Wow! After a long pause in True Mosaics News, I am really excited to refocus and let everyone know what is going on.
There’s lots of great stuff happing at True Mosaic Studios in 2006...this will be our biggest production and projects year to date!
We had to back off the commissions a bit in 2005 as I was 99% focused on the Opening of the Institute of Mosaic Art. (See Below!)
INCLUDED IN THIS NEWSLETTER:
THE OPENING OF THE INSTITUTE OF MOSAIC ART
This has been the biggest news of all for us this year. In a year fraught with so much nationwide tragedy, sadness and awful politics this was a bright spot for us and hopefully for many others. We did not move too far...about a half block from our old location on Chapman St. in Oakland’s Jingletown neighborhood.
Julia Whelan, longtime Managing Engineer at True Mosaics Studio and my great friend has become my business partner in the Institute of Mosaic Art.
In addition to True Mosaics Studios, the Institute of Mosaic Art building also houses our retail store, Mosaic Studio Supply and a resource library, exhibition space and loads of color and positive energy. It is excellent. There is so much to offer at IMA and it is infinitely exciting and amazing to me every day.
My original teacher and mosaic guru, Isaiah Zagar flew into Jingletown to participate in the grand opening festivities at Institute of Mosaic Art. We gave a slide lecture together with Josef Norris and the week after IMA’s Grand Opening. Isaiah led a week-long workshop at IMA during which a 700 sq ft Isaiah-style mural was set and grouted! Thanks Isaiah, Julia and Jerimiah Zagar for coming out!
True Mosaics Studio is now solely for commissions, consultation and my own artwork. All the courses I teach are now taught through Institute of Mosaic Art. More on that below!
True Mosaic Studios now has a 1000+ sq ft production space with high ceilings, lots of light and an adjoining classroom where selected courses are taught. In addition to this we have a “run off” area out the back where we can work on larger, sculptural projects! Cool. Urban Sculpture Garden coming...
We did manage to do a few neat commissioned projects this year in addition to all of the changes, including a sculptural outdoor garden water element for a private residence in San Francisco— an underwater mural across the front of the structure, co-designed by the client’s kids, complete with buried treasure, pirate ships and a mermaid with pink hair ;-)
We also did a beautiful glass mosaic altar table for a private client as well as the front counters in Mosaic Studio Supply, a circus themed mural for Velocity Circus as part of my 2005 Mural Making Intensive class, and we’re just about finished the Free Wood Murals in Jingletown.
I did not get to travel much in 2005 and missed going to Ghana very much. I look forward to returning in June of 2006 for three weeks. Now that IMA is up and running I can get away from time to time...sorta.
I just returned from teaching a weekend course at Esalen in Big Sur and am making plans to return to New Orleans this spring. I will be scheduling a glass mosaics course at New Orleans School of Glass, which is back up and running now, and focusing on plans for the creation of a sculpture park in the 9th Ward.
We are working on the maquettes and drawings now and setting plans for community outreach for design participation from displaced kids and kids who have remained in the area. This will of coarse be a longer-term project, and I am truly committed to the project. I am currently working in conjunction with a non-profit in the 9th Ward.
Just a reminder that there are two great conferences coming up in March/April
March 15-19 is the Society of American Mosaic Artists (SAMA) conference in Chicago. Institute of Mosaic Art and Mosaic Studio Supply will have a table in the Vendor Area, so please come by and say hello! I will also have a piece in the Beneath the Surface exhibition.
Info: http://www.americanmosaics.org
March 31- April 3 is the Community Built Association conference at Monterey. I will be on several of the panels discussing community projects abroad, content in community work and of coarse, mosaics.
Info: http://www.communitybuilt.com
2005 was a bit of a TV year as well in that I filmed a half hour segment in LA for an upcoming show on the Do it Yourself (DIY) Network... on— what else? Mosaics (this will air in fall 2006). Our SPARK segment on KQED re-ran a couple of times and I did a short thing for HGTV for Mosaic Studio Supply. More TV stuff coming down the pipe.
As most of you know, I teach all the courses I formerly taught through True Mosaic Studio through the Institute of Mosaic Art. I have been developing new courses in the intermediate levels and have started designing more seminar type courses, such as the Business of Mosaics— Doing What You Love and Making a Living. Also this spring I will be teaching a course called Intermediate Setting Techniques as well as extended study courses like Mosaic Tabletop and Mosaicing Three-Dimensional Forms.
I still love to teach beginning courses as well and I do teach Mosaic 101 and Introduction to Glass Mosaics once a month at IMA, which I also love. I will never give up teaching the beginning courses! I am running two sessions of Mosaic Summer Camp this summer in July and August (we have added a really cool fieldtrip at the end of each!) and a Mosaic Mural Making Intensive in April.
As well as teaching I am working with my business partner Julia Whelan at IMA to develop new programming that is fresh, interesting and inspiring. We have so, so many wonderful instructors on board and we are so excited to welcome all to jump into something that sounds interesting. For much more, please visit the IMA website: www.Instituteofmosaicart.com
2006 might be the biggest year so far, we have contracted for several large public projects and more are in the works. Exciting to get back in the studio...
We are currently working on a series of three murals for the exterior of a building in downtown Oakland. They are abstract, colorful murals, each 15 feet tall. The theme is Oakland Arts. The murals represent music, dance and visual arts.
We are simultaneously working on a series of four murals for an office building in Richmond, CA. These reference natural themes and abstracted scenes from contemporary Richmond and tie in stylistically with a series of eight murals we did in Richmond in 2002.
This first quarter we will also begin production on very cool sculptural bench for Starlite Park in the city of Milpitas, CA. This park is right across from a school and lots of kids will get to enjoy this piece. The shape is in the form of a star/spaceship. Love this design...We are still working on a series of three large sun-shaped sculptures to be sited on Ocean Avenue in SF through the San Francisco Arts Commission. This project has been stalled by lots of red tape and setbacks and permitting issues, so we hope we can really move forward on this and install this year!
It looks like we will also be doing a series of five sculptural benches in the city of Brentwood this year as well. These have beautiful impressionistic designs and have wonderful lounge/couchy shapes.
Some smaller scale projects include a mini heart sculpture for the San Francisco General hearts project Heros and Hearts and Birdhouse sculpture for the non-profit PAINTS to benefit arts in schools.
So that is what’s on the docket for 2006 so far. We have a few RFQs pending as well.
I am wishing everyone a fun and inspiring 2006 and inviting all to come by Institute of Mosaic Art to see the monumental murals made in Isaiah’s workshop on and in the building, soak in the artwork in our rotating exhibitions, take a class, browse at Mosaic Studio Supply or sit down in our Mosaic Café to make a mosaic!
Thank you to everyone for all your support in 2005!
Laurel True, Director
True Mosaics Studio
Institute of Mosaic Art
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