Mosaic of Experiences

"Perhaps all the dragons in our lives are princesses who are 

only waiting to see us act, just once, with beauty and courage.

 Perhaps everything that frightens us is, in its deepest 

essence, something helpless that wants our love." 

— Rainer Maria Rilke

Well, for the love of mosaic I went to Ann Arbor last week and helped one of my long time mentors with his commissioned artwork at the Summers Knoll School. Martin Cheek spent many weeks creating his mosaic called Danny the Dragon which was a compilation of drawings from the kids at the school. Here is the Facebook link to Martin Cheek's Latest Commission.

Martin is coming to A Work of Art Studio in April to teach a weekend mosaic workshop, there is still space if you are interested.

Now, a little background: Somehow Martin and I became friends on Facebook. I got an email from a glass factory that was hosting him for a mosaic workshop. I asked him about it and he not only sent me his 2014 USA tour schedule, he told me that he had a weekend free. That began my planning of his mosaic workshop at A Work of Art Studio. While chatting about our workshop I noticed that he was busy with this commission and asked if he needed help, which he replied, "It won't be fun, it is hard work." He didn't know me very well. Without further ado, here is the installation process of Martin's dragon:

 Laying out the meshed mosaic pattern and deciding where the starting point on the wall is located.

#Laticrete wonderfully donated the adhesive and grout for the project. It has great hold and tack.

 

 

Cleaning excess adhesive from the mosaic surface with vinegar and a scrubby sponge and eventually with a paper clip to leave room for grout.

 Dragon Selfie

"Our lives are unique stones in the mosaic of human existence -- priceless and irreplaceable." 

— Henri J.M. Nouwen

Martin and I smearing the grout into all the crevices between tiles and glass fusions. Because the glass fusions are so textured and bumpy we ended up using our gloved hands. The grout was a lovely chocolate color.

 

Because the glass fusions were so rounded and wonderfully textured, we scraped around most of them to allow them to stand out and give the dragon more depth.

 Martin Cheek and Molly Moblo Perusse after a long day's work. What a handsome devil; and Martin isn't bad, either.

If you like this mosaic you should check out Martin's other amazing artworks at his website:

http://www.martincheek.co.uk 

 And call or email today to book your spot at his mosaic weekend workshop at A Work of Art Studio! www.aworkofartstudio.com, A Work of Art Studio: 989-352-8222

Who Do You Love?

"Late in August the lure of the mountains becomes 

irresistible. Seared by the everlasting sun fire, I want to see 

running water again, embrace a pine tree, cut my initials in

 the bark of an aspen, get bit by a mosquito, see a mountain 

bluebird, find a big blue columbine, get lost in the firs, hike 

above timberline, sunbathe on snow and eat some ice, climb

 the rocks and stand in the wind at the top of the world on

 the peak of Tukuhnikivats." 

— Edward Abbey

I don't know where the Tukuhnikivats are located, but who doesn't love the romantic idea of your lover carving sweet nothings into a tree in your honor? Here is 
my latest custom mosaic creation for a wonderful client in Florida for behind her stove. It will be framed in to look like a window. She wanted me to recreate vacation memories from her family's trip to Wyoming. She sent me several pictures of the trip and this is my interpretation. She and her husband just celebrated 50 years of marriage, so I couldn't resist carving their initials and wedding date into the aspen trees. 
The mosaic is made with stained glass and directly applied to a board and will travel south in a few weeks to be installed.

My next post will most likely have something to do with my trip to Ann Arbor, MI. where I will be helping one of my greatest mosaic mentors, Martin Cheek, install one of his amazing mosaic creations, Danny the Dinosaur, at a client's home there. Do you ever pinch yourself to make sure you're not dreaming? I will do this repeatedly while I am with him. (It might be reminiscent of, say, a budding physicist helping Einstein with a few of his theories). Yeah, that impressive. Check out his work http://www.martincheek.co.uk.

UPDATE: Here are a few pictures of my mosaic client picking up her mosaic in Florida.

Thank you, Jean, for this wonderful commission and for allowing my creativity to run amok.

Martin Cheek Workshop Coming To A Work of Art Studio April 2014!

Breathing Your Work

"I am focused on the work. I am constantly creating. I am a

 busy girl. I live and breathe my work. I love what I do. I 

believe in the message. There's no stopping. I didn't create

 the fame, the fame created me." 

— Lady Gaga

I am so blessed to be constantly creating in my work and art,  thus at the end of the work day I don't often have the energy or breath to blog.

(I say "every work day" because I create every day whether at the studio/salon or at home where I often work on my commission projects). This is my excuse for not having a blog entry for…months?

In my brain is one continuous blog entry complete with pictures, but unfortunately not with written instructions. Living with this ongoing vision board  is  exhilarating and exhausting and often leaves me a bit twitchy after a long day, especially one filled with constant client dialog. 

The point is that while I have the talent to write, I find it one of the more exhausting creative endeavors.

After many long days at a very productive studio it is easier to share bits of information and pictures on the famous social media site (which must not be named) where most of my family, friends and clients see and share my activities. 

Wow, that was the longest most drawn out excuse for not blogging you have probably ever seen.

Here is what has been keeping me too busy to blog about it…

A Work of Art Studio Christmas in Lakeview 2013

2013 Christmas in Lakeview proved another successful crafty day at A Work of Art Studio & Salon. On Saturday, December 7 there were over fifty willing crafty elves of all ages and their adults taking a turn to create a felted snowman pin. 

Most of the elves were determined “do-it-yourselfers”, some even pushing their adult’s hands away when trying to assist in gluing, mainly the two year old artists.

This particular elf was heard to say, “Oh...no it's broken mommy.”.. But the master elf told him it was only melting.

There was a bit of contention among a few elves who fondly remembered making gumdrop trees at past Studio workshops. “Noted”, said the master elf. 

Much thanks to all those who visited the workshop to create a work of art and especially to Santa’s helpers Debbie Lake and Jackie Bissonette for ordering enough snow to play with.

Pay attention to 

www.lakeviewtimes.com for future notices of upcoming kids art classes.

This is the commission mosaic I have been working on mostly nights and weekends at home (after a full day at the salon) where I can focus without client interuptus. It is based on the client's memory of a family vacation in Wyoming. She sent me several pictures of her trip which I interpreted in my drawing. This is a direct installation on boards which will be attached behind her kitchen stove.
It pays to get pictures of your work out there. This client found a picture of my last custom mosaic on Pinterest.

Which can be seen here: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/162622236516303496/

I will be loading my mosaic process in pictures (easiest way to blog) when this is complete.

Imagine my genuine surprise at two wonderful friends' interest in adding antiques to the shop atmosphere. Not really, I suggested the idea to them. It has been a bit slow but word of mouth takes time, right?


The apples were plentiful this year and I took advantage of harvesting from my own backyard tree for the first time. This sink's worth alone provided about 6 bags of chopped and 4 bags of cooked applesauce. This took up about two weekends of wrist strength (before I started my mosaic commission).

 My husband worked on two different weeks of vacation to take down our shed in the backyard (it was collapsing anyway). We now have a lovely sitting area that faces the back of our house. I noticed the brick wall was pretty bare and so designed and mostly finished this metal bottle cap sculpture of a sunflower. Mostly because the mosaic commission beckoned. Oh well, Spring is 6 months away.

 Making homemade toothpaste with coconut oil, baking soda, tea tree oil and white oak bark.

And a few classes in the studio…..
Ongoing mosaic class
Jewelry making bracelet class
stained glass
Jigsawing  trees for a Costume jewelry Christmas tree class

And a two weekender: Halloween. I created my son and friend's medieval knight costumes on black t-shirts with red duct tape and cardboard painted and duct taped logo. The cool castle in the background is a border I installed in my son's bedroom years ago. It was the perfect backdrop for their costumes.


Is that enough of an excuse to not blog?
It was for me. Also been preparing for:
 Coming in April at A Work of Art Studio:
The Amazing Martin Cheek- world renown mosaic artist is coming to teach a weekend mosaic workshop. Check out his work at:
http://www.martincheek.co.uk

Peace be with you all, and happy breathing whilst you create. Molly