Artists and their Trees

Regardless of who you are, how old you are, or where you live, don't we all share a love affair with trees? Artists are no different... and I see trees influencing the work of artists in every medium, across the continents. Here is a sampling of amazing work, all created by members of the PieceMakers, inspired by trees!

Carla Dake

 "Little Bit Country!"

"Somewhere Over the Rainbow!"

Tina Shoys

 

" It hangs in my bathroom now, and has been washed with a gold paint over the grout."

Frances Green

 "The central Tree / Goddess figure is in different shades of brown, black and gold. Her arms, hair and branches stretch outwards and upwards, holding all the elements of the four seasons. Spring has dancing butterflies, daffodils and small millefiory flowers, while the branches of the tree are blossoming with beads, more mille and delicate green buds. Summer is full of vibrant green swirls, with added beads and even some jade in there. Autumn (Fall) has seven bright red apples and the leaves of the tree slowly turning to bright oranges, reds and yellows. And finally Winter, with icicles and snow covering the naked branches and the ground beneath her feet. Around the edge of the piece I added symbols for the three phases of the moon and the sun.

The face of the Goddess herself is wise and serene. She looks out of the picture calmly, with her feet/roots firmly anchored in the earth, keeping perfect balance, while all around her everything is in constant movement and turmoil of the changing seasons."

... and also by Frances Green is this amazing work-in-progress bathroom mural!

Amanda Edwards

"After going through my photos for this blog post, I have determined that I am very inspired by trees! Their endless, ever changing beauty, the stories around them, the life they give.... just to name a few things. These are a few of my favorites. :) "

 

Sandra Glassbrook

"You are my Sunshine", an ode by Frog. A magnificent oak tree in full fall foliage, acorns, dancing flowers, and the biggest sun ever on Frogs final days before hibernation."


Joanne Paquin

"This is a series of stained glass panels that I made for my sun-porch. The Four Seasons Tree.... Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. They are visible from the front of my house and bring lots of bright cheery color into that sunny room during the day."

Frances Green Featured on The Huffington Post!

Our very own Frances Green was recently featured on The Huffington Post for her beautiful stone mosaic creations. We're so proud her & her swirling balls of color!

 Head over to her etsy shop here to see more of her wonderful designs and please read the original article here.

Congrats to you Frances!

Doodle Challenge Winners!

Once again,  a BIG congratulations to everyone who participated in the Doodle Challenge! Each piece got lots of votes... and the winners were all VERY close! 

Also, thank you to Tiny Tiles Mosaic for giving our winner a gift certificate to their amazing shop. If you haven't checked it out, please do! 

 

First Place Winner

“When Colors Collide”

by Mycentir Mosaics

Second Place Winner

"Doodles are Fun!"

by Alice Garrett

 

 

Third Place Winner 

"A Formal Affair"

by Renegade Rose

 

 

Doodle Challenge

Welcome to our newest, most difficult to vote for, challenge yet! It's the Piece Maker Doodle Challenge. The pieces you see here all came about different ways... some artists sat and doodled and drew their inspiration right from that, some used doodles family had done, some mosaiced their good old doodle standbys.  

Have fun looking through this very fun collection of art! You can click on the artist's name to see more of their work, or to contact them about the pieces you see here. 

As always, a BIG thank you to Tiny Tiles, for giving the winner of this challenge a gift certificate to their amazing shop! Head over to the Tiny Tiles store by clicking the photo below, to check out an amazing variety of the smallest tiles in the world! Good luck to all the entries!

 

HAPPY VOTING! 

Entry 1

"The Sunshine in my Mind"

by Seaside Glass Works

Picture frame with an opening for a 5x7 photo. 

There's also a hook on the back for hanging, if so desired. 

"I doodle stars a LOT, so it was natural for me to place them somewhere in my piece! They are accented with red borders and little mirror flecks at each of the points. I also do a lot of swirls and flowers when I doodle, so I added a bunch of green "stems" growing out of the bottom of the piece, surrounded by blue with a few flowers popping out in different areas. And of course, you can't have plants without sunshine! Sunshine also ends up in my doodles a lot, so I placed that between the stars above and the green below, with bits of the sunlight peeking through the bottom. Since purple is my favorite color and I do a lot of dash-dot borders, I had to put it around the photo to add just a bit more of myself. :)"

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Entry 2

"Summer Walk"

by Ocean Kisses

Size: 12" H X 6 1/2" W

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Entry 3

"Swirled Hooks"

by MJ Mosaics

"My inspiration for my doodle project started while drawing with my 4year old.
It measures 37.5 cm x 9 cm, is a mixture of blues, greens, and mirrored glass on a recycled timber base, in a pattern of spirals, swirl, arches, dots and lines. This is how I doodle. Some glass was laid on its side to give varied heights. Available for sale in my etsy store!"

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Entry 4

"Suncatcher"

by Beaded Glass

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Entry 5

"Doodles are Fun!"

by Alice Garrett

Size 27" x 11"

"Inspiration for my piece was a random doodle on the corner of a list of plates I was using for a table. Materials used: Up-cycled kitchen cabinet door, tumbled plate shards, ball chain, beads, and pop offs from Terri, my glass blower friend's trash stash."

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Entry 6

"Dream"

by Blue Wave Glass

 

Measures 12" x  9"

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Entry 7

"A Formal Affair"

by Renegade Rose

"My doodles consisted of swirling lines on an 8" Styrofoam ball. I glued on bling-bling pendants and then glued faux pearl beads on the doodle lines. A little more bling was added with small crystal charms and then all of the rest was filled in with black stained glass and grouted in black. The pillar that it was adhered to is a re-purposed candle holder with clear hanging pendants. To give it some shine I clear coated the ball with spar urethane. Completed piece measures approximately 20" tall. I entitled the piece "A Formal Affair" because it made me think of a woman dressing up in a black dress and putting on the pearls and bling to go out to "A Formal Affair"!"

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Entry 8

"The Phoenix Rises"

by Pal's Creations

Rising Phoenix measures 11" x 15"

The inspiration for this Doodle Mosaic was from a drawing my artist daughter Keri drew. The materials used are stained glass, mirror glass, china, and beads.


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Entry 9

“When Colors Collide”

by Mycentir Mosaics

Measures 26" x 22"

poppydog.com polls

Come on over and meet Steffany Tribou!

Today, I wanted to introduce you all to Steffany Tribou... just one of our many wonderful PieceMakers! Enjoy reading about her & checking out some of her work. Be sure to head over to her Etsy Shop to see more!

My name is Steffany Tribou, and my etsy shop name is Tribou Mosaics. 

I have been mosaicing for about a year and a half. It all started with a dream to mosaic my basement stairs, so one day, at a yard sale, I found a wooden footstool for $1, and I bought it. At the next yard sale that day, I bought a broken ceramic fish wall hanging for 25 cents. I bought a few more tiles at our local hardware store, and my fish stool became my first mosaiced piece. I taught myself the process on YouTube. From there, my next project became my basement stairs! I drew a rough plan for waves on the particle board staircase, then I just started gluing away! Two weeks later, my stairs were done. I even incorporated a few ceramic pieces from a local store called the “Lucky Dog Gallery.” I told the owner that I was using them to put in a mosaic on my stairs. I thought nothing else of it until a year later when I went back to the gallery to talk with the owners. At that point, I had 20 mosaiced pieces of my own that I wanted to put in the gallery. They did not have a mosaic artist yet, and I showed them my pieces as well as the stairs. They were so impressed that they took all twenty pieces and asked for more!

I love to paint, but it is not as forgiving as mosaics. If I choose the wrong shape while mosaicing, I can just take it out and replace it until I am happy with the piece…the same does not work with paint! I also play the piano, which I find very relaxing.

I started selling my work about 8 months ago in June. It is in the “Lucky Dog Gallery.” I have sold at least one piece each month, and during the busy season, I sold up to five per month. I also entered into the Lobster Festival Art Show and won the top prize for the best representation of the festival theme for my piece called “Crustacean Sustentation.” This included a ribbon, an award, and $100. I also won first place ribbons at the Maine Blueberry Festival for my Blueberry Lamp and my “Key of Sea” Guitar. In the fall, my “Crustacean Sustentation” piece was at the River Gallery in Damariscotta in a show called “Tools of the Trade.”

My dream is to do a commissioned staircase. I loved the whole process of working on my stairs, and I feel like I have learned so much about mosaicing just through the process of trial and error that I would love to do another staircase in someone’s home to showcase my work. Each time they walk up the stairs they would be able to appreciate my art. 

I am a Nationally Board Certified Teacher in English Language Arts. I started a Literacy Initiative in my school, and through this, I have become the Literacy Coordinator in which I have structured a curriculum and courses for students who need extra assistance with reading and writing at the high school level. In addition to this, I work with teachers in all content areas to assist them in incorporating reading and writing strategies into their classes. I am very passionate about this work, but there are some days when I cannot see the progress, or the big picture becomes blurred with the daily minutia. Mosaicing allows me to gain the satisfaction of seeing short-term immediate progress, and it allows me use my hands to create, which is something that is missing from my career.

I live on the coast of Maine with my wonderful husband and my chocolate lab named Lucy, and my home is two houses down from where I grew up. I teach at the same school in which I graduated from, and I have come to appreciate and love everything that I used to despise about my small coastal town. I am proud to live here, and this is reflected in each piece that I have made. Every single mosaic that I have ever created is linked in some way to the ocean. I especially love incorporating sailboats into my mosaics. 

I became a member of the Piecemakers in August 2011, and it is the best group! The atmosphere is encouraging and inspiring. I particularly enjoy the challenges as well as the group piece (the Surfboard) in which we contributed. We also have done swaps, where we get to hold, admire, and keep a beautiful piece of art from our friends in this group. When school started this year, I was busier than ever, and thought I would need to put an end to my mosaicing until next summer, but this group has inspired me to keep going! I use my weekends and any free time to create.

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