Mercedes Austin - Mercury Mosaics Custom Studio - mercedes@mercurymosaics.com
Tell us a bit about your story and your work--
My work at the Casket Arts Building comes from the leftover pieces in projects that are made at my main studio.
We work on: storefront mosaics inspired by the New York subway system, Hot Air Balloon mosaics 3 stories tall as homage to the worldwide hot air balloon festival in Albuquerque, historic replica tile made to look like it is 100+ years old. Each mosaic made at my custom studio has a story behind not only the tile, but each piece becomes one of a kind and a new use for the tile originally intended for something else, so nothing ever goes to waste! Currently I am working on a custom piece going to a hospital. The client's daughter passed away due to health complications and the piece is the client's way of giving back to the hospital that supported her the whole way. We reused pieces from a project we made for a Portland Oregon client, there are pieces from a Canadian retail mosaic and we've even incorporated handmade letter tiles spelling out the name of a song the client used to sing to her daughter each night before bed. It's a personal piece that makes us tear up sometimes thinking about the inspiration it will spread to others making what was an unfortunate loss become a celebration of the life that once was.
What can people expect to see from you at Cache 2012?
NEWLY created Home Accessories and new, custom mosaics!
I am really passionate about making small pieces of art that are one of a kind!
What is special to you about Casket Arts?
It is a beautiful building that inspires me to create beautiful things. The community is especially my favorite. As an artist, to be surrounded by such a wealth of talent encourages me to become a better artist and be a true representative of the high caliber people I call neighbors here.
Are you sharing a demo this weekend?
We are going to have a mosaic wall piece in process.
We'll be using tiles made that were inspired by the New York subway system and will be converting them into a custom piece that will be spontaneously created during the demonstration. We'll be showing how we cut, smooth and glue the pieces.
Saturday, 1-3pm.
Carolyn Halliday - Fiber/Sculpture/Mixed - carolynhalliday.com
Tell us a bit about your story and your work--
I am a Minnesota- based textile artist specializing in knit wire natural forms. I use the vocabulary of textiles to create sculptural forms that often reference body or nature. I am always intrigued by the process of converting a discovered material into a form that I call a textile.
Simple elements of my daily existence: a found stick, a scrap of metal, or coffee beans may become the seeds of a piece. I intend to magnify nature, reference concepts of the feminine through body and domesticity, and examine life’s daily debris.
What can people expect to see from you at Cache 2012?
I will have bodies of work for people to view that include sculptures of knit wire and wood; figurative work of knit wire and wood; and pieces that are part of my Darwin theme.
New and special for Cache are knit wire and stone necklaces that make dramatic accents for any garment.
What is special to you about Casket Arts?
This is my first year in the Casket Arts building, after having had admired the beautiful building and studio space for a number of years. When being a patron of the arts (during Art a Whirl for instance) the Caskets Arts was my preferred building because of the caliber of artists present, the "doable" number of studios, and the aesthetically inviting atmosphere of the building itself.
Are you sharing a demo this weekend?
I am not doing a special demo, but I will be knitting with wire throughout the whole week end.
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Those are mango seeds...
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