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I am from Alameda, Ca. and now live in Marin County. I love the San Francisco Bay Area! There is no place like it! I have a huge passion for mosaics. I am attracted to the different material options that can be used, complexity of the art, and the permanence of the medium. There are mosaics around the world that date back to forever and are still standing today. A lot of those techniques are still being used in the medium adding a traditional feeling to the art form. I draw my art from a myriad of life experiences and I find inspiration in many things from my every day life. I especially love to make art that makes a statement, has a purpose or just speaks to the observer in some way. I enjoy placing special notes, pictures, affirmations or prayers under some of the pieces of glass. This adds a surprise element and interest as you get closer to the piece. My mosaics originates from a love of color, reflection, and texture. Every single piece is a distinctive creative expression. Each tesserae (mosaic piece) is hand cut and shaped by me and each piece of art can contain literally hundreds of small pieces placed closely together to create a larger image. I work with all kinds of materials but have a special fondness for glass. Many times my materials have been ordered from all around the world. I also really enjoy using finds from garage sales and flea markets such as bowling balls, cracked pots, and old furniture. I love the challenge of "re-purposing" old junk into handcrafted, functional and beautiful treasures. For me, mosaics are very meditative. I go into the studio and enter a different world and the next thing I know, the entire day has passed. I put lots of love and attention into every single piece I do and become quite attached to most of them. I have been known to shed some tears departing with some of my projects! There is a certain imperfect perfection about mosaics that I love. Most mosaics look so random however, thought is gone into the placement of every single piece to get the right effect. Each tiny piece of a mosaic is touched several times. Cut, shaped, polished and placed. Every piece is deliberately placed to create the whole mosaic experience! I teach and attend classes in various styles of mosaic application as well as other mediums to expand my spirit and creativity. The possibilities of mosaic are endless and I enjoy sharing my experience and creations with others. I hope you enjoy looking at my pieces as much as I have enjoyed creating them. Tammy |
