I was walking my daughter to school yesterday and she asked me about what work I was doing this week. I told her I was preparing to do a mosaic project with some children and her ears pricked up. “How old are they mummy?” she asked. “Between 8 and 16 years old” I replied.
“But mummy, do you have to be 8 years old to make mosaics?”
“Well, you have been making mosaics since you were 2 1/2 Isabella” I replied. Her chest filled with pride and a big smile broke out on her face….
And its true, that since they were very little, both of my children have sat with me in my studio, merrily sticking tesserae (nuggets, tiles, sweets, beads) to substrate (in my case, a huge batch of plain white tiles). They are prolific and have produced quite a body of work!
The beauty of having started so young, is that you can see the evolution of their work. A couple of weeks ago, it was their daddy’s birthday and they both secretly and excitedly worked away in the studio creating a mosaic each for him. I was quite amazed at how they have gone from just plonking any tile onto the base to now actually choosing how to place things in a very considered way. They are relaxed and at home with the medium of mosaic. Isabella even helped me to grout a commission I was finishing on Monday!
So, here we have the evolution of mosaic artists in pictures, from age 2 1/2! If you want to have a go with your children, most of these masterpieces have been turned into tutorials (see top and left menu’s).
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| Isabella’s first mosaic age 2 1/2 |
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| Toby’s present for daddy March 2011 |
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| Isabella’s present for daddy March 2011 |
Oh Concetta, I love your mosaics and this post completely warms my heart… It is so wonderful the way you are sharing your gift with your children. Their pieces are fabulous!
xo
Kristin
Thanks so much Kristin 🙂 Oh and your '10 years' story touched me – the recapture of that childlike spirit. It made me think that probably our whole lives will be a constant process of re-igniting, re-discovering that adventurous self. Off to go see where mine has got too!
Beautiful stuff Concetta, you're a gem! Its so great that you encourage your kids to get involved! I met an artist at the interfaith arts fest last year who got all her kids to attach tons of bottle tops to one of her pieces! It's a great way to spend time together 🙂 xx
What a wonderful creative journey we've gone on there. Hey, I'd be worried if I was you – you'll be out of a job soon! I especially love the last one, now that looks so professional.
Thank you Concetta for sharing your sweet,lovely experience with little artists.
Neda
BEAUTIFUL art work! And I totally agree about how precious it is to see the progression in their abilities and accomplishments through working on similar projects over time.
I love seeing all the work together like that. They are AWESOME! I wish there wasn't a sea between us. It would be so fun to mosaic together with the kids. You are a great mama, instilling such greatness. xo
Those are wonderful photos! They must have so much fun when they get to do that with mommy.
This was such a beautiful post, I truly mean beautiful and full of love! Mine is too young, but what you had to say and share was highly interesting and useful for me, so thank you!
ps> how old was she when she made the elephant?
Oh your comments are so touching. I will read them out to her 😉 She was about 4 1/2 when she did the elephant.
oh so inspiring Concetta, makes me want to join your class 😉 Testament to the fact that we all benefit from just getting on down and 'making' . . .
I've got a lovely interview with artist Kesha Bruce over at mine at the mo, some great tips for those of us who are older!
A.x
Thanks Amelisa…you are always welcome! Will hop over to you in a bit – sounds great x
lucky kids! how cool to see their work evolve. The birthday present this year is really quite impressive!Clearly they have been raised with an artist's spirit 🙂
I’m just now discovering your wonderful site – You’re inspiring me tpo tackle the biggest issue: the Blog / website ordeal — I’d sooner rub thinset into raw fingers …. but now I see it CAN be done with grace and still be yourself …. Soon …
MosaicaRose
Your comments have been so lovely (and love the name of your website!!). Thank you. Set it up soon so I can see your work! If I can help in anyway with the web/ blog issue let me know – I researched lots and lots and happy to share what I found…