I will be driving to Bainbridge tomorrow to de-install my mosaic, Fertility, which has been on display for the past year in a prominent location downtown as part of their Something New program. This mosaic has been around the block a few times, so I thought I would write out its story.
Sometime around 2011, Mike was at a salvage yard and he spotted a 2-foot tall, hollow terra cotta egg and brought it home for me. The pressure to make the best use of this rare treasure weighed on me. I put the egg in a corner of my studio where it got buried in my mess for a couple of years. Finally, in March 2013, I decided to just go for it. My plan was to make it a large-scale version of a traditional Baltic-style decorated egg. I sealed the surface with terracotta sealer and Kilz primer and started sketching a design. But, as I began to attach pieces, I realized I didn’t want to follow a pattern. Maybe it’s lack of discipline, but I just wanted to make it up as I went. So, I started with a pair of colorful, peacock-like birds, then turned it around and started a Tree of Life. It wasn’t a solid plan; I just wanted to have fun with it.
I always participated in Olympia’s Arts Walk festival and Hot Toddy was featuring me in the window of their shop, as usual. So I had a goal to complete the egg by then, the third week of April, and make it the centerpiece. However, anyone with mosaic experience will know that this is a short timeline for a detailed project of this size. As the date closed in, it was clear there was no way I would complete the egg on time. So I decided to make myself the centerpiece. I set up my show, then created a workspace in the window, and I spent the weekend working on the mosaic. It was a hit! Crowds gathered outside the store and my photo was on the front page of the local paper on Saturday morning, bringing even more people to see the “action.”
Eventually, I managed to complete the mosaic. I believe it took 10 solid weeks. As I worked on the piece, I realized that everything I was adding to it represents the fecundity of Nature; abundance, reproduction, creativity. There were flowers, vines, butterflies, bees…and all on the egg shape. I named it “Fertility” as a celebration of the creative force of Nature. Later that year, I was part of a group show at a gallery in Tacoma, WA. This was the first time the completed sculpture was displayed.
From there, I hauled this baby to a number of different exhibits. Each time, I had to carry it and secure it in my car. I dropped it. I banged into doorways. I chopped pieces off and had to do a quick fix in transit. We went through some things, me and it. In 2014, I submitted it to Auburn’s year-long outdoor sculpture exhibit and it was selected. I had sealed the surface well before applying the mosaic, and I knew terra cotta could be vulnerable to freeze-thaw cycles, but I thought I had done due diligence. I sprayed the inside with canned urethane spray for good measure.
When I picked up the sculpture the following year, it looked good, but when I prodded the base of it a bit, some tiles were loose and coming away from the surface. The more I poked at it, the more pieces fell off. All were around the base, and I think I didn’t seal the very bottom as well as I should have, so moisture wicked up into the porous substrate. I was disappointed and busy with other projects, so I taped all of the mosaic around the base to hold it together, and I put the sculpture back into a corner for a few years.
Finally, in 2019, I decided to restore the egg. I removed all loose areas and set them carefully aside. I re-sealed the surface with stronger sealant made by Laticrete. Then I used silicone to re-set all of the mosaic, reconstructing some areas with fresh materials. I used Permacolor grout and sealed the entire egg with several layers of Bulletproof sealer by Laticrete. Then I sealed the inside with 3 layers of Hydroban sealer. Finally, I wrapped the entire base with Apoxysculpt.
In winter of 2020, a group of NW mosaic artists (we have dubbed ourselves the Cascadia Mosaic Collective) had an exhibit together at the Northwind Gallery in Port Townsend, and I displayed the newly restored egg. It looked good as new! I then saw a call for art for another temporary sculpture exhibit on Bainbridge Island. I was more confident, having added layers of protection using products I trust, to put this piece outside again. Fertility was selected for the exhibit, and was placed in a very prominent location in beautiful downtown Bainbridge, where it sparkled and glistened and could get a ton of attention. Working with Arts & Humanities Bainbridge was one of the best public art experiences I’ve had, so it was well worth the effort. It even won the People’s Choice award in May 2022!
So, tomorrow it is time to bring the egg home. I’ve been up to check on it through the year, and it is in great shape – no damage this time. Part of me is excited to have it back, and a big part is sad that it still hasn’t found a forever home. I’ve always hoped it would settle in a permanent public location where it would be enjoyed for many years to come. But I don’t plan to continue entering it into shows. Every time it gets transported, it’s in a precarious situation, and I’m tired of moving it around. Also, honestly, it is old work for me. My technique has advanced and there are things I would do differently with the 11 years of experience I’ve had since I originally created this. I still love it, of course, but it feels strange to include it in a show alongside new work.
For now, the sculpture is still available. I would still love to see it go into a lobby or public garden or even a restaurant courtyard – someplace public where it can’t be vandalized, but will be seen by people who will enjoy the colorful, sparkling glass mosaic and appreciate the joyfulness and celebration of growth and renewal. Ideally, it would be close enough for me to stop by and visit it once in a while.
Update on Fertility Mosaic Sculpture: December 2023
As of December 10, 2023, because of the generosity of a very supportive client, Fertility has been paid for in advance in order for it to be sited in it’s ideal permanent home! I will be reaching out to potential recipients, and if you are part of a group that would like to place it in your lobby or covered outdoor space, please let me know. It is fitted with a steel mount so that it can be bolted to a pedestal or set into concrete. If bolted, it is raised about 8″ from the pedestal. In Bainbridge, I created a “nest” using twigs, feathers, string and findings. Doing this in it’s new home could create an opportunity for ongoing participation by community, inviting them to continue adding natural elements , tending the nest in perpetuity.
