BRINGING MEANING INTO YOUR WORK

Creating mixed-media mosaics using your own handmade tiles gives you the advantage of making pieces that have lasting significance and meaning. I truly found this out when I began working on the icon “Tolerance.” It was very cathartic to begin making tiles and collecting found objects to be used in a piece that symbolized my search for hope and understanding after September 11th.

Being able to personalize tiles and add text to your work takes it to another level. While I often use text just for the sake of adding texture to a piece, more often than not the small phrases and quotes are intentional guides to take the viewer inside my thoughts. I do believe that if you know my work, you will know me. My art is just the outward extension of myself—the interior self made visible. One need not use text to convey meaning; certainly most great art simply relies on the image, the process, the surface. However, the ability to combine both imagery and text, your own personal vocabulary, is a tool that allows for a great deal of self-expression.

How does this personal iconography or “vocabulary” evolve? I have often tried to analyze inspiration, trying to find the source of that unseen magic that happens when one allows for the serendipitous dabbling of the unconscious mind —that is, the creative force that speaks to us from within when our minds are free from extraneous thoughts. I think we can all agree that when our minds are preoccupied with the minutiae of everyday life, there is no room in our thoughts for much of anything else except attending to these details. At least, that is what holds true for me. It is when I am in that “creative zone” that all the ideas spill forth. Unfortunately, this usually happens in the middle of the night!

I mention inspiration because I think that in creating mixed-media mosaics, you will find a wellspring of creative ideas once you begin making your own personalized tiles. One idea sparks another, and soon you will have the “vocabulary” necessary to create meaningful works of art. You will find that the process of making mosaics is an ever-unfolding one. You have an initial idea, and then, as you sit down amidst all of your tiles, beads, jewelry and found objects to begin assembling your mosaic, it just sort of comes together in a way that you never could have planned. There is something about creating order out of the shards and fragments, the bits and pieces, that is very therapeutic. Certainly creating decorative art for the sake of pure enjoyment is a worthwhile endeavor, but also exploring the ability to bring meaning and insight into one’s artwork through the use of handmade tiles is an option that is wonderful to have.