muse to fill in the details.