John T Unger Artist's Portfolio

Lineolatus Tropical Fish Mosaic

Lineolatus Tropical Fish Mosaic, 2006 Vitreous glass tile, steel frame. 17.25" H x 17.25" W x .75" D Collaboration: John T. Unger + Mya Smith
Purchase Lineolatus Tropical Fish  Mosaic for $560 ($500 plus $60 S+H).
Mya and I collaborated on a few mosaic panels this summer that can either be hung on the wall or converted to table tops. This one is particularly striking. A great accent for kitchen or bath, patio or yard. Mosaic is set with mortar on a Hardibacker substrate in a steel frame. Indoors or out, this mosaic will last lifetimes.

 

Tags: art, mosaic, fish, Lineolatus, glass mosaic, tropical fish, fishing

Lunula Tropical Fish Mosaic

Lunula Tropical Fish Mosaic, 2006 Vitreous glass tile, steel frame. 17.25" H x 17.25" W x .75" D Collaboration: John T. Unger + Mya Smith
Purchase Lunula Tropical Fish Mosaic for $560 ($500 plus $60 S+H).
Mya and I collaborated on a few mosaic panels this summer that can either be hung on the wall or converted to table tops. She was really into fish by this point in time, so that's what we did. Mosaic is set with mortar on a Hardibacker substrate  in a steel frame. Indoors or out, this mosaic will last lifetimes.

 

Tags: art, mosaic, fish, lunula, glass mosaic, tropical fish, fishing

Brook Trout Glass Mosaic No. 2, 2006

Brook Trout Mosaic No. 2, 2006 Sicis Iridium glass tile, glass taxidermy eye, copper, Hardibacker substrate. 11" H x 19" W x 1.5" D Collaboration: John T. Unger + Mya Smith
Purchase Brook Trout Mosaic No. 2 for $550 ($500 plus $50 S+H).
My daughter Mya did so well last summer  helping me with mosaic that this year I had her create a whole line of fish. She got to do the fun parts—laying the tile and working out the gradients and shading— I did the mortar, grout, copper banding and provided some small amount of editorial assistance. The work sells at the normal studio rate because it's totally worth it. Her skills are far beyond what you'd expect from a teenager, or even most professional artists. Most of the tile used on this mosaic is from the Iridium line of glass from Sicis. As the light or viewing angle changes, the iridescent surface of the tile closely resembles the  scales of a live fish. The   photo above shows the iridescent sheen. The second pic shows the copper banding that finishes and protects the mosaic. The mosaic is set with mortar on a Hardibacker substrate over plywood and finished around the edges with copper banding. Indoors or out, this mosaic will last lifetimes.

 

Tags: art, mosaic, fish, trout, glass mosaic, gamefish, fishing

Rainbow Trout Mosaic, 2006

Rainbow Trout Mosaic, 2006 Sicis Iridium glass tile, glass taxidermy eye, copper, Hardibacker substrate. 9" H x 21.25" W x 1.5" D Collaboration: John T. Unger + Mya Smith
Purchase Rainbow Trout Mosaic for $550 ($500 plus $50 S+H).
My daughter Mya did so well last summer  helping me with mosaic that this year I had her create a whole line of fish. She got to do the fun parts—laying the tile and working out the gradients and shading— I did the mortar, grout, copper banding and provided some small amount of editorial assistance. The work sells at the normal studio rate because it's totally worth it. Her skills are far beyond what you'd expect from a teenager, or even most professional artists. Most of the tile used on this mosaic is from the Iridium line of glass from Sicis. As the light or viewing angle changes, the iridescent surface of the tile closely resembles the  scales of a live fish. The   photo above shows the iridescent sheen. The second pic shows the copper banding that finishes and protects the mosaic. The mosaic is set with mortar on a Hardibacker substrate over plywood and finished around the edges with copper banding. Indoors or out, this mosaic will last lifetimes.

 

Tags: art, mosaic, fish, trout, glass mosaic, gamefish, fishing

Bluegill Glass Mosaic No. 2, 2006

Bluegill Mosaic No. 2, 2006 Sicis Iridium glass tile, glass taxidermy eye, copper. 11" H x 17.5" W x 1.5" D
Purchase Bluegill Mosaic No. 2 for $550 ($500 plus $50 S+H).
My daughter Mya did so well last summer  helping me with mosaic that this year I had her create a whole line of fish. She got to do the fun parts—laying the tile and working out the gradients and shading— I did the mortar, grout, copper banding and provided some small amount of editorial assistance. The work sells at the normal studio rate because it's totally worth it. Her skills are far beyond what you'd expect from a teenager, or even most professional artists. Most of the tile used on this mosaic is from the Iridium line of glass from Sicis. As the light or viewing angle changes, the iridescent surface of the tile closely resembles the  scales of a live fish. The   photo above shows the iridescent sheen. The second pic shows the copper banding that finishes and protects the mosaic. Mosaic is set with mortar on a Hardibacker substrate over plywood and finished around the edges with copper banding. Indoors or out, this mosaic will last lifetimes.

 

Tags: art, mosaic, fish, bluegill, glass mosaic, gamefish, fishing

Lake Trout Glass Mosaic, 2006

Lake Trout Mosaic, 2006 Sicis Iridium glass tile, glass taxidermy eye, copper, Hardibacker substrate. 11" H x 18.5" W x 1.5" D Collaboration: John T. Unger + Mya Smith Private Collection

My daughter Mya did so well last summer  helping me with mosaic that this year I had her create a whole line of fish. She got to do the fun parts—laying the tile and working out the gradients and shading— I did the mortar, grout, copper banding and provided some small amount of editorial assistance. The work sells at the normal studio rate because it's totally worth it. Her skills are far beyond what you'd expect from a teenager, or even most professional artists. Most of the tile used on this mosaic is from the Iridium line of glass from Sicis. As the light or viewing angle changes, the iridescent surface of the tile closely resembles the  scales of a live fish. The   photo above shows the iridescent sheen. The second pic shows the copper banding that finishes and protects the mosaic. The mosaic is set with mortar on a Hardibacker substrate over plywood and finished around the edges with copper banding. Indoors or out, this mosaic will last lifetimes.

 

Tags: art, mosaic, fish, trout, glass mosaic, gamefish, fishing

Brook Trout Mosaic No. 1, 2006

Brook Trout Mosaic No. 1, 2006 Sicis Iridium glass tile, glass taxidermy eye, copper, Hardibacker substrate. 11" H x 19" W x 1.5" D Collaboration: John T. Unger + Mya Smith Private Collection

My daughter Mya did so well last summer  helping me with mosaic that this year I had her create a whole line of fish. She got to do the fun parts—laying the tile and working out the gradients and shading— I did the mortar, grout, copper banding and provided some small amount of editorial assistance. The work sells at the normal studio rate because it's totally worth it. Her skills are far beyond what you'd expect from a teenager, or even most professional artists. Most of the tile used on this mosaic is from the Iridium line of glass from Sicis. As the light or viewing angle changes, the iridescent surface of the tile closely resembles the  scales of a live fish. The   photo above shows the iridescent sheen. The second pic shows the copper banding that finishes and protects the mosaic. The mosaic is set with mortar on a Hardibacker substrate over plywood and finished around the edges with copper banding. Indoors or out, this mosaic will last lifetimes.

 

Tags: art, mosaic, fish, trout, glass mosaic, gamefish, fishing

Brown Trout Glass Mosaic, 2005

Brown Trout Glass Mosaic, 2005 Sicis Iridium glass tile, glass taxidermy eye, stone beads, copper, Hardibacker substrate. 21" H x 27.5" W x 1.25" D Collaboration: John T. Unger + Mya Smith
Purchase Brown Trout Glass Mosaic for $960 ($900 plus $60 S+H).
This is my daughter Mya's first solo project in mosaic. She did an absolutely amazing job on the gradients and shading— way beyond what you'd expect from a 15 year-old, or even most professional artists. Most of the tile used on this mosaic is from the Iridium line of glass from Sicis. As the light or viewing angle changes, the iridescent surface of the tile closely resembles the  scales of a live fish. The   photo above shows the iridescent sheen. The second pic shows the copper banding that finishes and protects the mosaic. Mosaic is set with mortar on a Hardibacker substrate over plywood and finished around the edges with copper banding. Indoors or out, this mosaic will last lifetimes.

 

Tags: art, mosaic, fish, trout, glass mosaic, gamefish, fishing

Little Red Riding Hood Narrative Sculpture

Little Red Riding Hood Narrative Sculpture, 2006 Recycled steel, 8.75" H x 20.25" W x 10" D Collaboration with Mya Smith
Purchase Little Red Riding Hood for $230 ($200 plus $30 S+H).
Little Red Riding Hood is a narrative sculpture that my daughter Mya and I collaborated on. The drawing is hers, the cutting and welding I did. I love the way that she used the tree and the headboard to separate the story into three panels with three scenes. This one was almost the end of the process, because I made her re-draw the woodcutter about 12 times to get more of a dynamic swing to his axe… she was really frustrated by that, but in the end we both felt the results were worth it.
click thumbnail to view larger image.

 

Tags: art, folkart, comics, metal, fairytale, narrative, sculpture

3 Billy Goats Gruff Narrative Sculpture

3 Billy Goats Gruff Narrative Sculpture, 2006 Recycled steel 11.5" H x 18" W x 6.25" D Collaboration with Mya Smith Custom Order Item

Three Billy Goats Gruff was the first drawing my daughter Mya did for our collaborative series of narrative sculptures. Although I was totally blown away by the 3 Little Pigs sculpture, the Billygoats piece is probably my favorite. It's the one I kept for myself. I'm impressed with the way she used negative space in the drawing, and by the way the bridge is used as a framing element for the story… In all the narrative works we did together, she was able to find ways to make the scenery frame the story panels without resorting to artificially dividing the scenes. Her drawing of Little Red Riding Hood was probably the best example of this.

 

Tags: art, folkart, comics, metal, fairytale, narrative, sculpture

The 3 Little Pigs: A Story in Steel

3 Little Pigs Story in Steel, 2006 Recycled steel, 14" H x 26" W x 6" D Collaboration with Mya Smith Buy it at Checkered House Gallery
My daughter Mya is interested in making comics and she's pretty amazing at it…draws and writes very well. So when she came out this summer, I thought it would be cool to collaborate on some narrative steel sculptures together. She picked the stories, and  decided how to lay out the image so that it would carry a narrative without words. I did the cutting and welding and offered a wee bit of editorial assistance in the few places where I thought the image or flow of the story could be stronger. Even though we worked pretty closely together on these, I think Mya could have done them alone if she wasn't a little bit afraid of the sparks in the shop. The house is made from an old refrigerator drawer and the rest is recycled steel plate. The wind from the wolf's mouth is copper plated welding rod. The plants are scrap left over from cutting out the flames on the Pot-deFeu recycled grills. This piece sold to Checkered House Gallery the minute Tess saw it. But that's okay… you can buy it from the gallery if you hurry. I don't expect it will last too long.
click thumbnail to view larger image.

 

Tags: art, folkart, comics, metal, fairytale, narrative, sculpture

Collaborative Steel Sculptures

Sea Rider, 2006 Recycled steel 13" H x 17" W x 8" Collaboration with Mya Smith		Purchase   for $70 ($50 plus $20 S+H).
These sculptures are all done from drawings by my daughter Mya… she did most of the steel cutting herself on these, with a bit of help. She's not a big fan of the sparks. I do like the way she draws though! click thumbnails to view larger image.
		Gargoyle Recycled steel 14" H x 8" W x 3" Purchase   for $110 ($90 plus $20 S+H).
	Dragon Recycled steel 15" H x 7.5" W x 3.25" Private Collection
		Coyote Recycled steel 10" H x 9" W x 1.25" Purchase   for $45 ($30 plus $15 S+H).
	Seahorse Recycled steel 17" H x 6.25" W x 4.5" Purchase   for $50 ($30 plus $20 S+H).
		Unicorn Recycled steel 9" H x 9" W x 1.25" Purchase   for $45 ($30 plus $15 S+H).

 

Tags: art, folkart, comics, metal, fairytale, fantasy, sculpture