The individual pieces that make up a mosaic are called tesserae, and making a topography of tesserae is restorative to my soul. Especially in orange. Sometimes I get this longing to make something without knowing how it will turn out. My artist self can be very astute and wise in the studio, in ways that are much more difficult for me when out of the studio.
Out of the studio, I expect myself to know how things will turn out, in advance, in omniscience, in complete certainty. Then I notice the impossibility of this, and often have sharp words for myself about being perfectionistic, and then if I am paying attention, I will notice this as well, and grant myself a moment of grace.
There are ways in which this patchwork trivet is imperfect. It is bumpy, with crooked edges, and scratches, gaps in the grout, and unevenness of color in the finish of the frame. Perhaps you catch yourself thinking, “But I like that it looks like it was made by hand instead of a machine” or maybe you see the whole rather than the individual tesserae. This is when my wise artist self says, “You like this and if it has to meet some imaginary idea of perfect, you won’t make any art at all. So what shall you choose?”
Celebrating my birthday at The Village Teahouse in Upper Gwynedd. Photo by Wayne Stratz.
Stratoz had the fine idea to try the new tearoom for my birthday, The Village Teahouse in West Point, PA(Lansdale address). We have a history of going to tearooms at least 20 years, with Stratoz usually being the only man in the room, which doesn’t bother him because he enjoys taking tea. We used to go to Thyme for Tea in Lansdale, and were sad that it had closed, so it was a treat to visit The Village Teahouse. When I called to make a reservation, the woman on the other end said “Oh, you are a Margaret too.” The owner is Margaret Miley Shaffer.
Tea at The Village Tearoom. Photo by Wayne Stratz.
The theme is Alice in Wonderland, and we were seated in the Mad Hatter Room. I was tempted by the tea with lavender and if it had been a black tea, I would have gone with it. Instead I tried the Wedding Tea, with rose petals, which was more frilly than I usually like, but when the server asked if I wanted more tea, I ordered the Oolong(which is what Stratoz had) which was more my speed.
The Full Tea started with a two tiered tray topped with scones and tea bread, lemon curd, cream, and fig jam. The tea sandwiches were a nice array for a bacontarian such as myself since there was a tasty variation on a BLT in miniature form, in addition to vegetarian options of egg salad, carrot salad on raisin bread, cucumber, and then Stratoz ate both roast beef sandwiches.
Sweets on the tea tray at The Village Teahouse, chocolate cherry cupcake in foreground. Photo by Wayne Stratz.
Dessert included banana cream tarts(which made me think it was Stratoz’ birthday since he enjoys bananas and I don’t ;-), but I ate both chocolate cherry cupcakes, followed with a lemon meringue tart and a chocolate dipped shortbread cookie shaped like a teabag.
The Village Teahouse designed by Milton Bean. Photo by Wayne Stratz.
In addition to satisfying my sweet tooth, The Village Teahouse is a Victorian designed by Milton Bean, Lansdale architect, in 1896. I had heard a talk by Drexel Librarian Leopold Montoya at the Lansdale Historical Society. Montoya became entranced with Bean when he discovered his house was designed by him, but little information was available, even though Bean designed over 1000 area homes and churches. Our house was built in 1900, so the The Village Teahouse had a 4 year head start on us.
The Village Teahouse designed by Milton Bean, 1896. Photo by Wayne Stratz.
The Village Teahouse opens in Upper Gwynedd article in North Penn Life, July 20, 2015. As we were leaving, the owner told us it was always nice to meet another Margaret. Even though she goes by Meg much of the time, she does have Margaret’s Late Day Tea on the menu, so she is Margaret approved.
Pieces that are spiral shaped, fabric with spiral prints and overall quilting in spirals ~ layers of spirals. Quilting allows for the imprint of spirals that create texture and flow. So cool.
Life Spiral Mandala by Suzanne Halstead, mosaic frame by Margaret Almon.
When I went looking for the quilt photo, the Life Spiral Mandala came up on the screen. My friend Suzanne Halstead created this with crayon, over a chafing dish, so it melted as she swirled. This technique leaves it’s own imprint as well. I created a mosaic frame to go with it.
Black Raspberry, Strawberry, Blueberry Pie from the Chef of Good Food Happy Man on a placemat from Birds of the Air Quilts. Heaven.The Chef saw a yard sign for Honeysuckle Jelly and thought Stratoz and I would appreciate a jar for our toast.Round Rainbow Mirror Commissioned by the Chef and Big Red
What of the pleasures of doing craft shows is meeting new artists. Cathy Vaughn of Tracery 157 introduced herself, as we have Phoenix Handcraft as a friend in common. She came up from Richmond, VA with her copper art. Her booth caught my eye right away. Copper is a vehicle for orange in its most earthy beautiful forms. As additional pleasure, I learned a new word, Tracery:
Tracery – In architecture, bars, or ribs, used decoratively in windows or other openings; the term also applies to similar forms used in relief as wall decoration (sometimes called blind tracery), and hence, figuratively, to any intricate line pattern.*
*excerpted from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/601424/tracery
The copper panels are a new direction, with botanical imprints leaving layered color and texture. The process can be guided, but there are surprises and happy accidents that motivate more experimentation.
Cathy Vaughn had purchased a 10×3 foot sheet of copper to divide up and test out, but she kept a bigger piece, 6×3 feet. She planned to cut up for a woven panel, but the botanical print revealed when she lifted the tarp was complete in itself. In person, the panels have a lovely glossy sheen from a coat of resin that protects the surface.
There is a quote that has circulated with great vigor on the internet ether, “Sometimes your only available mode of transportation is a leap of faith.” It is attributed to Margaret Shepard, and as I searched to find more about the author, nothing came up except more permutations of the quote and then finally, someone mentioned this Margaret is a calligrapher. Then I found Margaret Shepherd, and I suspect the quote is an example for calligraphy in one of her books.
Margaret Shepherd, Author and Calligrapher
I had been eager to move from printing to cursive in the 2nd grade. I loved making the joins, and studying the letter forms. When I was a junior high student, I bought a book about learning calligraphy(which may have even been written by Margaret Shepherd), and some of those chisel tipped pens that purport to be the key to beautiful writing. I carried the book and pen around for many moves, but calligraphy happened in mostly my imagination. For someone who lived for reading, an art that incorporated words was thrilling, but again, I was first and foremost a reader, not a calligrapher.
Margaret Shepherd helped create the Boston Calligraphy Trail, which I hadn’t known about, and which sounds wonderful. There are 26 beautiful letters to discover in the Boston Public Library and surrounding neighborhoods by following the trail guide. On her blog she writes of returning from Finland with photos of Art Nouveau lettering and numbers. I love that she was photographing typography in the wild.
As someone who spends a lot of time surrounding letters and numbers with glass mosaic, I do now practice a craft that incorporates reading. Many leaps of faith led me to this work.
On July 25 & 26th, 2015, I will have my work at the Pennsylvania Guild Fine Craft Fair at the Chase Center in Wilmington, DE. I am shepherding my mosaics out of the studio and down the stairs for staging on the dining room table. I’ve been reading Gretchen Rubin’s book on habits, Better than Before, and she describes people as tending to be “openers” or “finishers.” Usually, I am an opener. I like to check out large piles of library books, buy new art supplies, start new projects. I used to feel obligated to finish every book I checked out, but after discovering the Reader’s Bill of Rights in Library School, (what Rubin would call a Secret of Adulthood), I now leave a book undone on occasion.
Stratoz gently advised that I not start any new mosaics the week before the show. He is wise, though I did find a way to remake a commissioned project, under the guise that it wasn’t “new.” Otherwise, I do enjoy a burst of finishing the week before a craft show ~ a reminder of the wonder of creation.
In the Fabric’s Path Quilt by Orna Shahar, Pennsylvania Quilt Extravaganza, XXI, 2014. Photo by Wayne Stratz.
In the Fabric’s Path was one of my favorites at the 2014 Pennsylvania Quilt Extravaganza. Orna Shahar belongs to the Israel Quilters Association, and also to Encounters Art Quilt Group, with 16 Israeli quilters who meet to learn from each other, and learn from other art forms such as origami, ceramic, metal, papercutting, and glass. Quilting has been an inspiration to me as a mosaic artist, so it is cool to find quilt artists who explore other art forms.
My mind is percolating on how to make a spiral with bundles of vertical lines. The Red Tail Rainbow Mandala I made in 2011 has a black background. I just had to look up what the name of the shapes I used ~ apparently I am partial to scalene and right-angled triangles and quadrilateral polygons of the kite and trapezoid shapes. In the process I found Paul Calter’s Squaring the Circle: Geometry in Art & Architecture, the chapter on Polygons, Tilings and Sacred Geometry.
Looking at the etymology of geometry, it originates from “measurement of earth, ” or Old English “earth-craft.” I imagine the idea of surveying the land in the service of beauty.
