Welcome to our little World,
where we take all the little pieces of life, and turn them into some Spectacular Artwork!
We are a group of free spirits who enjoy sharing ideas. This is a peaceful and happy place, and you are welcome to join in!

Artist of the Week: Pals Creations

What's your real name? How did you come up with your shop name?

My real name is Peggy Ann Lindstrom. I came up with my shop name using my initials PAL. We raised miniature horses in the 80’s and our ranch name was PAL’s Miniature Horse Ranch. I liked the Pals part and then wanted to incorporate an all inclusive name that would include other forms of art that I enjoy too, like painting with watercolors. So Pals creations felt good.



What inspired you do create your first mosaic?


What inspired me to create my first mosaic was actually when I was watching a Christopher Lowell’s show of an artist doing mosaic work on a dining room chair. I thought that was so cool! I bought some old china at a thrift shop and made my first flower pot, which was almost nine years ago. I have yet to mosaic a dining room chair— well, maybe someday.



Has mosaic art lead you to any other art forms/been a lead to any other passions?


One other art form that mosaics have led me too is working with polymer clay. I wanted to embellish my mosaics with hearts and flowers, so I’ve made them out of polymer clay. Some of my mosaic projects have led me to striping and antiquing furniture.



Where does your inspiration come from?


My inspiration usually comes from the piece I’m going to mosaic or the china I want to use or a particular color scheme. I really enjoyed working on my first Piecemakers challenge “Winged Creature”. I wouldn’t have chosen the piece that I made had it not been for the challenge. It was fun actually finding the piece and choosing the perfect bone china for the mosaic.



Do you have any mosaic daydreams?...... is there one thing that you dream of being able to create someday?


Someday I would like to create an accent table with beautiful antique lusterware china; hunting for the china will be the real opportunity. Another art form I would like to try is fussed glass.



Is being an artist your full-time job? What other jobs or hobbies consume your time?


Yes being an artist is my full time passion right now along with playing with my grandchildren.

I have always been busy creating, working with my hands from painting in oils to watercolors, teaching hobby ceramics in my garage, and now creating mosaics with broken china and stained glass.

I have also enjoyed faux painting and interior decorating (I like changing things around my home for a new look). My poor husband just gets used to the way things are and I change it on him, he is a good sport.



Tell us ,briefly, about your family.


My husband and I have been married for 26 years, the second time for each of us. I have a son and daughter and my husband has a daughter. We combined our family when our kids were 8, 10, & 13. It was a new beginning and a rewarding experience for all of us. Forgiveness played and important role in our happiness as a family we are still today best friends with our ex-partners and the blessing have been many.

The absolute joys in our lives are our 4 grandchildren, 2 boys and 2 girls. We just adore watching these little ones grow and express themselves and all we have to do is “Love Em”!



Do you have one or two creations that have been favorites?


My favorite mosaic piece right now is my oriental vase; it is made out of broken china tea pots.



To see more of Peggy's work, visit her Etsy shop, by clicking the shop name below!
Pals Creations
....or by clicking on any of her pieces above. :)



Winged Creature Challenge Update


As most of you know, we're in the midst of our first mosaic challenge. The theme is "Winged Creature". For all the details, scroll down to last months posts here on the blog.

The last day for submitting your completed piece is February 28th. If you are creating a piece, please submit your picture here:


Voting will happen here on the blog & will be open to the world... not just PieceMaker folks. :)

Can't wait to see what everyone came up with!!!!

Meet Artist of the Week- Rock Candy Mosaics


What's your real name? How did you come up with your shop name?

My real name is Jennifer Pass. My shop name was inspired by a great little shop I went to in Seattle called Burnt Sugar. I absolutely love that name so instead of stealing it I came up with a name (with the help of a marketing friend) that was still about sugar and was perfect for mosaics.



What inspired you to create your first mosaic?

I was inspired when I got into the antique business. I had a friend I reconnected with who was very into antiques and so was I. She was making these very cool mosaics in a similar manner to mine. I was making snakes out of clay and decided to mosaic them when I saw what she was doing. So she cut some glass for me and I made my first mosaic snake. I called it my Mondrian snake using red, yellow, blue and black. I made many mosaic snakes but soon tired of having to work on a small curved surface. So I graduated to birdbaths and then to mirrors and plaques.


Has mosaic art lead you to any other art forms or passions?


Mosaic art is just one of the art forms I'm involved with, though I feel like it help to guide me back to one of my absolute true loves and that is ceramics. I started to make letters and tiles to incorporate into my pieces and now I'm throwing pots again! I love it!


Where does your inspiration come from?

My inspiration comes from every part of my life. There isn't a day where I'm not thinking about ideas. Everything inspires me, I just look out my bedroom window at the trees and the angles of my chimney and roof and I have a new idea. It never stops....and I love that process. I also sometimes am just inspired by an antique funky figurine! The idea comes from the figurine itself.


Do you have any mosaic daydreams?...... is there one thing that you dream of being able to create someday?

I dream of being able to work on a large outdoor mosaic in a public area. I would love to work with children and adults on a community project.


Is being an artist your full-time job?
What other jobs or hobbies consume your time?


I work part time for my husband at his office supply business. It is not a very creative environment. I bring things to work on when I'm there in case it is quiet. Each week is different I typically get 2-3 days in my studio a week. I work out and head straight to my studio. I use every spare moment I have in my life to create it is my absolute passion! I throw pots, create with clay and hook rugs. I would say hooking rugs is my hobby. There just is not enough time in the day to do all the arts I would like to! Glass fusing and bead-making are the next craft I want to learn.



Tell us ,briefly, about your family.

I am married to a man who treats me sooooo nice and really loves me! We were born two days apart in the same hospital, so we were in the nursery together. He is older! We have two wonderful children my son is 17 and my daughter is 14! I am very proud of them! We have two dogs Annie and Garcia and a cute little house that needs cleaning! We laugh a lot! I am very close to my mother and my studio is at her house. I have two older brothers one lives in St. Paul MN and the other right here in St. Louis MO.


Do you have one or two creations that have been favorites?

I have many favorites. I think my favorite is always the piece I am currently working on. Yet I have a few that I really like.


To see more of Rock Candy Mosaics, check out Jennifer's
Etsy shop by clicking the link below!


Rock Candy Mosaics

Artist of the Week- Twin Brooks!!!!


What's your real name?
How did you come up with your shop name?

My name is Vicki. I currently have two Etsy shops and an Art Fire studio. I decided on the name Twin Brooks because we have two brooks on our property. One happens to be in our back yard and the kids are constantly playing in it. It is their main source of fun from Spring until Fall. The name for my tile shop was a little tougher to come up with and after several "colorful" suggestions from from Betsy (Greene Goddess), I settled with Nipped And Cut.


What inspired you do create your first mosaic?

My mom, who seems to have everything, was my inspiration to get started creating mosaics. I needed an gift for Mother's Day and I didn't have any idea as to what to buy or make for her. I was wandering through the store and happened to find a box of small ceramic tiles and thought "I could make her a mosaic flower pot" ... and so it began.


Has mosaic art lead you to any other art forms/been a lead to any other passions?

I don't think mosaics have led me to any other art forms, since I haven't done anything else since starting with them, but rather other art forms led me to mosaics. I have always loved creating , whether it was painting, sewing, or just crafting in general. I have tried so many things over the years, I have lost track.


Where does your inspiration come from?

Where my inspiration comes from is tough to answer because there are so many things that influence me from a country scene to the feelings that I experience. For instance, the inspiration for the bookmarks I just created, came from my love of books.


Do you have any mosaic daydreams?...... is there one thing that you dream of being able to create someday?

Someday I would love to create a mosaic wall hanging of a deer for either my husband or my father-in-law, or maybe one for each of them. I can see exactly how I would like it to look in my mind, but I haven't built up the confidence yet to give it a try. Someday soon though!



Is being an artist your full-time job? What other jobs or hobbies consume your time?

My full-time job is being a mom. I am a stay at home mom who creates in my spare time, but my "baby" starts kindergarten this fall, so I plan to start dedicating more time to my mosaics and my tile shop.



Tell us ,briefly, about your family.

I will be married to my husband, Charlie, for 10 years this July. We have two boys, Hunter who is 8 years old and Sawyer who is 4 years old.



Do you have one or two creations that have been favorites?

My favorite mosaic is my latest "Hope" mosaic that just sold. I love the way it just seems to flow. My second favorite would be either my covered bridge or my bright floral mirror.




To see more beautiful artwork by Twin Brooks, or to purchase one of the above pieces, head to one of her shops!
www.twinbrooks.etsy.com
www.nippedandcut.etsy.com
www.twinbrooks.artfire.com