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"Best Bunnies" is my newest mosaic. This piece is currently in the "My Best Friend: Pet Portraits" juried art show at the Encinitas Library. The show has been created by Jim Hornung, Rancho Coastal Humane Society, and Cardiff Dog Days of Summer to honor the special animals around us, and they encouraged interpretative creations. The show runs from: July 23th to August 29th. The size of this piece is: 3 in. deep x 20 in. wide x 24 in. long.

ADDED: I won! Awards were not standard awards such as 1st, 2nd, etc, but given names. I won because my piece embodied the theme of the show, and what Jim was looking for when he created it. Something fun, kicky, and colorful. So my award was the South Park Award! So cool. SOLD

"Garden Surprise" is one of the pieces I just finished. In the picture it's difficult to see, but the dog is slightly higher than the rest of the piece. He's been created with an old piece of styrofoam. The size of this piece is: 3 in. deep x 20 in. wide x 24 in. long. SOLD

"Cat's Got an Idea". The size of this piece is: 2 in. deep x 24 in. wide x 28 1/2 in. long. The window/frame had several colors of paint on it. I simply sanded it down added some dots, stars, and a couple of brads.

"Life Cycle". The size of this piece is: 2 in. deep x 30 in. wide x 28 1/2 in. long, and has a few pieces of hardware added to the window/frame.

"Wild Thing". The size of this piece is: 2 in. deep x 30 in. wide x 20 1/2 in. long. There are two painted stars and antiqued brads around the window/frame.

"Gone Crazy". This piece was in the "Mosaic Art From The Heart" show at the Encinitas City Hall, a show created by Dr. Tim Lueker. The show ran June - July 2010, with five local artists displaying pieces. The size of this piece is: 4 in. deep x 16 in. wide x 20 in. long.

"Monster in my Head" (if you could only see what goes on it there), well this seems to fit. This too was also in the "Mosaic Art From The Heart" show. The size is: 4 in. deep x 20 in. wide x 24 in. long. He's done in a bas relief style for a dimensional look.

"Something on my Mind". The colorful gentleman has something on his mind. Maybe the little animal on his hat noticed the bone he is using for a bowtie, but who knows? This piece was just in the Environmental Art Show at the Encinitas Library, highlighting the use of recycled items. The piece consists of an old window with layers of paint, cast off tile, and broken ceramics. The venue is a stunningly beautiful library, and the show was just lovely and well done by Jim Gilliam. I'm proud to have been a part of it. Size: 24 in. wide x 28 in. long. SOLD

"Hipster Doofus". He was in the 2009 Exhibition of Art. I think he looks like a throw back to the 50's, and he's just a bright happy guy! ADDED: He won an Honorable Mention! SOLD

"Zona di Pesca", just a little slice of fish life at the bottom of the sea. It's a bit more bas relief than I usually do. SOLD

"Wonderment", two dogs staring in wonderment of the bone they find. The bone says "woof" on it. This piece was in the 2008 Exhibition of Art. SOLD

"Darn Fish", the cat eyes the dangling fish and is feeling flustered. SOLD

"Wishful Thinking", it's hard to see in the picture but the tag hanging off the kittys collar says, meow. This window is roughly 18 inches x 4 feet. The piece was in the "Mosaic Art From The Heart" show. It was also in the 2008 Exhibition of Art at the San Diego County Fair. *This one just got updated with some black paint, two different colored brads, and shellac.

See the close up below. My pieces are large since they are actually done on old windows. I generally shellac the window frames and leave them pretty rustic. This is best if they are going to be used in the garden like many of mine are.

"Dogalicious". The two dogs are both drooling over the pile of bones. Presently, this is one of my favorite pieces. My parents fell in love with this and bought it. My mom won't let me give her any of the art, she feels compelled to purchase. GONE

"Walk on the Wet Side,". The wording beside him says: woof. Hard to see in the picture but the tag hanging off his collar is a small dog house with a small bone hanging from it. This window is roughly 2 ft x 2 ft.
This has just been donated to the fundraising auction to be held at the "Heroes Roundup, a Salute to America" at the Del Mar Fairgrounds on July 7th. It's a special night to honor men and women who defend our freedom, and the heroes of wars both past and present. DONATED

See the close up below, which is more of an indication of size also.

"Eggsactly" I did this mosaic on art board. It is roughly 2 ft wide x 19 inches tall. This was in the 2007 Exhibition of Art at the San Diego County Fair. SOLD

The picture below is to show that small red tiles edge the piece.

"Dog Talk," was in the 2006 Exhibition of Art, a juried show held at the San Diego County Fair and won Honorable Mention, and on June 18th it won the People's Choice Award! The wording beside the brown dog says: bark, and the white dog's tag hanging off of his collar says: vicious. (I don't think he looks it, I think he's all talk). SOLD

See the close up below, which is more of an indication of actual size. My pieces are large since they are actually done on old recycled windows.

"What's for Dinner?". The wording on the left beside the dog says: arf. (roughly 3 ft. long by 1 1/2 ft. wide). It was also in the 2006 Exhibition of Art, a juried show being held at the San Diego County Fair. This is a heavy piece but also has the ability to be free standing. It was donated to the Fallbrook RWF club to be used in their action at their scholarship fundraiser. The gal who won it raises dogs! DONATED

  

"What Came First?". I did this mosaic on an old wooden shelf, truly recycled art but it makes it a much heavier piece than I would have liked. (it measures roughly 3 ft. wide by 1 1/2 ft. long) It has been donated to Larry Kincaid. He will be using it in one of his fundraising auctions for his upcoming election to Superior Court Judge, Office 36. DONATED

"Make a Difference," is a piece I donated to be used in a silent auction during an "80 Year Birthday Bash", and the wording above and below the elephant said: make a difference. DONATED

"Tulips In Bloom," was in the 2005 Exhibition of Art, at the San Diego County Fair. The size of this window/mosaic is roughly 3 feet wide by 2 feet long. It's hard to see from the picture but there were small bees next to the tulips, and the red pieces near each dog's ears are hearts. This piece was donated for silent auction to raise money for a newly wed couples honeymoon. DONATED

"Wish Upon a Star," a companion piece to "Sleep Delusions". The wording below the dog says: in dreams bones grow. SOLD

"Sleep Delusions," was in the 2004 Exhibition of Art, at the San Diego County Fair and it won 2nd place! The wording above the dog says: what dogs dream about, and the word below his mouth near the bones says: bones. SOLD

"Average Blue Dog on an Abstracted Day," was in the 2004 Fragments of Truth Opus Veritas, a juried exhibition of International mosaic artists held at the Museo ItaloAmericano in San Francisco. SOLD

"When Dogs Rule the World," was in the 2003 Exhibition of Art, a juried show held during the San Diego County Fair. SOLD

"Is My Ponytail Straight?," won 1st place in the Garden Containters contest at the 2003 San Diego County Fair. She's made of broken tile with coffee cup handles for ears. She even has on earrings and an ear cuff.

"Pesce" is a piece I donated to the San Diego Horticultural Society to be used in their fundraising raffle at the gala honoring Pat Welsh. The gala kicks off the Spring Home and Garden Show every year. DONATED

The next three mosaics were for a commission which were to be hung by the couples swimming pool. The pool is down a stairway and has a long wall to the left which is were they had planned to hang them.

When they got them, they liked them so much they decided to hang them on the back of the house instead of having them all the way down by the pool. Since they use the patio area a lot they would be to enjoy them more often.

The grouping looks very nice together and I am told it gets a lot of attention from their guests.

They loved how the fish looked, so colorful and cheery, so they felt they needed one more for the side of the door. It needed to be a longer window and I think the octopus fits it just fine. They did too!

"Laisha and Ken," was for a couple in Maine. They tell me it took 45 minutes for them to open the box my shipper built for it. (My shippers pretty good!)They have it hanging between their library room and office.

"Birdy Takes a Stroll" SOLD

I had upgraded my garage door to a more energy efficient one. The new one is solid core with a smaller double pane window. My son asked what I was going to do with the old door and I told him I was just going to throw it out. He said, "ah come on Mom, put a mosaic on it!" So I did. I cut several inches off the bottom and hung it on my fence.

I love to use mosaics for garden art. It adds color to my yard year round even if the plants don't. I also like to treat my backyard like an outdoor room so like any other room in my house I have pictures on the walls and a variety of decorations.

I've moved this one to a different area of the yard, but this mosaic is of my frustrated dog chasing a rat up and into the plants.

I am a member of the Society of American Mosaic Artists, SAMA for short. It's a great organization for both hobbyists and serious artists. They have an informative newsletter and host really great showings of mosaic art. Consider joining, it's well worth it!

I'm also a member of the British Association for Modern Mosaic, BAMM for short. I haven't done much with this group except to meet some of the members, who were great fun by the way, and they too offer an excellent publication well worth joining for.

My son and I met Lillian Sizemore at the SAMA show in San Francisco. We took the fabulous tour she offers called Fractured and Fabulous! Mosaics, Murals and Vintage Tile of the Castro. Definitely the highlight of the weekend. She offers the tours all the time, but she sells a pocket-sized guide with historical and technical information if you just want to do the tour on your own. In fact, we are in the picture at the top of the page. - hint - Orange you glad I made you look?