I submitted an entry for the member exhibition at the Arts Council. Just a few days later, I found that my piece was accepted, and will get some kind of recognition at the Jan. 4, 2025 awards event.
This is the first time I’ve entered an exhibit with something that was not a piece of jewelry. For a few months, I’ve been making mosaic flowers and succulents from broken china after taking a class from Cheryl Cohen. I don’t recall how I found her, but I was captivated by her projects. Her studio is in Holliston, MA, but there’s an online video version of her class that worked very well. https://cherylcohenmosaics.com/ I like making new things out of broken ones, and chipped and broken pottery is easy to come by. The local tradition of “free piles” on the sidewalk yielded everything I use.
I branched out into broken glass, and made a few lethal flowers…
When I found a broken figurine, I thought about putting it in the center of a piece, and ended up with something I liked. Unlike the flowers, though, I wanted the bird to hang on a wall, and I had to figure out how to get a chunk of mosaic to stay attached to a vertical surface.
The oval frame and mat were in a free pile at an estate sale. I love oval frames, so I picked it up. The frame is metal, dark brown, and the mat is old, and brownish.
I could glue the mosaic piece in the center of the frame if I had a strong backing. I found a thin piece of plywood. My son-in-law cut the oval I needed from it. Once the piece was ready, I still wanted to support the mosaic with something more than glue. I marked gaps between the pieces of ceramic and drilled holes through the plywood for tacks. The tack ends that extend through the plywood support the mosaic piece. After I put down glue, I fit the piece over the points, and let it dry.
A day later, mt mosaic was ready to hang. I had to add a wire on the back, and it was good to go.
The finish that was on the plywood works well as a background. I couldn’t imagine a better one. Title: The Noble Bird.
Postscript: A visitor to the exhibit (not someone I am acquainted with) purchased my piece!
Llywindatravels 2025 
Congratulations! Lovely art work!!
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These are really lovely, and so much more so for finding such a beautiful use for discarded objects. Will you have a kiosk at a farmer’s market or craft fair? I think they’d be very popular because of their dual nature of beauty and repurposing. (I wish there were a prettier word than repurposed to express the wonder of something broken being not just reconfigured into something else but being glorified in its reincarnation. Repurposplendent?) Love, Peggy
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Thank you, Peggy. I am going to have a small selection of things for sale at the local group I joined, the Redwood Art Association.
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Congratulations, it is really a beautiful piece and it was especially interesting to read about how you created it.
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Thanks, Marc. Part of the fun is making it hold together and then hang up. I didn’t show the ones that self-destructed underway….there were several!
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Winifred, congratulations! You are an inspiration always finding new ways to use old stuff to create art! Happy New year to you and Jonathan.
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Katherine, Thank you! I enjoy working from my collection of miscellany.
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Beautiful!
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Thank you, Elizabeth. It was fun to make the piece and to be part of a group show.
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