Other towns to be declared GuitarTowns by Gibson have included Austin, TX, Nashville, TN, and Orlando, Florida. You might be wondering “Why GuitarTown in Waukesha WISCONSIN?” Guitar legend Les Paul was born in Waukesha and is buried here. The “Wizard of Waukesha” nickname is synonymous with the electric guitar that bears his name, the Gibson Les Paul. What finer tribute to our local legend than to have his hometown declared a “GuitarTown?”

You can read more about the project and timing here: http://www.aroundwaukesha.com/640/waukesha-is-the-official-gibson-guitar-town/

Next week I will receive the guitar I am to mosaic and will post regular updates and photos on the progress (here and on my website). I am humbled to be included and truly excited to embark on a new challenge.

A special thank you to Dianne Sonnenberg, who has walked this road before me (on a MUCH grander scale), and who has been an invaluable resource through the proposal process. You can see her TEN FOOT guitar from GuitarTown Austin, here: http://www.gnomenclaturestudios.com/

Crystal Surge

I was recently asked if my work is really mosaic.  What is mosaic?  At least the questioner asked  in a gentle, respectful way rather than some of the snarkier questions that have been raised.  Because of the gentle approach I was compelled to craft a thoughtful answer.

If one takes the dictionary definition of mosaic as: “a picture or decoration made of small, usually colored, pieces of stone, glass, tile, etc.,” then my work qualifies as a mosaic.  That’s the definition I keep in the back of my head as I work.  The rest, as far as I’m concerned,  is open to interpretation. Vast, emphatic, adventurous interpretation!

The definition doesn’t specify the size of “small”, for instance. My pieces are small compared to say a car or the Empire State building.  My pieces may be considered big next to a nickel or a pearl. . .

In my work the use of alcohol inks allows me to have saturated color field under clear glass tesserae (for the most part).  In a nutshell, most of my current work is built on a mirror substrate attached to a backer board of various types.  On top of the mirror I lay color fields of alcohol inks and lay pieces of clear glass tesserae over the color.  The clear glass may be textured, plain, tempered, or stained glass.  This can be repeated many times, in many layers, depending on what is called for by the design.

By having the mirror as a substrate, the light bounces through and around the finished pieces, rather than just across the surface.  The reflection and refraction of the light within the piece becomes a vital contributing participant in the work rather than a passive effect skimming over the top of the tesserae.

Detail of Crystal Blaze

The dictionary definition of mosaic says nothing about how the tesserae must be laid (flat, stacked on their sides, or layered over other things), whether there can only be one layer of tesserae or multiple layers, whether the substrate must remain unseen, or whether it can be celebrated and encouraged to glow, or indeed, what I can actually use as tesserae.  I use clear glass primarily, but am not adverse to adding beads, guitar strings, porcelain, gems, rocks . . just about anything I can get my hands on that interests me on an artistic level.  The dictionary definition of mosaic is necessarily broad, and loosely defined, to allow and encourage innovation and experimentation.

Detail of Drifting Progeny

I began my current journey over a year ago out of frustration with the lack of the “right” color of tesserae available to me, and the resulting flatness inherent in my more traditional mosaics.  I am a recycler at heart and knew I had lots of clear window glass available to me, along with mirror and alcohol inks. My journey from there has been well documented on my website if you’d like to take a further stroll through my recent work. (http://mosaicwench.com/index.html)

Untitled Mixed Media Layered Glass mosaic

I’ve been thinking a lot about this year as it winds down and I believe I have a love/hate relationship with 2011.

I’ve exhibited and sold more work this year than any other year in my artistic history.  I’ve been more satisfied with my creations and more confident in my direction.  A cyber friend told me “You’ve found your voice.”  That sums it up very nicely.

I no longer consciously think about technique or flow – it just presents itself as part of the process.  That does NOT mean that everything that comes out of the studio is fabulous.  Trust me, there are things down there that will NEVER see the light of day.  I know what went wrong, and in most cases I know the mistakes so as not to make them again.

I’m happy with the direction my art-life has taken this year and I will do everything I can to facilitate it into the future.

Crimson City - Mixed Media Layered Glass mosaic

Now comes the hate part of the love/hate relationship.  We’ve had family troubles and financial troubles.  Nothing earth shattering or devastating.  Nothing that can’t be risen above with a little tenacity and time.  I think the reason I “hate” this part is that it’s a severe distraction to my art-life.

That may sound self centered and self serving, but when one considers that I have put my art-life on hold for over 20 years to raise and nurture my family, volunteer in my community, and generally be a “giver”, one might see how this can be true.

I look forward to 2012 with great relish and energy.  I will continue producing  the “Ice Series.”  Although it’s now a year old, I wonder if it’s a series any longer?  What would one call it?  A phase? A period (like “his blue period”)? Hmmmmmm . . . will have to cogitate on that one.

I thank my clients, my collectors, my friends (both cyber and real), and my family for the encouragement and kindness shown to me over the past year. I’m  humbled that you like my work and thrilled with the feedback offered.

Splintered Circles - Mixed Media layered glass mosaic

Happy New Year!  Thank YOU for following my blog.  I resolve to update more regularly in 2012.

A LOT.

Will it go 'Round

I layer it over mirror and color it with alcohol inks and sometimes there are up to 8 layers of glass in one piece.

I was raised by Depression Era parents who wasted nothing and they passed that ethic on to me.  When I replaced all the original 1950′s windows in my home a few years ago, I wouldn’t let the installers throw any of them in the dumpster.  They reside snugly in my attic waiting for my next project.

In the meantime, friends, neighbors, and locals who know me give me old windows.  LOTS of old windows.  The frames are falling to pieces, they are covered with fly spots, old layers of paint, and more dust and grime than I  thought possible.  The wood smells musty and the hardware is rusted.  But the glass is fabulous.

It’s simple, 1/8th inch thick clear window glass.  As ubiquitous as air.  We’re surrounded by it.  We look through it every day.  We measure our days through it gazing at a sunrise or sunset, watching children play, watching the seasons change.  This glass has held back countless storms, snow, wind, hail, oppressive heat, and bitter cold.  This glass has been there for the beginning of journeys and at the end of homecomings.  This glass has history,  yet it is as clear, shiny, and flat as the day it was made.

Most people don’t know that glass is a liquid.  It’s a liquid that flows very, very slowly over centuries rather than minutes.  When looking at a hundred year old pane of glass, it is clearly thicker on the bottom than on the top, due to the effects of gravity on this liquid.

I like to think that I’m taking this shiny, hard, sharp, liquid and elevating it.  What went on around it through its life is now added to my work and my artistic vision.  The colors that the glass reflected are now on its surface and changing its character. Viewers no longer look THROUGH this glass, but rather into it.

I like to let the glass “speak” to me when I manipulate it  (I’m not crazy, it doesn’t actually say words ).  When glass breaks in an unexpected manner it seems to be pointing me in a direction I hadn’t considered.  When it won’t lay properly, it seems to be telling me to try something else.  When I listen to it, really listen to where it wants to go, then the glass, and the artwork resulting from it, sings.

Pat

Stop by for a coffee and some fine art by the members of the Art Guild. Each year our resident Poet Maggie Brooks picks several of her poems for the visual artists of the Guild to interpret. The resulting works are then shown in an annual exhibit called “Inspired by Words.”

This year my mosaic entry is called “The Middle of No Where” based on a poem called “Salami and Candles in the Middle of No Where.”

Middle of No Where

If you are interested in seeing more of my pieces, and you live near Toronto, I have three pieces in a show called “Abstraction” at the Maplestone Gallery in Creemore, Ontario, from May 4th through June 30th, 2011.

Pomegranate Ice

Iced Over

Sun Dance (sold before the Exhibit opened!)

Mosaic Art to Benefit Doctors without Borders

Veneration by Pat Mitchell

I adored listening to the audiobook, even with all the hours of rephrasing the same philosophy seven or eight different times,  and all the extraneous and despicable characters I was forced to endure.

The Movie?  Not so much.

I think in all fairness it was a good attempt at some lofty material.  I understand that creating a film from a book such as this can only be difficult, at best.  The rich, intricate language, ideas, and philosophy are what has made the book a classic.  Translating that into a cohesive, intelligent, and entertaining film never quite materialized.

I liked the actors who played Dagny (Taylor Schilling) and Hank Rearden (Grant Bowler – who knew Henry could be such a hottie?),and LOVED  the actress who portrayed Lillian Rearden (Rebecca Wisocky).  She played Lillian with ice in her veins and mooching in her soul- which was so very true to her character.  The inaugural run of the John Galt line was outstanding.  The burning of the Wyatt oil fields looked too much like the burning of Atlanta in Gone with the Wind.  Just a wee bit cheesy.

Now I can move on to reading (listening) to  other audio books.  Any suggestions?