"The Wholeness of Happiness,” an abstract portrait in mosaic

We’ve been so lucky to work with quite a few repeat clients. It’s an honor to be able create something special for each client in the first place. To be valued and trusted for further projects is truly a privilege.

Johannah created this piece for a couple she has worked with quite a few times. In this case, the request came from one half of the couple to create an abstract portrait of the other half as a special gift. The portrait is based on a photo of the subject wearing a red shirt and glowing with happiness to be in a place that is meaningful to them.

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Design sketch for “The Wholeness of Happiness” mosaic

The photo was taken at the seaside, and so the client requested a sense of movement to convey the motion of wind and water. Together, we decided a circle best represented the feeling of wholeness conveyed by the experience of deep joy.

The circle is red to represent the subject in their red shirt. The background is blue-green to represent the water and wind. Each field of color contains highlights of the other color to show the co-mingling of place and time and the subject’s joy.

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The Wholeness of Happiness

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Gear Table, Take 2

Here’s a hefty gear-inspired table modeled after the original Kyle designed and built for a hotel a few years back. Measuring 5 feet in diameter and 33 inches tall, this custom table weighs in at nearly 400 pounds.

Gear table before patina and finish

Finished gear table detail

Gear table with patina and finish

This client for this particular table is a car enthusiast with a home on the Great Lakes. Once he created the table, Kyle built scaffolding to support the top for delivery and hit the road. Here’s a quick video showing the table packed for delivery and landing at it’s new home.

Celestial Series

The moon has had an artistic pull on Johannah for a while now. Over the years she has created a variety of work featuring the full moon. The moon is the main character in some pieces or plays a supporting role in others. There’s even a series of tiny landscapes with full moons lighting the sky.

More recently, the work expanded to include other varieties of celestial bodies: the dark new moon, a radiant sun, and the lunar phases.

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Two Moons

“New Moon”

“Full Moon in Purple Sky”

“Full Moon in Black and Green”

“Sunny Day”

“Phases of the Moon”

The largest interpretation of the moon in the more recent Celestial series features a large full moon rising over a slate blue sky. Stars sparkle softly in the distance. You can see a short video of the mosaic under construction below.