"He who works with his hands is a laborer.
He who works with his hands and his head is a craftsman.
He who works with his hands and his head and his heart is an artist."
Julie Sullivan is all of the above. Julie has been teaching classes at A Work of Art Studio for about 5 years. She is indeed a master craftsman in whatever task she chooses to undertake. Among the classes she has taught at the studio: Braided Wool Rugs, Prodded T-Shirt Rag Rugs, Wagon Wheel Rugs, and Soap Making. She is a perfectionist and her work shows this fact; it is all beautifully created. I decided to have a mosaic sculpture class a few years ago in which many of my wonderful friends and clients partook. Four students made fish, two made flowers, one made a frog and the rest made dragonfly sculptures.
Julie in her unfailingly tenacious masterful way made a remarkable fish sculpture. It took her a long time to finish because she chose to only work at the studio, and many Tuesdays and Thursdays she was pulled from this to help other students with their rug creations. She is making up for lost time with two new sculptures that she will also cover with mosaic to possibly set by her pond at home.
Here is a look at the sculpture and mosaic process:
First create a drawing of the sculpture shape, and then using wire screen, plastic bags, wire and tape the sculpture process begins.
Once the main form is created it is meticulously covered with plaster gauze and then a layer of cement.
For a precision design the pattern is penciled or chalked onto the sculpture for mosaic placement.
Julie has a beautiful almost painterly fashion with her color placement. This is a mix of realistic and fantasy fish with a peacock spot on its tail.
Julie worked very hard on her sculpture and read about a contest at Delphi Glass in East Lansing, Michigan. She entered her beautiful fish sculpture and won first place for mosaic category in the Art Glass Festival 2014 .
Categories: Mosaic, stained glass panels both large and small, jewelry, torch and blown glass, 3-D specialties, suncatchers, stepping stones, kiln formed glass, lamps, and young artist
In Julie's words: "Although you were allowed to enter more than one art piece, I entered only my fish. They wanted a title. So I named her, Queen Moby. I worked on and off on her construction for about 2 years with the guidance of Molly Moblo Perusse (mosaic artist extraordinaire) of A Work of Art Studio.
The entries had to be completed toward the end of March. The festival entries were juried by “3 glass artists with at least 10 years’ experience”. Your art pieces were then on display, open to the public for the month of April. I was very lucky to have placed first in the Mosaic category. They have yet to announce the in- store People’s Choice award. Thanks to Molly and the entire art group at A Work of Art Studio."
We at the studio are extremely proud of Julie and her beautiful hard work and are so blessed to have her excellent teaching skills at our disposal. Here is Julie's finished fish mosaic sculpture, "Queen Moby", ribbon and all.
To check out upcoming art classes (some taught by Julie Sullivan) click on the Studio Schedule page at
www.aworkofartstudio.com and sign up today!
And if you are interested in trying your hand at sculpture making, Julie and I are co- teaching a class starting Thursday, August 14. RSVP by pre-payment at the studio required to save your seat.
