Materials – smalti, mosaic golds
Retro Colorplay No. 2 was inspired by my love for all things mid-century (forward-thinking design from the late 1940s and 1950s). I attempted to evoke that period with the composition and execution of this piece. Mid-century décor often featured mosaics, so I imagined a piece that might fit into a modernist ranch house with a boomerang-shaped coffee table and Eames chairs. The second in a “retro” series, this piece was created during a mosaic course at Orsoni Smalti Veneziani. As a mosaic hobbyist, the experience marked my first visit to Italy, and my first time using a hammer and hardie.
Materials – smalti, mosaic gold
This piece was created for a mosaic exchange between members of an online mosaic group. We were given maximum dimensions, but no other constraints beyond that. I decided to use some lovely 1960s-era Orsoni smalti that I’d recently found at my local mosaic store, Mosaic On A Stick. With the exception of the red smalti and the mosaic gold, all of the smalti used in the mosaic is vintage. Interestingly, the standard size of the vintage smalti was smaller than today’s smalti…so I designed a piece that would incorporate the use of the whole smalti, and accentuate its brilliant colors.
AMP Piece – 12″h x 12″w – merribeth
Titled: “because I took a walk in Amsterdam” – smalti and textured wall paint
This piece was part of the SAMA (Society of American Mosaic Artists) “American Mosaic Project.”
I used ceramic tile to mosaic 8 flowers & the background…then glued 7 more flowers on top of the grouted mosaic.
Here’s a close-up showing the dimension of the 17″ x 10 3/8″ piece.
After working primarily with smalti on 2D projects, I decided it was time to try something different — just for fun. And what’s more fun than sculpting and mosaicking a 3D form?!
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Materials: concrete over Styrofoam, stained glass, mirror, millefiori, glass rods, glass tile, beads, fused glass, contorno
I had a blast taking a wonderful sculpture class at my local mosaic store (Mosaic on a Stick), and enjoyed working with colors and materials that aren’t in my usual artistic palette.
The story behind the piece’s name? Well, the chickadee’s mating call is a sweet little two-note whistle that sounds like “he her.” My husband and I decided that we’d name the two bird sculptures I made “He Her Birds” — I’d mosaic one, and he’d mosaic the other. His “He” bird will hopefully be finished this summer!
Mosaic Artist – Merribeth O’Keefe
Merribeth O'Keefe
I’m a mosaic hobbyist and enthusiast who came to the craft through my love of beads. I had always loved mosaics, but thought you had to get an art degree to learn how to do it (and to get access to the necessary materials)…until we took a trip to Europe just after 9/11. One day in Amsterdam, on a mission to find a bead store, I wandered into what I discovered was a mosaic store. It had everything a bead store has — excited customers, classes, tools, materials by the piece and in bulk — but it was all for making mosaics! That was the beginning of my new obsession. Merribeth O’Keefe
smalti
Mosaic Art Source mosaic definitions:
smalto (pl. smalti) – smalti is characterized by its dazzling range of brilliant opaque colors. Smalti is prepared by adding crystalline material (corpo) and coloured material (anima) to the colourless or coloured fused glass. Smalti is literally available in thousands of colors, is a very stable glass, easy to cut and very durable. m.a.s. glossary
mosaic gold
mosaic gold – 24k gold-leaf tesserae are made up of a glass support layer (usually transparent, at times opaque red or coloured) less than one centimetre thick. The 24k gold metal leaf is then sandwiched between the support and a thin protective glass layer (the cartellina). In tesserae the colour shade is determined by the purity of the metal, the thickness of the leaf, the colour, if any, of the cartellina and of the support. m.a.s. glossary
Mosaic Art Source 
Hi Merribeth:
I share your obsession. I feel enchanted and deeply moved when I see Gaudi’s sculptures (in pictures because I’ve never been in Barcelona). For many reasons I’ve never had the chance to start practicing this hobby. Your work is inspiring. I will try to start a small project decorating a framed mirror.
any advice? I have no idea what to do but I will start by buying the material, today I was in the store and I reviewed interesting books about some techniques… I will probably buy one of them. If you have a recommendation about some good book that I could buy in amazon, let me know.
wish me luck!
Saldemar
I have recently started some mosaic artwork. It is a wonderful hobby. I love the look of mixing materials. I am especially fond of stainless steel and copper. You should try mixing them into your pieces. I think you will like the end result.