Looking Towards Summer? – How About Do-It-Yourself Eco Mosaic Art?

I truly believe there is a ‘summer sunshine artiste’ deep down within all of us – especially after being dumped on by 32 inches of snow in just one day! The fact that my 4th great-grandfather had endured the Valley Forge, PA. winter encampment back in 1777-1780 and the ‘Hard Winter of 1779-1780’ up at Jockey Hollow in Morristown, N.J. during the American Revolutionary War – gave me only a slight feeling of warmth during this snowy crisis – but then again, I was determined not to become one of Thomas Paine’s disparaging “summer soldiers” and “sunshine patriots”!

So, instead, I dug in and looked for inspiration eastwards – towards Athens, Greece – ‘the cradle of democracy’ – and sunny Rome, Italy – the architectural hub of the Roman Empire — and the mosaic decorations that once enlightened the Parthenon and the Baths of Caracalla – and hit upon the eco-idea that I was going to heal my relationship with Nature by creating a domestic interior that reflected the beauty of summer gardens, the buzz of bumble bees, and the serenity of summer cottages on pink beaches.

Assembling together small pieces of colorful broken tile and glass, old tea cups and saucers, egg shells and sea shells, and various beads, buttons, pebbles, and corks of all sizes, I then attacked in flourishing patterns with my glue gun in one hand and my grout spatula in the other – a gallery of household objects that had once seen better days – my porch-weary terra cotta pot, my cracked foyer mirror, my chipped kitchen crock, and my favorite stain-fingered coffee table scrapbook.

To say that everything turned out perfectly and I am ready to join the illustrious Society of American Mosaic Artists and be showcased inside the Women Environmental Artists Directory – would certainly be considered an overstatement – but there is now a warm new glow in my environment – a sense of optimism – that I can co-exist within the realities of my snow-bound environment by doing what I do best – restoring my household ecosystem in an eco-friendly artistic way – and dreaming of next summer’s mosaic patio!