In the summer of 2015 I went to a workshop given by Karen Rycheck, and began an instant love affair with the art of Mosaic. I was thrilled with my very first piece and it has hung in my kitchen ever since. It was a brand new experience to do a keeper on the first attempt in a new medium. I was 92 and an experienced watercolorist but nevertheless embarked on a brand new adventure.
I’m not sure what followed but I think it was a Blue-footed Booby, requested by Hilary. It required some ingenuity, especially the white feathers encircling the face, and the sandy, rocky beach on which it stood. There are no Boobies in our seas, but I loved watching them on the beaches of the Galapagos Islands. Their mating behavior is inventive and their blue feet come into play. This was such a good outcome I decided to do only animals for awhile, and have not run out of ideas as yet.
I began getting regular requests from family members, so there is very little of my work here at home. Jenny was next and for her I turned naturally to a seabird. She lives on Whidbey Island off the coast of Seattle and enjoys a variety of birds on her daily beach walks. This Tufted Puffin was a larger piece, and the first of a series.
The Atlantic Puffin on the other side of the continent is very photogenic, and noted for carrying multiple fish in its bill when feeding chicks. The eyes of the fish are tiny glass beads with hollows and tinier black beds in the hollows. Not very clear in the photo. This piece hangs in my garden along with the Eared Grebe family.
The Eared Grebes came next, a set of parent and 2 chicks. They also adorn my back fence.
I don’t remember where I saw photos of brilliant peacocks.
but this one was too spectacular not to be a mosaic. I used
copper wire for the headfeathers and big glass beads in the train.
The eye was the finishing touch with a dot of white acrylic
paint for the pupil. That tiny touch made the bird came alive.
It looks great in the kitchen over the stove.
Granddaughter Charlie had a special birthday in 2017 and I made a small mosaic for her of her favorite animal. It is the only piece with a background. I was in a hurry to meet the deadline so used big pieces throughout. So much fun I wanted to do another elephant right away, but haven’t done so yet.
Next came the Orca and new challenges. Water splashes of white acryic, a blue sea receding into the background, and a volatile, leaping creature. And no color except the brilliant blue sea. Marley Eidsness lives on Whidbey Island, where an Orca pack roams the channels. She and Jenny Massey are solid friends way back to Junior High School in Long Beach, CA. and she is much of the reason that Jenny and Mac settled on the island. She is a retired chemist and a sculptor who uses wire to make unique creatures, so far mostly birds. We love each other’s work and agreed to trade pieces. I got a wonderful Raven in exchange for the Orca.
In the fall of 2018 Judy Howard asked me if I wanted to exhibit a few pieces in her end-of-the-year show. I was both pleased and flattered, although I have not wanted to sell anything I make and still don’t. So I made several new ones to which I tried not to become too fond of. and added one thaat was marked not-for-sale. I am surely one of a small group of artists who hope that nothing will sell! Lucky me.
I began a series of butterflies for my back garden in 2018, but had to suspend this project to make way for one for Lolly. She wanted a desert scene, as she is committed to our getaway in the Anza-Borrego Desert. She is the closest family member to it and loves it. And since we left southern California in 1999 she has been in charge. It’s not easy to do upkeep on a second property but also not easy to let it go.
I decided to do a series of desert animals which took amost 6 months to complete. But they were very satisfying, and now grace her backyard fence in Irvine. Here is the piece as it looks in place, and the individual creatures – Barn Owl, Roadruner and 3 migrant passerines that come to nest, or on their way north – Scott’s Oriole, Vermilion Flycatcher and Wilson’s Warbler. Here is the group, followed by the individual pieces. Well, three of them. I couldn’t find the others. I’ll insert them if they ever turn up.
Then Heath asked for Brown Pelicans, to go on the back wall of her garden. 
I did two individuals, one about to plunge and one half under water.
They were really hard to give up, and probably won’t see them again, as my traveling days arfe pretty much over.
And finally there is the Cock of the Rock, a South American jungle bird that was the subject of Pepper Trail’s PhD dissertation. He spent many breeding seasons in South America in a rugged jungle camp watching the behavior of these brilliant birds. And what a natural for a mosaic, with its brilliant orange color.
So that brings us up to date. My next step is to finish the butterfly project; there are two to go. And after that, who knows?