A mosaic is a picture made up of small parts which are traditionally tiny tiles made out of terracotta, pieces of glass, ceramics or marble and can be inlayed into floors and walls, or made into artworks. Mosaic art can be done on a solid substrate, cement, wood, metal or it can be done on glass. Although the are beautiful both ways, I lean toward the glass on glass technique as the light through the glass panels brings the pieces to life in a vibrant way. After the glass is glued to the substrate it is grouted as one does tile.
Having worked as a glass artist for over 35 years, you can imagine how much ‘scrap’ glass accumulated. Over time I organized it all into bins sorted by color and clarity. Much of the glass I collected has since been discontinued from production leaving me with treasures from another time.
I gave myself ‘time off’ a few years ago and as we were finishing repairs on an old barn on the farm. I took the 6 large window sashes from the front wall to my studio. It was too much of a temptation not to create something for the front of this old building. Thus began the summer of fun… 3-4 months of chipping away at tiny pieces of glass and glueing it to the clear window glass in the sashes. As I worked, the theme became Mountains to Sea. It was a wonderful experience to watch the images develop as I followed thousands of tiny pieces of glass along the rivers and flowers down the hills, across the Piedmont to the ocean. The final product was more delightful than I had even imagined.