Smith Museum of Stained Glass Windows

Yesterday, one of my mosaics "Day Dream" was hung at the Gallery of Contemporary Mosaics at the Smith Museum of Stained Glass Windows at Navy Pier in Chicago.  The rotating exhibit is put on by the Chicago Mosaic School in partnership with Navy Pier Chicago.  Some of the current exhibiting mosaic artists are: Cody Abbott, Karen Ami, Sue Coombs, Margy Cottingham, Martha Crandall, Sophie Drouin, Carolynn Friedman, Sue Giannotti,Yulia Hanansen, Shug Jones, Gwyn Kaitis, Andryea Natkin, Mateo Randi, Laura Rendlen, Ilana Shafir, Laurel Skye, Diana Stevens, Mireille Swinnen, Conrad Winke, Paul Zanotti, and Dawnmarie Zimmerman.  This is such a wonderful and varied collection of mosaics, that I highly recommend anyone in the Chicago area to make it out to the museum and see it. 

Day Dream, stained glass mosaic on board, 3 panels: 24"x12", 24"x18", 24"x12", 2009   ~SOLD

 "As part of the mission of The Chicago Mosaic School, The Gallery of Contemporary Mosaics brings the finest contemporary mosaics - from emerging to modern masters - to The Smith Museum of Stained Glass at Navy Pier. 
    
The range of work created by contemporary mosaic artist is broad, from soaring sculptural mosaics to utilizing advanced architectural techniques to the intricate details in micromosaics that are assembled with precision, utilizing a magnifying lens and tweezers.  Contemporary mosaic artists use a variety of materials in their work, including vitreous glass tile, Smalti, handmade ceramic tile, porcelain, marble and stone to name a few.
    
The Gallery of Contemporary Mosaics is sponsored by The Chicago Mosaic School, the first school in America focused on preserving and promoting this fine art form.  Since the school opened in 2005, students have come from all over the world to attend classes and workshops in Chicago.  CMS courses explore a variety of approaches in design and construction of both fine art and architectural mosaics, from beginning to advance levels of study." -The Chicago Mosaic School



I feel so excited and privileged to have my work beautifully displayed among not just fine mosaics but also incredible stained glass windows created by renowned world-class artists such as Tiffany.  Above are three of Tiffany windows which are displayed at The Smith Museum of Stained Glass. 

Tiny Landscapes 2

This was a fun little project. After completing a small 3" x 6" landscape last week, I decided to play a little more with this size. I got to work with new colors and shapes with out the commitment that my larger pieces need. These little guys cleared my mind a bit and set the stage for something a little more time demanding. 

Landscape 8, stained glass mosaic on wood, 3" x 6", 2011    ~SOLD

Landscape 6, stained glass mosaic on wood, 3" x 6", 2011 ~SOLD

Landscape 7, stained glass mosaic on wood, 3" x 6", 2011   ~SOLD

 

Landscape 4, stained glass mosaic on wood, 3" x 6", 2011   ~SOLD

Landscape 5, stained glass mosaic on wood, 3" x 6", 2011 ~SOLD

New Landscapes

Landscape II, stained glass mosaic on board, 8" x 17 3/4", 2011 ~SOLD

I began this landscape intending to create an image of Vermont's rolling hills during the fall foliage.  I already had a great sketch and was only getting out the glass I imagined using. As I was pulling out the burnt, orange glass that became the mountains in this piece, the landscape in my head began to change rapidly.  Some of the glass was actually broken into sharp, triangular shapes and images of barren, sandy looking mountains in the middle of nowhere came into mind.  Though the color still reminded me of Vermont, especially one particular, cloudy day.  I really liked the way that orange hills looked against the cloudy, gloomy sky.

Above you can see how "Landscape II" is framed .  Its floating frame is created with a 2.5" deep x .25 wide red oak which is stained in dark walnut and finished in satin.  "Landscape III" is framed the same to match.

Landscape III, stained glass mosaic on wood, 3 5/8" x  11", 2011   ~SOLD

Landscape III came about as I was working on it's bigger sister.  I liked theses mountains and their colors so much, so you can say that I turned my head to the side and this is a view of a different portion of the same mountain range.