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

April 05, 2024 by Johannah Willsey 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.

Red and blue colored pencil sketch for a mosaic project — 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.

Red and blue mosaic art in progress on easel

Red circular mosaic in progress on easel

Red and blue circular mosaic art in progress

Red circular mosaic wall art on blue mosaic background — **The Wholeness of Happiness**

Floral Garden Mosaic

December 29, 2023 by Johannah Willsey in Mosaic

Like collaborating with friends and colleagues, connecting with repeat clients is one of our favorite ways to create work. The relationship is established and comfortable, and everything seems to flow a bit more easily.

We created this exterior mosaic in exactly those conditions. The client is a great enthusiast and collector of craft and art, and owns several of our mosaic wall pieces. When it came time to replace the lion’s head fountain in their backyard garden, they reached out to Johannah to create a custom mosaic for the space.

Exterior abstract floral mosaic in reds and oranges

The first step in this project was to remove the lion’s head fountain and create a template of the space for the shape of the mosaic.

Kyle in safety gear while removing the original wall sculpture

Opening in the wall with the original sculpture below

Opening with the template for the new mosaic

The client requested abstract flowers in warm tones for the design of the mosaic. Green stems and leaves add visual variety and contrast. The tulip-like shape of the overall mosaic inspired the background design.

Like any exterior art, it’s important to consider how weather will affect the finished piece. The substrate on which the mosaic is made, the materials it’s created from, and the adhesive should all be able to withstand changes in moisture and temperature. Freeze-thaw cycles are especially important in some areas. In Virginia we’re lucky they’re not too dramatic but should still be kept in mind.

For this mosaic, the roof overhanging the wall will provide some additional protection over the years.

Below you can see Kyle and Johannah installing the finished mosaic. Johannah left openings in the mosaic to allow the piece to be screwed into the support structure behind it. Once it was installed, pre-cut mosaic tesserae were set in place to cover the screw heads.

Installing blocking to support the mosaic

Such a lovely outdoor room! This mosaic was a dream to create from start to finish, and we’re honored to be a part of this space.

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Hummingbird Mosaic for a Kitchen Backsplash

April 07, 2023 by Johannah Willsey in Mosaic

A client commissioned these custom mosaics to honor a hummingbird-loving family member. They were renovating their kitchen and wanted to include this special memory in the new backsplash.

The client provided imagery of hummingbirds they associated with their family member, as well as fabric and tile samples related to the renovation. We ended up designing two different hummingbirds:

one hummingbird in darker colors to match the inspiration image
the other hummingbird in lighter colors to coordinate with the new kitchen.

You can see in the sketch we originally thought we’d create a green border around the hummingbird but ultimately decided to leave it off.

Hummingbird mosaic image inspiration

Hummingbird mosaic sketch

Lighter hummingbird mosaic material selection

Darker hummingbird mosaic material selection

Darker hummingbird mosaic in progress

Once the two mosaics were complete, we installed the darker one in a custom metal frame. We grouted the lighter mosaic, leaving a gap around outside edge to allow it to be installed in the new backsplash.

You can see the lighter hummingbird installed in the backsplash below. It’s always such an honor to work on projects that are personally meaningful to the client.