Creative Collaboration - Society of American Mosaic Artists

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From the President SAMA Board and Officers President Shug Jones Vice President Gwyn Kaitis Secretary Yvonne Allen Treasurer Jim Penak Board of Trustees Karen Ami Dianne Crosby Susannah Dryden Sharon Plummer Hillary Sloate Advisory Board Monica Agnew Julie Dilling Kim Emerson Brian Felix Staff Executive Director Dawnmarie Zimmerman Operations Manager Chris Forillo Membership Director Yvonne Allen Volunteer Coordinator Monica Agnew Webmaster Bill Buckingham Groutline STAFF 2B Custom Publishing Editorial Director Barbara Coots Design Director Associate Editor Managing Editor Copy Editor Photo: Julie Dilling Barbara Dybala Theresa Brander Karola Brookshire Jennifer Blakebrough-Raeburn Advertising Sales Brian Felix 951-204-7887 advertising@americanmosaics.org This issue's contributors: : Nancie Mills Pipgras Groutline is published quarterly to promote mosaic art in the U.S. and abroad. ©2010 Society of American Mosaic Artists. Reproduction or distribution prohibited without permission. Address: P.O. Box 624, Ligonier, PA 15658-0624 Editorial queries may be sent to groutline@americanmosaics.org Articles and opinions expressed in Groutline represent the views of the authors and not necessarily the views of SAMA, its board of trustees, or the membership as a whole. Advertisements are purchased and do not imply endorsement by SAMA, its board of trustees, or its members. COVER: Swirlendipity I (2009), installed at COVER: Providence A portion Park Hospital in Novi, Michigan. Mixed media; 3 x 5-foot unframed. Story on page 10. Photo by Lin Schorr 2 Society 2 Society of American of American Mosaic Mosaic Artists Artists When I was young, my mother told my siblings and me that we could accomplish anything we wanted. I’ve found this affirmation to hold true throughout my life. As I step forward to take the reins of SAMA, I’m meeting the challenge with eagerness. The task is somewhat daunting, but the full support of the SAMA Board of Trustees and advisors, Summer 2010 President's Column 2 Tip of the Quarter 8 Annual Board Retreat 16 SAMA Committee Corner 17 An Honor for Irina Charny 17 Volunteer Spotlight 18 Features Lin Schorr’s Collaborative Murals 10-11 A Survey of Regional Groups 12-13 Mosaic on ABC-TV’s Extreme Makeover 14-15 Departments Inspiration: Michael Sweere 3 Regional: Philadelphia's Tell-Tale Tiles & Fractured Fantasies 4 Artist Profile: Shug Jones 5 Step By Step: Getting a Handle on Your Nippers 6-7 Teaching Series: Elementary Students 8 10th Anniversary Series: JeanAnn Dabb 9 our executive director, Dawnmarie Zimmerman, and our operations manager, Chris Forillo, gives me the confidence to steer SAMA into its second decade. As I write this letter, I still feel the excitement of the successful 2010 American Mosaic Summit in Chicago and the subsequent Strategic Planning Retreat in Austin, Texas. Please take a moment to read the retreat report later in this issue of Groutline, because it contains important information for SAMA members. Going forward, I pledge to do everything I can to raise awareness about SAMA and its relevance to the art community. I will work to create, solidify, and deepen our relationships not only with other mosaic groups but also with traditional fine art organizations. I promise to represent SAMA in a professional, thoughtful, and friendly manner. Now I want to ask you something. Think about what you have to offer your organization. Do you have special skills that would be valuable in fundraising, such as writing requests for grants? Are you knowledgeable about marketing, or do you enjoy computer work? Do you have time to contact potential advertisers and sponsors? No matter how much time you can give, whether it’s three hours a week or three hours a year, whether you can do only one small thing or devote time to an ongoing project, SAMA appreciates your involvement. The more you give, whether in time or money, the more SAMA is able to give back to you in programs, workshops, exhibitions, and publications. In our current economy, it’s up to all of us to do what we can to keep SAMA a vibrant, exciting, relevant, and educational organization. Dig deep into your heart, and then contact Monica Agnew, our volunteer coordinator, and ask where you can be of help. Let’s all work together to propel SAMA forward into our second decade. Shug Jones In addition to being president of SAMA, Shug Jones is the president and founder of Tesserae Mosaic Studio, Inc., in Plano, Texas, where she creates fine mosaic art and installations. www.tesseraemosaicstudio.com Patron Members Karen Ami Timothy Falb Gina Hubler Jacqueline Iskander Jane O’Donnell Drucilla M. Perez-Tubens Michael Welch Kim Wozniak Donna Young The Chicago Mosaic School di Mosaico Design Impact/ Miami Mosaic Academy Jacqueline Iskander Mosaics Jane O’Donnell Drucilla M. Perez-Tubens Mosaic Rocks! Smalti.com Mosaic Art Source Inspiration: Michael Sweere by Ed Kinsella The work of Minneapolis-based artist Michael Sweere graces the walls of the many corporations and institutions that have commissioned his work. Most of his mosaics depict lush, bountiful landscapes. Mike’s mosaic work is an evolutionary fusion of two passions: a lifelong interest in painting and drawing landscapes from direct observation, and his two-decade career as an art director for an advertising agency. His landscapes often become the cartoons or blueprints for his mosaic projects, and the commercial techniques and processes Sweere mastered over twenty years in advertising often morph into new mosaic approaches. Mike’s rigorous work ethic comes from his previous career, where he learned the importance of project planning, meeting aggressive commercial project schedules, and running a successful, sustainable business. Extensive travel exposed him to several styles of public mosaic art: the monumental mosaics that decorate the subway stations of New York City, the mosaics of Mexico made from commonly discarded everyday materials, and the mosaics of the American Southwest that depict local landscapes and surroundings. While eating breakfast with his son one day, Mike was inspired to create a paper mosaic from the cut-up pieces of a cereal box, the type of packaging he designed at work. This pivotal moment showed him the endless possibilities of the mosaic medium. In a poetic way, his past designs found their way into his early mosaics, which were paper collages created by recycling the packaging he had accumulated throughout his career. Mike notes, “Maybe it’s a little ironic that most of my paper mosaics depict trees—the natural resource from which paper packaging comes. Once a tree, still a tree.” After thorough planning, Mike bid farewell to the corporate world to follow his new passion and focus full time on a large mosaic commission. More commissions came his way, and he has now created mosaics nonstop for the past six years. Roughly half of his current output is made up of cut tin creations, which feature objects such as fruitcake tins, coffee cans, and TV trays. He flattens them, rearranges them according to his cartoon, and nails them Photo: Dave Fick Two Haunted (2010). Glass, stone, and ceramic tile with bone and cultured pearls; 36 in. square. down. For the rest of his work, Mike uses glass, ceramic, stones, and found objects. Central to Michael Sweere’s work is the accurate portrayal of light qualities characteristic of, and unique to, a given place. Consider the color-enhancing diffused light of the Pacific Northwest, or the bleaching intensity of the southwestern desert sun, which fades color while creating sharply delineated shadows. The fluidity of light and the way it interacts with the natural world endlessly fascinates him. Depending upon the season, the time of day, or the weather, the same subject can look quite different. Michael’s influences include the American Impressionists, whose paintings capture light so skillfully, and various contemporary artists. Andy Warhol followed a career path similar to Mike’s, beginning in the advertising world before transitioning into the fine art world. Like Mike’s, Warhol’s work shows the vestiges of his commercial art experience. Andy Goldsworthy inspires Mike to use natural material typically overlooked as art media, and to work in a larger scale. The Rev. Howard Finster’s oeuvre inspires Mike to be a handyman-artist, to experiment, and to be resourceful in solving artistic challenges. SAMA was pleased to have Michael Sweere as a volunteer panelist for the 2009 Robin Brett Mosaic Scholarship competition. Visit his website for additional information and galleries of his work. www.michaelsweeremosaic.com. Ed Kinsella has been creating mosaics in his spare time for almost three years. www.flickr.com/photos/kinsella5555/collections/72157622737716035 Society of American Mosaic Artists 3
Page 1: Report from the Annual Board Retrea
Page 6: Photos: Laurel Skye Step By Step: G
Page 10: Lin Schorr’s Collaborative Mosaic
Page 14: Behind the Scenes of Extreme Makeov
Page 18: Photo: Ethan Rendlen Volunteer Spot

Creative Collaboration - Society of American Mosaic Artists

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