|
|||
|
click thumbnail to view larger image.
|
|||
|
Bottle Cap Fish Mosaic No. 21, 2007 plywood, primer, Bud Light and Izze bottle caps, recycled roofing copper 20" H x 27" W x 2.5" D |
|||
|
This fish is made from Bud Light and Izze bottle caps bottle caps. The plywood is primed with two layers of Kilz primer and can be hung outdoors (but the caps may fade if you hang it in direct sunlight). The fins and tale are cut from recycled roofing copper. |
|||
 |
|
Bottle Cap Fish Mosaics at Vale Craft Gallery Bottle Caps, plywood, printed tin, copper or bronze, rakes, dustpans, nail, etc. 126" H x 90" W Available bottlecap fish mosaics are listed for sale HERE |
|
Bottle caps have long had a place in the folk art tradition as a decorative element. Usually, they are deployed more as a texture, willy nilly without sorting for color. My own bottle cap mosaics were initially inspired by Haitian ritual flags, in which detailed images are realized entirely through the use of sequins. The first bottle cap pieces I did combined bottle caps with vitreous glass tile. Each cap is sorted by brand or color, washed, dried, punched, partially crimped and finally nailed in overlapping scales to create a feeling of depth, light and shadow. Decorative nail heads emulate the texture of seed beads often used to reinforce the sequins on flags. Even the smaller fish require hundreds of caps to complete. The most amazing thing about these fish is the way they interact with light. When you look at one or two caps from any brand, they're generally not all that impressive. But when you group hundreds of them together and let them catch the sunlight, they truly glow. The combination of the background color with the logo can create color tones that are vibrant and lively and wholly unexpected. What I like most about making the Bottle Cap fish mosaics is that the overlapping texture of the caps does such a good job of representing scales.These fish have been one of my big sellers… They typically sell out almost as soon as they appear. I can do custom fish in this style, by brand, color, shape, or whatever floats your boat. If you'd like to commission a fish just drop me an email from the contact page and let me know what you're thinking. |
|
La Siren, 2000
Vitreous glass, bottle caps, stone, copper, glass eyes, Hardibacker substrate 60" H x 36" W x 1.5" D The Lynne Ingram Collection of Folk Art click photo to view larger image.
|
||||||||||
|
Christy MacLear commissioned this piece for her gallery, Fleur Fine Art, because people kept asking her to sell the mermaid from her private collection and she couldn't bring herself to part with it. She gave me "total artistic freedom" to create any bottle cap mermaid I wanted to and I took that ball and ran with it. You gotta love the bottle cap dreads! I was inspired to do bottle cap mosaics by Haitian ritual flags, in which detailed images are realized entirely through the use of sequins. Each cap is sorted by brand or color, washed, dried, punched, partially crimped and finally nailed in overlapping scales to create a feeling of depth, light and shadow. Decorative nail heads emulate the texture of seed beads often used to reinforce the sequins. My bottle cap mosaics revisit the playful, funky spirit of my early found object collages. Combining the caps with Italian glass mosaic carries elements of folk art and recycling into a modern fine art context. I also did a cut metal collage this year working from the same mermaid image used for this piece. Take a look at it here. |
||||||||||
 |
||||||||||
|
La Siren, 2000 bottle caps, vitreous glass, carved wood, enamel paint, copper, glass eyes 46" H x 46" W x 2" D Private Collection |
||||||||||
|
With her Italian glass top and bottle cap tail, LaSiren reflects not just light but a sense of humor and playfulness. The image is based on the La Siren card from the Mexican Loteria game. This was my first mosaic with bottle caps— I was inspired by Haitian ritual flags, in which detailed images are realized entirely through the use of sequins. Each cap is sorted by brand or color, washed, dried, punched, partially crimped and finally nailed in overlapping scales to create a feeling of depth, light and shadow. Decorative nail heads emulate the texture of seed beads often used to reinforce the sequins. My bottle cap mosaics revisit the playful, funky spirit of my early found object collages. Combining the caps with Italian glass mosaic carries elements of folk art and recycling into a modern fine art context. click thumbnail to view larger image.
|
||||||||||
 |
||||||||||
 |
|||
|
Elvis is Love Mosaic Mirror, 2003 vitreous glass tile, copper, Hardi-backer substrate over plywood. 36" x 36" x 1.5" (approximate) May be Available |
|||
|
This piece and the What Would Elvis Do? mirror were created for a show of all-Elvis art at Fleur Fine Art in Chicago. Other artists contributing work included folk artists C.M. & Grace Kelly Laster and photographer Patty Carrol. |
|||
 |
|||
|
What Would Elvis Do?, Mosaic Mirror, 2003 vitreous glass tile, copper, Hardi-backer substrate over plywood. 30" H x 15" W x 1.5" D (approximate) May be Available |
|||
|
I really wanted to make this piece into the door of a medicine cabinet…I wasn't allowed to cut big holes in the wall of the gallery, but if you would like it installed as the door to your medicine cabinet, lets talk! This piece and the Elvis Is Love mirror were created for a show of all-Elvis art at Fleur Fine Art in Chicago. Other artists contributing work included folk artists C.M. & Grace Kelly Laster and photographer Patty Carrol. |
|||
 |
|||
|
Vévé for Erzuli Mosaic Table, 2003 vitreous glass, glass gems, steel table. 30" Tall x 42" x 42" Commission |
|||
|
Laurie Beasley of Ridge Art commissioned this table, featuring a version of the Vévé for Erzulie, the Haitian goddess (Lwa) of love. |
|||
 |
|||
 |
||||||
|
Corazon Mosaic Table, 2002 ceramic tile mosaic, steel table. 30" x 48" x 17" high Commission |
||||||
|
This table was commissioned by Angelo at Casa Loca in Chicago. The original design is from the Mexican Loteria deck, a traditional game similar to Bingo. I had long wanted to do a mosaic based on the Mexican Loteria deck, and this image in particular. I wish I had better pictures of this piece… it's much cooler than you can tell from these images. Teresa Villegas did a very cool updated version of the loteria game which has now been published in in a handsome book. |
||||||
 |
 |
 |
||||
|
click thumbnails to view larger image.
|
||||||
 |
|||
|
After the Matador, 1998 ceramic tile, glass, steel on wood. 26" x 46" x 1.5" high Buy this mosaic at ArtBuzz |
|||
|
This is the very first mosaic I ever did. I made it shortly after moving to Chicago, as a kitchen table for my first real studio. Shortly after I finished it, I participated in my first Pilsen East Artists’ Open House, an annual event in the neighborhood. I had a ton of great art filling the studio but the two questions I heard most were, "Wow. What's the rent here?" and "How much is the table?" Heh. By the end of the first day, I was sooooo tired of explaining that the table wasn't for sale, it was what we ate on. But by day two of the three day show, I was thinking "Hmmmm, maybe I should do more of these mosaics thingies." Some years back I removed the legs and made it a wall hanging piece, but it would be very simple to put legs on it again if you wanted a table. I think it works really nicely as a mural. The frame is made from antique yardsticks that happened to be the same orange and yellow as the tile. The bull's eye is a Xerox copier lense behind which is a photo of an eye. Actually, it's a photo of a television showing a big eye, but you can't really see the TV. The bull's horn is made from old roofing steel set into the tile. |
|||
 |
||||||||||
|
Mud's Marker, 2001 Concrete, Ceramic tile 12.5" H x 12" W x 4" D Commission |
||||||||||
|
I made the headstone above for Mud, a friend's cat who had sadly used up it's allotment of nine lives. The marker has been through five long winters in Michigan with no sign of wear. click thumbnail to view larger image.
|
||||||||||
 |
If you would like to commission a custom mosaic head stone with a portrait of your departed pet, contact me by email or phone. If you can provide a photo I should be able to produce a reasonable likeness. Prices start at $350 and increase depending on size, materials and complexity. |
|||||||||
Each Eternal Flame Sculpture is a one of a kind sculpture that will never be repeated. Although their bright colors and cheerful look could fool you, they are made from 100% recycled steel. The Eternal flames are an open edition of sculpture— each is signed and numbered, but there is no predetermined limit to how many I'll make. They're too cool to limit to a set number.
Click here to see currently available Eternal Flame sculptures.
Each Fire Imp Sculpture is a signed and numbered, one of a kind sculpture that will never be repeated.There are 100 each in Natural Steel, Red, Yellow, Orange, White and Black.
Part of what makes the Fire Imps fun is the freeze frame of pattern, rhythm, lyricality and syncopation that gives them a musical feel… combined in groups, they resemble a musical score as much as a group of dancers. The shadows they cast are also a part of the piece, doubling or distorting the form, mirroring the sculpture on the wall.
Click here to see currently available Fire Imp sculptures.
I highly recommend checking out her 