Using marble, stone and precious gems I am creating a series of 12 mosaics that replicate Bartolomeo Eustachi’s 16th Century anatomical engravings. As each mosaic is finished, it is added to the bottom of this page. Scroll down to see large photos of the finished...
It's not revolutionary to tell you that if you have a big project in mind, you can save a lot of time and frustration by doing as much advance planning as possible. You'll still need to amend, revise, improvise and adapt as you go but...
La Siren III, 2017 Vitreous glass, bottle caps, stone, copper, 15.65 carat emerald, glass eyes, plywood and Hardiebacker substrate 60″ H x 36″ W x 1.5″ D Commissioned by the American Museum of Natural History La Siren III was commissioned by the American Museum of Natural History for the...
I'm so pleased to have my 2004 mosaic, La Siren II, featured in this beautiful book from the American Museum of Natural History! The museum also commissioned me to build a recreation of La Siren to accompany the traveling exhibit now on tour. This is a...
My mosaic of the Vévé for Erzuli was used for the cover design of Envisioning Black Feminist Voodoo Aesthetics by Kameelah L. Martin. Martin, Kameelah L. Envisioning Black Feminist Voodoo Aesthetics: African Spirituality in American Cinema. N.p.: Lexington, 2016. Print. ...
Introduction "Nowhere is Kongo Angola influence on the new world more pronounced, more profound, than in black traditional cemeteries throughout the south of the united states. The nature of the objects that decorate the graves there, as well as in places as diverse as Haiti and...
Discovery Playhouse commissioned this fence for their Children's Museum in Cape Girardeau, MO. The faces in the fence are glass mosaic, which were complete as a project with a local arts group....
Old Glory is an American flag created from over 20,000 Budweiser bottle caps and was commissioned by Golden Voice and Budweiser for the 2015 Stagecoach Music Festival. Measuring ten feet tall by sixteen feet wide, for a total of 160 square feet, Old Glory is...
Every few weeks I get an email asking me about how my Bottle Cap Mosaics are created… people want to know what they're made of, how the caps are attached, where I get the caps for the mosaics and so on. I've created the video...
Mosaic Fish For Limelight Lodge Swimming Pool, 2008 Sicis glass, glass eyes, glass tile Dimensions variable Commission...
This is a recent bottle cap fish I did as a commissioned housewarming gift. It's my favorite that I've ever done. I love the way that the mixed caps work to create a richer color tone. To see a larger, print quality image just click...
Drew Klonsky is pretty dang cool. For one thing, his sign-off on emails is /drew ( I wish I'd thought of that!) For another thing, he takes great photos like the one above. Drew was among the early buyers of the Great Bowl O' Fire...
Johnny Evers Mosaic Portrait, 2006 vitreous glass mosaic, steel frame. 48" H x 60" W x 1.5" D Commission It's nearly impossible to reduce a six foot wide mosaic to a 600 pixel wide image and get it to look the way it should! The grout lines tend to...
Free Spirit, Mosaic Bear 2005 Ceramic tile over fiberglass. 36″ X 60″ x 28″ Private Collection Free Spirit was created for the 2005 fundraiser Great Northern Hunt for Bearable Art organized by The American Red Cross of Northern Lower Michigan. An anonymous donor sponsored one of the bears and specifically...
Brook Trout Mosaic No. 2, 2006 Sicis Iridium glass tile, glass taxidermy eye, copper, Hardibacker substrate. 11" H x 19" W x 1.5" D Most of the tile used on this mosaic is from the Iridium line of glass from Sicis. As the light or viewing angle changes,...
Rainbow Trout Glass Mosaic, 2006 Sicis Iridium glass tile, glass taxidermy eye, copper, Hardibacker substrate 9" H x 21.25" W x 1.5" Most of the tile used on this mosaic is from the Iridium line of glass from Sicis. As the light or viewing angle changes, the iridescent...
Bluegill Mosaic No. 2, 2006 Sicis Iridium glass tile, glass taxidermy eye, copper. 11 x 17.5 x 1.5 in My daughter Mya did so well last summer helping me with mosaic that this year I had her create a whole line of fish. She got to do the...
Lake Trout Mosaic, 2006 Sicis Iridium glass tile, glass taxidermy eye, copper, Hardibacker substrate. 11" H x 18.5" W x 1.5" D Private Collection My daughter Mya did so well last summer helping me with mosaic that this year I had her create a whole line of fish. She...
Brook Trout Mosaic No. 1, 2006: Dimensions: 11" high x 19" wide x 1.5" deep. Materials: Sicis Iridium glass tile, glass taxidermy eye, copper. Mosaic is set with mortar on a Hardibacker substrate over plywood and finished around the edges with copper...
Bluegill Mosaic, 2005 Sicis Iridium glass tile, glass taxidermy eye, copper. 11" H x 17.5" W x 1.5" D...
Rainbow Trout, 2002 glass tile, glass eye, copper, Wonderboard substrate on plywood. 27.5" H x 16.5" W x 1.5" D Commission Rainbow Trout Commissioned by Jeff Ott for his office at Warner, Norcross & Judd. The iridescent glass tiles create a highly realistic shimmer on the surface of the...
Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish at Vale Craft Gallery Bottle Caps, plywood, printed tin, copper or bronze, rakes, dustpans, nail, etc. 126" H x 90" W Bottle caps have long had a place in the folk art tradition as a decorative element. Usually, they are deployed more as a texture,...
Shiny Happy Puppy: A Modern Take On An Ancient Mosaic When I first saw an image of this "beware of dog" mosaic from Ancient Rome, I immediately fell in love with it...
Christy MacLear commissioned this piece for her gallery, Fleur Fine Art, because people kept asking her to sell the mermaid from her private collection and she couldn't bring herself to part with it. She gave me "total artistic freedom" to create any bottle cap...
La Siren With her Italian glass top and bottle cap tail, LaSiren reflects not just light but a sense of humor and playfulness. Private collection.
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What I love most about this piece is the variety of interpretations I've heard— from holding up the weight of the worlds garbage, to being crushed by alcoholism, to a desire to drink in the entire world....
One of four mosaics commissioned by Eson Chan, Art Director at Northeastern University Magazine,to illustrate an article about dolphin watching off the coast of Spain. ...
Community Harmony Through Song & Play, Panel 1: Music, 2001 Ceramic mosaic on wood substrate. 66" H x 48" W x 2" D Public Art Commission Panel 1 portrays musical styles which have been cornerstones of the African American culture and experience. The sax man probably plays jazz or...
Community Harmony Through Song & Play, Panel 2: Arts and History, 2001 Ceramic mosaic on wood substrate. 66" H x 48" W x 2" D Public Art Commission An African horn player blows his horn from the deep past, communicating with the sax man in the first panel. Behind...
Community Harmony Through Song & Play Panel 3 In the park a band plays, a man and woman dance, a child jumps to catch the notes in the air...
My neighbor across the street lives in what was once the old train station, sometime around the turn of the century. He commissioned this piece for the exterior of his home. This was actually the most difficult mosaic I've done to date....
This piece and the What Would Elvis Do? mirror were created for a show of all-Elvis art at Fleur Fine Art in Chicago....
This piece and the Elvis Is Love mirror were created for a show of all-Elvis art at Fleur Fine Art in Chicago....
When my dad was young he had a series of pet crows, all named Peter, and Peter was the hero of my bedtime stories....
Vévé for Erzuli Mosaic Table, 2003 vitreous glass, glass gems, steel table. 30" Tall x 42" x 42" Commission Laurie Beasley of Ridge Art commissioned this table, featuring a version of the Vévé for Erzulie, the Haitian goddess (Lwa) of love. My mosaic of the Vévé for Erzuli was...
This table was commissioned by Angelo at Casa Loca in Chicago. The original design is from the Mexican Loteria deck, a traditional game similar to Bingo. ...
La Femme Astrale, 1999 ceramic tile, plywood substrate. 24" x 48" x 17" high Stolen, whereabouts unknown The design for this table was adapted from a 19th Century French poster for a floating woman act.… This is one of a set of four tables I did in collaboration with...
Cocktail Girls, 1999 ceramic tile, glass, plywood substrate. 24" x 48" x 17" high Private Collection The design for this table came from an antique matchbook… Most of my early mosaics were based on old 4 color ads and posters. The limited colors of tile I was using seemed...
Ballad of the Dragon, 1999 ceramic tile, glass, plywood substrate. 24" x 48" x 17" high Commission The design for this table was adapted from a metal engraving by José Guadalupe Posada. The eye is a photo pasted behind a Xerox copier lense. Most of my early mosaics were...
The Friendly Gesture, 1999 ceramic tile, slate, plywood substrate. 24" x 48" x 17" high Private Collection The design for this table came from an antique matchbook. The tile is a mix of ceramic and porcelain. The cigars I carved from slate....
DisneyQuest Chicago: Mosaic Mural and Sculpture, 2005 Plastic rhinestone mosaic Commission...
Mud's Marker, 2001 Concrete, Ceramic tile 12.5" H x 12" W x 4" D Commission I made the headstone above for Mud, a friend's cat who had sadly used up it's allotment of nine lives. The marker has been through five long winters in Michigan with no sign of...
[rev_slider alias="LibationBottles"] All the bottles on this page were inspired by the sequined libation bottles of Haitian Vodou, a standard feature of Vodou altars traditionally used in ceremony to serve rum to the spirits. Libation bottles are often much more plain than the ceremonial flags which...
The floral pattern in these fences was designed to complement clerestory windows overlooking the courtyard where they are installed. Incorporating natural slate, iridescent glass mosaic tile and copper, this project is the culmination of techniques I have been developing over the past few years. ...
Having seen pictures of my Acrobat Fence, my friends Howie and JoAnn approached me to design four sections of fence to enclose a round garden at their Evanston, Illinois residence. Together, they scripted a narrative telling the story of their lives together in four...
These graceful figures suggest both the motion of their dance and the music that moves them. The obvious joy of the figures is engaging— but their simplicity is what really captivates us. We can easily see ourselves, someone we know, or the person we might...
The Mosaics: Music | History | Peace in the Park Contents: Credits | The Design Process | Creating the mosaics | The Youth Artists Credits Lead Artist: John Unger Assistant Artist: Caswell James Mentor: Nina Smoot-Cain With Youth Artists: Sheena Barlow, DeJuan Birge, Katheris Ellis, Ashley Harvey, Kenyetta Howard, Ernest Johnson,...
While I was in Chicago, I delivered the finished mosaic of Frank Chance that Mya and I worked on this summer. This is the second of a tryptich featuring portraits of Joe Tinker, Johnny Evers and Frank Chance. ...
Erastes + Eromenos Marble Mosaic, 2005 Marble mosaic on Durock substrate. Steel frame. 62" x 38" x 2" D The original vase painting this mosaic is based on has been dated approximately 500 BC. It depicts an older lover (erastes) and his beloved youth (eromenos) making love surrounded...
Anima Sola/Marinette Altar, 2004 Steel, cast iron, vitreous glass mosaic, slate, antique mirror, copper, bronze 76" H x 31" W x 10" D Private collection I've always wanted to do a mosaic of the image of Anima Sola, or “The Lost Soul.” It's such a powerful image...
For a long time, my most well-know work was the Devil Girl tile mosaic windvane. I felt like she needed an angelic sister to balance the family. So last winter while the snow piled up to the eves of my studio I created this sleeping...
The Amazing Devil Girl— She Whirls!, 2000 ceramic mosaic, plywood, steel, copper, bronze 66.6" H x 48" W x 13" D I'm pretty sure I'm the only mosaic artist who's ever made a wind powered kinetic mosaic sculpture… The wind vane sculpture shown above is the second of...
The city of Lincoln City, OR commissioned this Fish and a 41 inch Waves O' Fire Sculptural Firebowl as public art. I was a Featured Artist at the Art Sea Festival and gave a live demonstration of creating a Bottle Cap Mosaic....
Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 54, 2007 plywood, primer, bottle caps, recycled bronze sheet, copper nails 26" x 55.5" x 1.5" This bottle cap mosaic fish was a commission to recreate as closely as possible Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 4 and No. 42. A combination of caps, Sierra...
Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 53, 2011 plywood, primer, bottle caps, recycled copper roofing, copper nails 20" x 50" x 1.5" This bottle cap mosaic fish is made from Corona and Corona Light bottle caps. The fins and tale are cut from recycled roofing copper. The eye is a...
Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 52, 2011 plywood, primer, bottle caps, recycled car body, copper nails 20" x 50" x 1.5" This fish is made from Blue Moon, Maine Root and Michelob Ultra bottle caps. The fins and tale are cut from vintage car metal from the 60's...
Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 51, 2010 plywood, primer, bottle caps, recycled car body, copper nails 20" x 50" x 1.5" This bottle cap fish mosaic was a recent commission based on Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 47. I love the fins, which were cut from an old...
Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 50, 2011 plywood, primer, bottle caps, spatula, dust pan, antique rake, copper nails 20" x 55.5" x 1.5" Commission loosely based on Fish numbers 4 and 5. This bottle cap mosaic fish is made from Heineken and Oberon bottle caps. The fins are cut...
Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 49, 2009 plywood, primer, bottle caps, recycled copper roofing, copper nails 20" x 50" x 1.5" This Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish is made with Budweiser and Budweiser Select caps. This was commissioned for a 50th birthday gift, and the client specifically requested BudWeiser caps....
Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 48, 2008 plywood, primer, bottle caps, recycled copper roofing, copper nails 12" x 40" x 1.5" This bottle cap mosaic fish is made from a mix of blue bottle caps with a white face made of Becks caps. The fins and tale are...
Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 47, 2008 plywood, primer, bottle caps, recycled car body, copper nails 20" x 50" x 1.5" This fish is made from Heineken, Bud Light and Becks bottle caps. The fins and tale are cut from vintage car metal from the 60's or 70's....
Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 26, 2006 plywood, primer, bottle caps, recycled vintage car steel, copper nails 12" x 40" x 1.5" This bottle cap mosaic fish is made from two different styles of Bud Light bottle caps. The fins and tale are cut from vintage car metal from...
Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 45, 2008 plywood, primer, bottle caps, recycled copper roofing, copper nails 20" x 50" x 1.5" This bottle cap mosaic fish is made from Michelob and Labatts bottle caps. The fins and tale are cut from recycled roofing copper. The eye is a jar...
Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 44, 2009 plywood, primer, bottle caps, vintage car steel, copper nails 12" x 40" x 1.5" This bottle cap mosaic fish is made from Coke, Becks and Harpoon bottle caps. The fins and tale are cut from vintage car metal from the 60's or...
Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 43, 2008 plywood, primer, bottle caps, recycled copper roofing, copper nails 20" x 50" x 1.5" This bottle cap mosaic fish is made from a wide mix of bottle caps. The fins and tale are cut from recycled roofing copper. The eye is...
Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 42, 2007 plywood, primer, bottle caps, recycled roofing copper, copper nails 26" x 55.5" x 1.5" This bottle cap mosaic fish was a commission to recreate as closely as possible Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 4. A combination of caps, Sierra Nevada, Stewarts Ginger Beer,...
Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 40, 2006 plywood, primer, bottle caps, recycled car steel, brass nails 20" H x 27" W x 1.5" D This fish is made from Reed soda and Harp beer bottle caps. The fins and tail are cut from vintage car metal from the 60's...
Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 39, 2006 plywood, primer, bottle caps, vintage car steel, copper nails 20" x 55.5" x 1.5" This bottle cap mosaic fish is made from Two different styles of Bud Light bottle caps. The fins and tail are cut from vintage car metal from...
Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 38, 2006 plywood, primer, bottle caps, vintage car steel, copper nails 20" x 55.5" x 1.5" This bottle cap mosaic fish is made from Labatts and Newcastle Brown Ale bottle caps. The fins and tail are cut from vintage car metal from the 60's...
Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 36, 2006 plywood, primer, bottle caps, recycled copper roofing, copper nails 20" x 50" x 1.5" This bottle cap mosaic fish is made from Amstel Light, Peroni and Bass Ale bottle caps. I love the way that the coloration of the caps mirror...
Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 35, 2006 plywood, primer, bottle caps, vintage car steel, antique rake, brass nails 20" x 55.5" x 1.5" This bottle cap mosaic fish is made from Labatts and Molson bottle caps. I wish I had a better photo of the way the light...
Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 34, 2006 plywood, primer, bottle caps, tin can, brass plated nails 20" x 50" x 1.5" This fish is made from Corona, Corona Light and S. Pelligrino bottle caps. The fins and tale are cut from vintage car metal from the 60's or...
Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 32, 2006 plywood, primer, bottle caps, bronze sheet, copper nails 20" x 50" x 1.5" This bottle cap mosaic fish is made from Heineken, Pacifico and one Topo Chico bottle caps. The fins and tale are cut from bronze sheet recycled from a door...
Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 30, 2006 plywood, primer, bottle caps, vintage car steel, brass gear, copper nails 20" x 50" x 1.5" This bottle cap mosaic fish is made from Coke and Beck's bottle caps. I love the way that the coloration of the caps mirror each...
Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 28, 2006 plywood, primer, bottle caps, recycled copper roofing, copper nails 20" x 50" x 1.5" This bottle cap mosaic fish is made from Coke and Beck's bottle caps. I love the way that the coloration of the caps mirror each other— Coke...
Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 26, 2006 plywood, primer, bottle caps, recycled copper roofing, copper nails 12" x 40" x 1.5" This bottle cap mosaic fish is made from Heineken and Becks bottle caps. The fins and tale are cut from recycled roofing copper. All the caps are partially...
Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 24, 2006 plywood, primer, bottle caps, recycled copper roofing, copper nails 20" x 50" x 1.5" This bottle cap mosaic fish is made from all different kinds of bottle caps— every brand that was mostly white or mostly black but uncommon enough that...
Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 22, 2006 bottle caps, recycled roofing copper, plywood, primer, 20" H x 27" W x 2.5" D This fish is made from Sam Adams, Reed, and Export Special bottle caps. The fins and tale are cut from recycled roofing copper. The eye...
Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 21, 2006 plywood, primer, bottle caps, recycled roofing copper 20" H x 27" W x 2.5" D This fish is made from Bud Light and Izze bottle caps. The fins and tale are cut from recycled roofing copper. The eye is a jar lid....
Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 17, 2006 plywood, primer, bottle caps, recycled tin cans, brass nails 20" H x 27" W x 1.5" D This fish is made from Rolling Rock, Red Stripe and Pacifico bottle caps. The fins and tale are cut from recycled tin cans. The...
Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 15, 2006 plywood, primer, bottle caps, printed signage, brass nails 18" x 48" x 1.5" This Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish is made with Budweiser and Budweiser Select caps. The fins and tale are cut from an old enamel beer sign. The eye is a...
I finished the marble mosaic for Tommy Jenkins last week and brought it down to Chicago on this trip. Tommy does massage therapy and just opened up his own space recently. ...
Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 12, 2005 plywood, primer, bottle caps, bronze sheet, rake, brass nails 18" x 55.5" x 1.5" This fish is made from Red Stripe and Becks bottle caps. The fins and tale are cut from an antique gasoline can. The eye is recycled roofing...
Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 10, 2005 plywood, primer, bottle caps, bronze sheet, rake, brass nails 18" x 55.5" x 1.5" This fish is made from Amstel Light and Bass Ale bottle caps. The fins are cut from bronze plate and the tail is a rake. All the caps...
Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 8, 2005 plywood, primer, bottle caps, tin can, stainless steel nails 12" x 35.5" x 1.5" This Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish is made with two different styles of Bud Light caps. The fins are cut from tin cans and the tail comes from...
It's all done and installed. Yay! Actually, there is the little matter of going back next month and dying the grout in the background to match the black tile more closely, but other than that it's done and installed. I think there's one last step...
The coolest thing about using Sicis tile on the trout mosaics is that the irridescent surface of the tile so closely resembles the actual scales of a live fish. Click on the image to the left to see both the normal and irridized colors of...
Mosaic Art + Style: Designs for Living Environments, JoAnn Locktov, Rockport Publishers, March, 2005. 117....
Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 7, 2005 plywood, primer, bottle caps, tin can, dust pan, bronze nails 18" x 55.5" x 1.5" This fish is made from Heineken, Budweiser Select and unidentified bottle caps. The plywood is primed with two layers of Kilz primer. I love the copper...
Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 5, 2005 plywood, primer, bottle caps, tin can, antique rake, bronze shipwright's nails and brass plated nails 26" x 55.5" x 1.5" This fish is made from Heinekin, S. Pelligrino, and Newcastle bottle caps. The fins and tale are cut from recycled tin cans....
Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 4, 2005 plywood, primer, bottle caps, tin can, antique rake, bronze shipwright's nails and copper rose head nails 26" x 55.5" x 1.5" A combination of caps, Sierra Nevada, Stewarts Ginger Beer, Dos Equis and Becks went into this attempt to capture the...
Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 3, 2005 plywood, primer, bottle caps, tin can, brass plated nails 12" x 35.5" x 1.5" This fish is made from Corona and Corona Light bottle caps. The fins and tale are cut from recycled tin cans. The eye is a jar lid. All...
Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 2, 2005 plywood, primer, bottle caps, tin can, stainless steel nails 12" x 35.5" x 1.5" This Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish is made with Budweiser and Bud Light caps. The fins and tale are cut from tin cans. The eye is a jar...
This glass mosaic portrait of Joe Tinker is a recent commission for the Lakeview Baseball Club. Below is the image I used to work from, an antique baseball card that I was able to find thanks to the fabulous online archives at the Library of Congress...
Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 1, 2004 plywood, primer, bottle caps, tin can, earring, gear, copper nails 12" x 35.5" x 1.5" My favorite Jim Harrison poem begins: I want to die in the saddle. An enemy of civilization I want to walk around in the woods, fish and drink. Every...
"The Days of the Dolphins," 4 marble mosaics, Northeastern University Magazine, Vol. 28, No. 2, 2002, 14, 17, 21-22...