New Landscape Portfolio Website

This week I published a new website for my Landscape Portfolio: https://www.kasiapolkowska.com   That will be my primary website for my fine art work.  The Kasia Mosaics Website will still be up as it contains a greater variety of projects from different time periods and functions more as a blog.

A Limited Edition Art Print

Later this Spring 2017, we will be releasing a Limited Edition Archival Art Print of one of my recent landscapes. The chosen mosaic will be professionally photographed for high resolution, crisp image (see details below).

This will be a signed and numbered, archival art print with a frame option. We have not yet decided on the paper but will most likely go with an archival water color paper on which we printed our last print.  Size of the printed image is yet to be determined but it will be medium in size.  Here are the numbers we are considering: A 12"x20", B 12"x24" and C 16"x20".

We'd like to get your opinion on which image is your favorite. We'd also like to see how many people would be interested in the non-framed vs the framed option. A, B or C? You can leave a comment here or vote on facebook where the majority of the voting is taking place or instagram where people are also leaving us input. Thank You All for your input!

Yellowstone - Chromatic Spring Mosaic

Chromatic Spring - Yellowstone National Park, a framed stained glass mosaic on board, 36" x 48", 2017 

Available for Sale: http://kasiamosaicsstore.blogspot.com/ 

  

In 2012, I first visited Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. I visited many of the geysers and was completely captivated. Seeing them in person was pure magic. Each one was more unique and beautiful than the previous one. Above is a photo I took of Chromatic Spring - one of my favorites.  That is the photo I used as inspiration for this new mosaic.

The beginning stages of the mosaic.  All the glass shapes are hand cut with basic hand tools seen in this photo.  I was working to create an abstract interpretation of the geyser created of a variety of funky, organic shapes that would come together to create an impression of the colorful spring.

The geyser is arranged and taped.  Here I am moving on to working on the tree covered hill in the distance. 

Every single piece of glass in this mosaic is hand cut and shaped by me.  Here you can see one of the many trees I've created to line the hillside behind the geyser.

The clouds are coming along.

Finally the building phase of the project is complete.

Here the mosaic is being sectioned off for gluing.

All glued and ready for grouting!

The unframed mosaic is being grouted.  It will be professionally framed once the process is complete.

The grand reveal!

Close up detail of the glass while the grout is still wet.

Polishing the mosaic, wiping away the remaining grout film.

Chromatic Spring - Yellowstone National Park, a framed stained glass mosaic on board, 36" x 48", 2017
Available for Sale: http://kasiamosaicsstore.blogspot.com/ 

Online Mosaic Flower Class

I've designed the Kasia Mosaics Online Flower Class for people who would like to learn a new craft while creating something beautiful that can be displayed at home as an attractive art piece or be gifted to a loved one as a special present.

This Online Class is a unique opportunity for students to learn from a working artist but in the comfort of one's home and at one's own pace.  The class covers the entire mosaic process needed to create one of the 12 flower designs included in the class.  Additionally, each flower comes with an option of 2 background designs. Creating even one of the dozen flowers will teach the student the basics needed to jump into their own mosaic projects.  Some students choose to make all 12 flowers, treating the online course as more of a an intensive workshop where they strive to master the basics of glass cutting, including curves and circles.  

This is a full curriculum that can be utilized at its minimum during a quick week where a student creates just one flower or as long as 3 or even 6 months while the student carefully analyzes each lesson and learns via repetitive practice, creating all 12 designs.  Each design has its own special lessons that will help the student develop essential glass cutting and shaping skills.

Students in the online mosaic class gain full instant, lifetime access to the course immediately after registration.  This means you can start learning right away and come back to the course material as often and as many times as needed.  Additionally all student have access to a private Facebook group where they can ask questions and post photos of their progress and their completed class work as well as post class projects.

To register and to read more about the class, visit the Kasia Mosaics Online Class Website  This class is available worldwide with students from across the globe signing up each month!

Johona Mai - A Glass Mosaic Matryoshka

Johona Mai, stained glass mosaic sculpture, 4ft tall by 22"wide/deep, 2017  by Kasia Polkowska and Kyle Cunniff  

 

Johona-Mai, Navajo for Sunny Bright Flower was named to honor the Navajo Nation who's ancestral land we inhabit.  She was created in Alamosa, Colorado - the land of 'Cool Sunshine'.  To reflect our region, we incorporated Southwestern colors, focusing on the bright blue of our big, clear sky and the warm yellow of the ever present sunshine in the San Luis Valley.  Johona-Mai was sculpted by hand and is adorned in a modern, colorful, hand cut stained glass mosaic pattern. Her form originates from Russia, where the first Matryoshka Doll was made and has since become a symbol in Eastern European Culture where Kasia was born.  Today the doll has a place in contemporary pop culture around the world. The form of our doll was kept traditional to inspire the nostalgia one often feels when laying eyes on a nesting doll.  The decorative motif highlights the purity of the form with color, pattern and the innocence of a flower often present on traditional dolls but with a contemporary flair.

Johona Mai set up in Alamosa, among the sagebrush, surrounded by the Sangre De Cristo Mountains

Johona Mai waiting for the sunset.  The photoshoot was set up to highlight Mt Blanca (14,351feet tall) in the background.

The artists, Kasia and Kyle, with the completed collaborative sculpture.  Kyle sculpted the form.  Kasia adorned the form with a hand cut stained glass mosaic.  The artist duo worked on the concept, design and colors together.

Johona Mai set against Mt Blanca watching the sunset over the San Juan Mountains to the West.

Kasia and Johona Mai.  Ever since starting to the concept design for the sculpture in December of 2016, Kasia envisioned taking the doll out to the vast sagebrush fields in the San Luis Valley. 

A Mosaic Matryoshka Doll Collaboraion

Johona-Mai, stained glass mosaic sculpture, 48in x 24in x 24in, 2017 by Kasia Polkowska and Kyle Cunniff 

The sculpture is adorned in an exquisite pattern that can be admired from any angle.

Johona-Mai, Navajo for Sunny Bright Flower was named to honor the Navajo Nation who's ancestral land we inhabit.  She was created in Alamosa, Colorado - the land of 'Cool Sunshine'.  To reflect our region, we incorporated Southwestern colors, focusing on the bright blue of our big, clear sky and the warm yellow of the ever present sunshine in the San Luis Valley.  Johona-Mai was sculpted by hand and is adorned in a modern, colorful, hand cut stained glass mosaic pattern. Her form originates from Russia, where the first Matryoshka  Doll was made and has since become a symbol in Eastern European Culture where Kasia was born.  Today the doll has a place in contemporary pop culture around the world. The form of our doll was kept traditional to inspire the nostalgia one often feels when laying eyes on a nesting doll.  The decorative motif highlights the purity of the form with color, pattern and the innocence of a flower often present on traditional dolls but with a contemporary flair.

 Detail of face - all glass is hand cut custom for the doll.

The concept sketches.

The mosaic beginning of the mosaic fabrication with basic hand tools.

The construction of the custom form designed for the doll.

Stacking, gluing, shaping the form.

A section of the mosaic cut, arranged, taped and ready for fitting.

Kyle reinforcing the pink foam form with fiber mesh and epoxy resin. 

Meanwhile, the mosaic is being constructed and tested against the form of the doll

The form is beautifully sculpted and ready to be mosaiced!

 The final fitting and gluing of the dolls face. 

The artists and their dolls, one all finished and the other a work-in-progress.

The fitting, gluing, tape peeling - repeat, repeat, repeat!

The gluing process for a 3d mosaic is much more demanding than our usual 2d work.

More tape peeling and inspecting our glue job.

All the glass on the sculpture is hand cut and shaped by Kasia. 

Getting close to finishing the mosaic aspect of the sculpture.

Adding the last piece of glass to the composition of the doll's scarf and the whole sculpture in general

All glued and ready for grouting!

This final step was exciting for sure!  FYI the doll weighs under 60 pounds.

The grouting process - the black really makes the bright colors pop!

Details of the grouting process.

Grouting the doll was tedious but rewarding.

Happy New Year

2016 has been a busy year of transition.  The hard work through out the year will pave a way for a very full and creative 2017.  I've moved to a more remote area of Colorado where I have a huge and beautiful studio space.  I have easy access to endless nature as the valley is encircled by mountains, with Sangre De Cristos to the East and the San Juans to the West.  This is a very peaceful and inspirational place where I feel a lot of good energy and excitement to begin working on new projects that I've been busy planning the last few months.  Lots is in the works including a new website strictly for my landscapes, a series of work exploring the landscape of the Yellowstone Region, an outdoor mosaic sculpture collaboration with Kyle Cunniff, a new series of landscapes inspired by my 2015 US Road Trip and more Online Classes for my mosaic students around the world.

The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River

Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River, stained glass mosaic (framed), 60" x 36", 2016
Available for Sale: http://kasiamosaicsstore.blogspot.com/

In 2012, I visited Yellowstone National Park for the first time. I spent a week hiking, observing and feeling the magic of the park. I took photos as I explored the various landscapes.

I hand picked all the glass for this project, searching out for the right patterns and colors that would evoke the feeling of looking at the details of the canyon walls blending together in the distance.

I hiked along the canyon rim and looked down at the rushing river in the distance. I hiked through the rolling hills, watching the white water flowing through and shaping the landscape around me.

I wanted to show both that lovely turquoise hue that I was fascinated by as well as the strength of the white water.

In the sky I wanted to express light, wispy clouds weaving in and out between a lovely colored blue sky. The canyon walls that shoot down and meet the river are mighty and steep. The water mists them as it runs its course. As it passes, it gives life and creates a unique ecosystem along the canyon walls where moss, shrubs and trees grow.

Looking further toward the waterfall, the details start blending in, the colors are blended creating abstract compositions in this natural landscape. Further above the waterfall, is a forest filled with big trees. Of course from a distance they are tiny, coming together to be a large patch of dark green. But in my mosaic, I chose to highlight them just as the trees that are in the foreground, giving each one just as much value.

The grouting process, for me, is one of the most exciting parts of working on my mosaic art.  It is a that final touch that unifies all the pieces and is a common thread through out the composition.  It is the grand reveal.

Above I am polishing the mosaic, removing the final film of grout to reveal the shiny glass.