mosaic

A New Mosaic: The Lovely Mariposa Lily

Calochortus Gunnisonii

This lovely lily can be found at the Black Canyon of the Gunnison.

I ran across this lovely  little “butterfly lily”  in the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, one of my regular hiking haunts. When I researched it, I found conflicting information on how many species of this lily exist.  There are thousands, but this particular one, Calochortus gunnisonii, is native to the western US, in the Rocky Mountains and Black Hills.

Alternatively known as the Sego Lily, its colors–white, avocado green, purple, violet, and yellow–can show up in various patterns. Some have purple petals, and some have more bold, less intricate patterns in the center. I enjoyed deciphering the balance and symmetry as I focused in on its details, which first appeared irregular, but grew more and more symmetrical the closer I looked!

The mosaic is made of stained glass with one freshwater pearl over a foam, fiberglass, and cement water resistant substrate.

 

 

Posted by Sue in Mosaic Art, Nature and Us

HOW THIS BLOG MORPHED from Woods to Studio

First, I want to explain the sudden change from the blog many of you subscribed to during my off-the-grid trip in 2018—to Wednesday’s blatently sale-focused email from Constant Contact, to wit:

I have been sending out occasional blogs since 2018 but did not realize you never got them. That is because of technical issues with Mailchimp, and I just figured it all out.

Over the past couple of years a lot has changed! I no longer live in the US National forests and BLM lands! I actually have a sweet apartment on Colorado’s Western Slope, the place I most enjoy living.
When Covid set in, I lost my last two PR clients and decided I would be what I probably should have been all along: an artist and writer.

I’ve begun yet another grand experiment: teaching myself the art of mosaic. The idea to make mosaic art came in my dreams. I had never considered it and there they were—-birds flying around in my dreams, made of little bits of ceramic and glass. I had to follow the inspiration!

Great Blue is my most recent piece, and it took me 7 months working full time to finish it! The BOGO (by one gift one) email you received on Wednesday was my attempt not to miss the holidays as an opportunity to get my work out in front of your and more eyes!

You may not even have noticed it was me—-the Sue Rose who was living out of her Forester in the woods for nearly five months, and then sleeping on the ground while working for Ridgway State Park for a summer season. I’m still me—and THAT experiment worked! I actually did get out of debt by refusing to pay Boulder County rent anymore.

NOW I live in a nice, affordable apartment that has a second bedroom I converted into my ART STUDIO! A dedicated art studio has been a long-held dream for me and it is now real.

I may still be a “scrapper”, as a client-friend once called me, but now I’m a CREATIVE one! I still dance some Argentine Tango and write occasionally, but mostly I am making art with the intention of reminding people how, in nature, things are still perfect. We may have an ‘imperfect’ world, but I hope that when people see my artwork, they will be reminded of a more enduring perfection—-that of Pachamama and her flora and fauna.

Now that I’ve kissed and made up with Mailchimp, I’ll be blogging again but not too often. It will usually be about a new art piece I’m working on or finishing up, so I will understand if you want to unsubscribe. Hopefully you’ll stick around, for you never know when I’ll switch it up again!

Best Wishes for an awesome Holiday Season!

-Sue

Posted by Sue in Mosaic Art, Nature and Us, Presence., Reclaiming my Artist, Sue's Mosaic Art, Works in Progress