Metamorphosis; a Community Mural...and then some.

In 2021, I put out a call for mosaic butterflies with a goal of creating something with and for Monarch Sculpture Park in Tenino, WA. However, multiple obligations took precedence, both for me and John, the caretaker of the park. He took two other jobs teaching ceramics full time. I was selected/hired for a steady stream of commissions. We both have had our hands full, and the mosaic butterflies that were received were kept in storage.

So, in 2023, I decided to pursue a different community project that uses the butterflies in a new design. Since I'm going to be the featured artist for Olympia's fall Arts Walk festival, I am coordinating a mural to culminate during the event. This mural will have a figure emerging from a chrysalis as the centerpiece, designed to be a photo-op where visitors can become part of the mural. I'm toying with adding stylized trees on each side with open cocoons on the branches, as if all of these butterflies have recently emerged. The message is about transformation of societies and individuals, and the idea of becoming our most splendid, magnificent selves.

As of February 2023, I have not secured a wall or funding. I have been awarded fiscal sponsorship by The Field NYC, an organization that accepts tax deductible donations to support individual artists through crowdfunding. I have just launched my first fundraiser: https://app.thefield.org/home/donation/crowd/view/185/Community-Mural-Seed-Fund?fbclid=IwAR3SxFVp0vSdESPqL7jCtPfVuCc3ibTrDzbCfn2K5Aj_cE-9uhR6-ycjWRo

My hope is that the 501C3 status will encourage businesses to partner with me on this. In fact, for years, I've been wanting to establish a program for community art in the South Sound region. I'm getting ahead of myself, but I have a vision for the future that includes creating art for neighborhoods, schools and organizations through community engagement that will grow into a larger endeavor. Community art is empowering for the participants, brings people together across all barriers, and helps to beautify spaces. We can accomplish more with less resources by using this approach, and there is so much plain concrete all around us, I think we should be adding colorful art to as much of it as possible.

But for right now, I'm going to take a leap and see if we can get this one mural made. Suggestions and leads are very welcome. I'll be seeking grants to increase my ability to offer hands-on activities in Olympia from May to October. In the meantime, You Be You!

April Update: We have a wall!

This wall is on the back side of Lloyd's Automotive, facing 4th Ave., next to McCoy's Tavern. It is set back enough that pedestrians will be safe to pose in front of it and it is a stone's throw from my first ever community project, the Artesian Well (2012). 

April 9 update: Honed design, superimposed on the wall:

My Procreate skills are clunky, but I did my best to show how the mural will look on the wall of 425 4th Ave. in Olympia, WA.

May Update: 

The last weekend of April, I was at Olympia Spring Arts Walk leading the initial activity, having participants make the wings of the figure with recycled glass tiles. Turnout was fantastic, as was the weather, and we finished the wings over 2 days. Since then, I've been slowly tidying and filling the mosaic and applying for any grants I thing I might qualify for. So far, I've been able to pay for materials and admin through the fundraiser, but in order to offer workshops through summer, I really need to raise more funds. Otherwise, I have to take on commissions to keep my bills paid. Either way, the central figure will go up, along with as many butterflies as I receive (I have about 10 so far.)

Councilman Dontae Payne and his family

A snapshot of the activity at Arts Walk. 

Hands working together...

Sunkissed participant

2023 off to a crazy busy start!

 Hello Friends!

So much has been happening recently in my world that I'm not sure where to start. So, I decided to write a blog post over here on this platform, rather than directly on my website.

Though I was selected for my current project in May, the proposal and contract process took through December, so I wasn't able to really start ordering supplies and confirming logistics until the start of the year. This project is for a new low-income housing complex in Port Townsend, WA being built through an organization called OlyCAP (Olympic Community Action Programs.) In Washington State, all publicly-funded construction is subject to a 1% For Art allocation, so a portion of their budget is dedicated to a creative component. The theme is a celebration of the Salish Sea, with emphasis on the vital relationship between sea stars and kelp forests. 

As I did research for this project, I learned more about how sea star wasting disease is decimating the kelp in our region, and here's why: Urchins feed on kelp and sea stars consume urchins. Without a strong population of sea stars, urchins are prolific and are "mowing down" the kelp forests, which provide essential habitat for all of the sea life, including salmon, harbor seals, orcas, anemones, etc. If we lose our kelp forests, we are in serious trouble. But all along the Pacific coast, that is exactly what is happening.

So, here is one frame from my proposal, which will embellish the child care center:

The sea stars along the bottom will be mosaic, made by local kids, while the kelp walls will be painted onto a special mural fabric called Polytab, then adhered to the walls when weather permits. The artwork extends around the building, connecting this entryway to another one for residents.

So, in order to engage local kids, I applied for a Centrum residency, which is an organization located on Fort Worden in Port Townsend. And to make the most of it, I submitted it as a group proposal, which would allow 6 regional mosaic artists to share the apartments and the cost while giving us the opportunity to enjoy each other's company and completely geek out on our shared medium. 

Left to right: Lynn Adamo (face covered), Karen Rycheck, Joanne Daschel, Mark Brody, Richard Davis, and me in the center.

During my week in Port Townsend, I spent 4 afternoons working with the kids at a YMCA after-school program. They made sea stars and a few urchins from recycled glass tiles. Joanne, Mark and Lynn each took it in turns to help out with these sessions.

Over the weekend, I visited the three science centers in Port Townsend. The aquarium was closed for winter, but the aquarist generously took Joanne and I for a private tour. I felt remarkably lucky because I was able to visit with the rescued octopus on site, which was released to the wild that very afternoon. This guy was found in a light trap for studying sea life as a tiny baby, but had reached sexual maturity. During our visit, he was pressed against the clear walls of a tank, and it was a special experience to take a close look at his tentacles up close.

At the flagship location downtown, artists Timbul Cahyono and Mariah Vane have created an experiential exhibit to demonstrate the importance of kelp forests. The docent there said she had been on a sea star count very recently and was happy to report increased numbers. That is hopeful news!

Our group also met with Rebecca Welti in nearby Port Hadlock to get a tour of her art installation in a public park, which happened to be created around the very same theme of the Salish Sea. She focused more on the importance of plankton, and had kids create ceramic elements that are embedded in concrete. She designed many interactive structures to inspire kids who visit the park.

It was a particularly chilly, windy day for our field trip.

Joanne, Mark and Lynn playing on a plankton structure designed by Rebecca Welti.

The six of us shared apartments and a large studio for a week. Here are some snapshots from our studio time:

I made a tiny bit of progress on a project I need to be a bit cryptic about for now.

This is Richard Davis's work space. So organized!

Karen Rycheck worked on hand-built ceramics in her unmistakable style.

Joanne Daschel made small mosaic studies based on observation in a plein air approach, but in the slow-mo medium of mosaic. 

Mark Brody worked on torch-burned and colorfully stained, large-format wood mosaic and Lynn Adamo is exploring assemblage with found objects, incorporating fiber. But I can't upload those photos. It is always a pleasure to spend time with what has become an extended family. We bounce ideas off of each other, discuss technique and materials, and work through the unique dilemmas of our creative life and work. This is our second year with a Centrum residency, and it has been a really wonderful opportunity.

One more thing I worked on in the evenings was becoming familiar with my new iPad and Procreate. I have been mainly working in analog for all of these years and my digital art skills are pathetic. About 2 weeks ago, I invested in the iPad and I'm struggling to learn how to use it for illustration. I have a proposal I need to refine asap in order to submit for some grant opportunities, so I spent time this past week honing the concept with Procreate. If you have any digital art skills, you will not be impressed, but I about jumped up and down a couple of times as I slowly navigated the program in the evenings. I have a basic design to present for the next community mosaic project, slated to go somewhere in downtown Olympia in fall 2023.

In 2021, I announced a project that would incorporate mosaic butterflies at Monarch Sculpture Park. However, things didn't pan out. A few people sent butterflies and I've been wondering how to shift gears and make use of them. Since I'll be the featured artist for Olympia's fall Arts Walk, I thought it would be fun to plan something big with local community. My idea is to have a figure emerging from a chrysalis with wings spread, life-sized so that visitors can pose in front of it for a photo op, becoming one with the art. The surrounding wall will be filled with butterflies made by everyone who wants to participate. The message of the design is a celebration of becoming your unique, authentic self. 

No, I do not yet have a wall or funding for this project, so it feels really scary. But I was just approved for fiscal sponsorship and will be able to crowdfund and donations will be tax deductible, and I will be applying for grants and seeking corporate sponsors. I'm trying really hard to take this one step at a time, but I'm so excited about it, I've already gotten ahead of myself! This is one of my fatal flaws.

For right now, I'm still at the early phase of the project at hand, which is the Sea Star/Kelp Forest mural for the 7th Haven building in Port Townsend. That's my main priority. But I'll be sending out more information about the butterfly mural as details are confirmed. I already have some mosaic butterflies and a new one was waiting for me when I came home. This is from Aya Kinoshita in Pennsylvania:

*As you can see, the mosaic is completed, including grout. I'll be able to set it directly into mortar like a single tile. Not all butterflies need to be pre-grouted like this, but it sure will make it easier to install.

If you made it this far through another wordy post, thank you so much! I know I should write shorter posts more frequently. Ah well. I hope your January was as fulfilling and energizing and I'll catch up again in February!

Mosaic In Mexico; An Ancient Tradition

 

Stone mosaic by Juan O'Gorman in Taxco, Guerrero, MX

In the mosaic community, it is widely held that the art of mosaic is an Italian tradition. In fact, many artists trained in the Ravenna or Spilimbergo methods consider the Italian approach to be the only valid way to make, or even define, mosaic. 

To be clear, I did not come to mosaic through classical training. My journey as a mosaic artist was scrappy and mostly self-taught, and I learned the Roman "rules" of mosaic placement reluctantly. I've never been a fan of rules, and I started making mosaic because it was fun. It wasn't my goal to study it or turn it into work. (Yet, here I am, and happy for it.)

I have never been to Italy. I have yet to see the amazing masterpieces my friends visit and share with me. However, I have traveled in Turkey, where the oldest mosaics have been unearthed, and these follow the same general rules as those in Italy. Seeing them in person is truly profound, realizing I am standing in places once occupied by earlier civilizations, imagining the process of the artists as they chopped and sorted and carefully placed these pieces of stone into a remarkably sophisticated composition.

These are in Istanbul.

Thailand is also chock full of mosaic. Their temples and palaces are covered with it. Thai mosaic is typically ornamental, characterized by repeating patterns featuring a lot of mirrored glass and relief tiles. 

My spouse is half Mexican and we have been exploring Mexico for about 12 years now, visiting at least once per year. At first, the mosaic work that caught my attention was very contemporary, mainly made of handmade tiles that had been chopped into smaller pieces. Talavera tiles are the colorfully patterned terracotta tiles typical of Mexico, especially in northern areas. However, in recent years, I've become more aware of the ancient art of mosaic that existed in pre-Hispanic America, separately from Europe. 

Shrine in Valladolid made of Talavera tile, pottery and shells.

Detail

Mayan and Aztec cultures both created funerary masks that were covered in stone mosaic; jade, turquoise, obsidian, etc. With each museum I visit in Mexico, I am struck by the examples of mosaic, many unearthed from ancient times. Most artifacts even use pieces cut into quadrangles and set in the same fashion as ancient Roman mosaic, but many just make use of the natural shapes of the stones or shells.

These are from a disk excavated in Mexico City, believed to be from the 1400s (CE)

Jade mosaic mask - OLD.

This is super old.

This is a mosaic fragment I spotted in a museum in Zacatecas.

This mosaic is in a ruin in Zacatecas state. It is ancient.

This is the only ruin I've come across in MX that is covered in stone mosaic patterns.

 

These are just a few examples of old a.f. mosaics in different parts of MX. 

I had been familiar with the work of Diego Rivera, but until traveling in Mexico, I didn't realize he worked in mosaic, a huge oversight. With every trip, I discover another mosaic made by Diego, often by accident. Plus, I learned that his colleague, Juan O'Gorman was a master of stone mosaic and his work can be found all over MX. 

This is an entire building covered in stone mosaic honoring the deity Tlaloc by Juan O'Gorman. It's on the UNAM campus in Mexico City and is absolutely jaw dropping.

I couldn't photograph this whole mosaic by Diego Rivera in Chapultapec Park, CDMX, so I took a picture of the plaque.

 

This is me with the above sculptural mosaic commemorating water.

On my most recent trip, we found the Otomi Ceremonial Center in Temoaya, MX. That center medallion is stone mosaic.

The structures at the Otomi Ceremonial Center are all covered in mosaic (though it could do with a bit of a scrub.)

I have files and files of images of Mexican mosaic, ancient and modern. On my last trip, we visited the Perdomo Smalti facility in Cuernavaca, which is a 70-year-old family-owned business that makes small-batch, hand-rolled glass for mosaic. They also fabricate custom mosaic.

This topic has been swirling in my head for a few years, so I thought I would finally sit down and begin sharing my thoughts and I hope someone out there finds it as interesting as I do. Thanks for reading!

New Mosaic Honoring Nat and Thelma Jackson in the Lacey Community Center, Lacey, WA

 In 2021, I wrote about my experience attending the Black Lives Matter artist reception at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art in Pullman, WA. I had been one of 20 artists selected to create new work speaking to the theme of Black Lives Matter who were then included in this 3-month-long exhibition.

This was at the artist reception in Oct. 2021

I was selected for this opportunity based on my proposal to create a portrait of this powerhouse couple, Nat and Thelma Jackson, who have spent their lives advocating for social justice and equity in education. Please read more about them here: https://www.sos.wa.gov/legacy/sixty-eight/nat-and-thelma-jackson/

Nat and Thelma provided the photo for their portrait, which is from their 50th wedding anniversary. The background of stylized flowers and foliage represents both their love of gardening and their legacy as the cultivators of positive change and community in Thurston County, WA. After the exhibition, I set about finding a public art entity in Thurston County who would accept the artwork as a donation and install it in an appropriate location. Everything came together when the City of Lacey suggested their Community Center, which is a stone's throw from the Jacksons' home, adjacent to land once owned by the Jackson family before it was annexed. Plans were in the works already to install an informational marker on the Karen Fraser Evergreen Trail where it passes Goose Pond to recognize the connection to Nat and Thelma, so a plan slowly developed and an unveiling took place on October 4th, 2022. 

The event was just perfect, on a beautiful fall day. Local community gathered along with the extended Jackson family. Nat and Thelma spoke eloquently of their connection to the Lacey community, and their deep gratitude for the acknowledgement they were receiving. The unveiling took place as the sun shone into the lobby, making the stained glass sparkle. Their granddaughter, Adera Gandy, sent me this short video just as the curtain was drawn back, and the sound of the crowd really says it all: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50TqxjOuHyo

Nat and Thelma Jackson with their mosaic portrait.

After the mosaic unveiling, we walked to the marker at Goose Pond, about 10 minutes away from the Community Center.

It was an honor to create a lasting tribute to this wonderful couple. I learned so much from them and through the research I did while creating this piece. Thelma published a book this year: Blacks in Thurston County, WA; 1950-1975 A Community Album. You can order it here: https://nwilc.org/book-order Dr. Jackson has been an educator and education advocate for decades, and she is a wealth of information. Nat Jackson has worked in government and fought for civil rights throughout his life. To top it off, he holds the title of "U.S. National Jump Rope King", breaking records for speed-jumping in 2017.

If you are in the Lacey area, be sure to stop by the Community Center at 6729 Pacific Ave. SE and have a look at the new portrait.

Portals, an exhibition of fine art mosaic by 10 Pacific NW artists May-June 2022

 *Note: I have another post about this show on my website, with links to each artist's website. If you go to this URL you'll find the artist list, and each one is a link: https://jkmosaic.com/jk/cascadia-mosaic-collective-exhibition-in-olympia-may-june/ There is also an art statement on that post.

A group of ten mosaic artists from Oregon and Washington State are exhibiting together for the sixth time. This show is on display at the Washington Center for Performing Arts in Olympia, WA and is viewable by appointment, except while attending performances and during an artist reception to take place on Saturday, May 14, 5-7pm. 

The artists are a group of friends who met mainly through the Society of American Mosaic Artists: Lynn Adamo, Mark Brody, Todd Campbell, Joanne Daschel, Richard Davis, Scott Fitzwater, Kate Jessup, Kelley Knickerbocker, Jennifer Kuhns and Karen Rycheck. Recently renamed the Cascadia Mosaic Collective, the group has shown bodies of work to elevate the awareness of mosaic as a fine art medium, and to demonstrate the wide range of approaches and interpretations mosaic offers. 

Some members of the collective exhibit at local and regional galleries, some are regularly included in international exhibitions, and some work mainly by commission and only display wall art mosaic in the context of the Cascadia Mosaic Collective, and all are full-time artists.

For more information, contact me: Jennifer Kuhns, jennifer@jkmosaic.com, 360.870.0356

The Cost of Learning (and Teaching) Mosaic

 While brainstorming a new workshop idea on social media, I received a request to please price it affordably. There was a comment that mosaic instruction is often cost prohibitive, especially for people in depressed economies.

I am very sensitive to that concern. I've been there. When I started out, I was using Yahoo groups to glean any information about best techniques and products for mosaic. My fellow budding mosaicists and I used the forums to share our experiences, successes and failures, while we stumbled along our learning curves in a world without YouTube or the Society of American Mosaic Artists. 

Back then, in order to get good, professional instruction in the medium, you had to fly to Italy and work with the masters in Ravenna and Spilimbergo. Eventually, some of those students became accomplished in the field and began offering classes internationally, but we had to travel to them and a weekend workshop generally cost $300 or more. Total costs generally ran about $1000 for any good mosaic workshop, and it was a major hardship for me. At the time, I was the mother of a young child, supported by a teacher, earning some sporadic income from my artwork and occasional part-time jobs that didn't cover the cost of childcare. 

This is at a Facilitating Community Mosaic workshop in Oakland, CA in 2011

In 2009, the SAMA (Society of American Mosaic Artists) conference took place near enough to my in-laws that we decided to make a family trip of it. I was so impacted by this experience, I swore to keep investing in my growth as a mosaic artist, and while I haven't managed to attend every year, I used credit cards to pay for my expenses, wrote it off at tax time, and the investment paid off. Eventually, I was skilled enough to actually carve out a career as a mosaic artist; which still amazes me every day. Now, I'm a SAMA instructor and I've been able to pay for most of my conference expenses by teaching.

These days, you can find some great videos online for free or cheap. A commenter pointed out that Domestika is hosting a workshop by one of my favorite mosaic artists, the fabulous Gary Drostle, out of the U.K. The course costs something like $12 U.S. and is a wealth of information. Domestika is a big company, and I'm not super familiar with how they operate, but they do have a huge global reach. They have found a price point that works, apparently, and it must have been worthwhile for Gary to contract with them and put in the time, even though he receives only a small royalty for each enrollment. But he'll have students all over the world, so it will add up. 

I work with Mosaic Arts Online and I have three courses available on the platform. MAO was created by Tami Macala, the owner of Santa Barbara Mosaic School. Tami left her work in television behind to focus on her mosaic business. She is a practicing mosaic artist who hosts in-person workshops, and she had the brilliant idea to create stream-able courses with visiting artists as well. She brought her television experience to the enterprise, and I was immediately impressed with her attention to details like camera angles, lighting, visual clarity, being concise, breaking down the course into clear segments with transitions that make sense, and then editing it all together for a seamless experience for the student. These days, MAO has become a vital resource, with the best instructors teaching specific styles and techniques, and Tami's spouse, Jerry, now edits everything together.

I can attest that each course takes weeks, if not months, of preparation from the instructor, along with coordination by Tami. We fly to Santa Barbara at our expense, and she arranges everything for us - even providing a car. We spend the better part of a week filming the process on multiple demos created ahead of time, and generally not in chronological order because actual mosaic work takes so much time. I fly down with projects at different stages so that I can show all of the steps in a few days. Jerry rearranges everything so that it appears to be completed like magic, and still make sense for the student following along.

Here I am in the MAO studio, filming a garden mosaic workshop. That monitor on the work table is brand new, and allows me to see what the student will see, so I can correct my hand position and keep the project in the center of the screen, etc.

The business is now incorporated, has an attorney for contractual help, has a social media coordinator and accountant, etc. They have to pay for hosting fees and equipment and a whole array of overhead costs. But remember, they are still a tiny operation; just a couple with some extra help. 

So, the prices we charge are compensatory with the effort and overhead. Each time I visit, there's a new piece of equipment that is a giant improvement, like a wireless mic, a tablet with a teleprompter, and a video camera with remote zoom instead of a digital camera on a tripod mounted to the ceiling. This is all a longwinded way to say that Tami has grown this business from scratch, and the courses are priced to help the business succeed. None of us are getting rich. But the platform has allowed me, and the other artists, to earn some passive income once our courses are live, and to reach students who can't afford to fly to our location and take a more expensive in-person workshop.

In the meantime, I have ventured into recording my own stream-able workshops and I currently have one listed on my website for $50. I priced it lower partly to make it affordable, and also because I am keenly aware that it is makeshift, using a camera on a mount in my messy studio and with very little editing (because I don't have that software or skill set) and no outline or script. You don't get to download pdfs and slideshows, and I often forget to say something important until too late. I'll be working on putting together another class soon, and I'm sure it will be better, but it's still going to be just me and my cell phone in my actual workspace; low tech, casual, and straightforward. I've gotten positive feedback on the first one, so I feel emboldened to try it again. 

I do these, not because I love filming myself, or to get attention - I hate both passionately. I'm doing it  because I like teaching, and because the extra income really helps keep my family solid between commissions. With the courses I'm creating from home, I'm happy to help out someone in another country for whom the price represents 3 months income, so if that's you, send me an email. 

And I do recommend checking out all of the amazing online resources that are now available to aspiring mosaic artists. Join facebook groups and find YouTube channels like https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCavAkUITnile1MQdv0cX5VA and https://www.youtube.com/c/LouAnnWeeks and https://www.youtube.com/c/TreasuryRoad. But if you really want to advance with your work, taking professional level workshops with practicing artists is invaluable. And they deserve to be paid for their time and for sharing their talent, which they have spent years (or decades) cultivating.

And have fun!

My courses on Mosaic Arts Online:

https://mosaicartsonline.com/p/garden-mosaic-for-any-climate-with-jennifer-kuhns

https://mosaicartsonline.com/p/professional-mosaic-installations-with-jennifer-kuhns

https://mosaicartsonline.com/p/precision-cutting-stained-glass-for-mosaic-with-jennifer-kuhns

https://mosaicartsonline.com/p/bundle-courses-garden-mosaic-and-precision-cutting-stained-glass-with-jennifer-kuhns

https://mosaicartsonline.com/p/bundle-courses-precision-cutting-in-stained-glass-and-professional-installations-with-jennifer-kuhns