Lotus Emerges, a handmade sculpture with handmade ceramic tiles, 4’5″ by 4′ by 6″, 2021 ~Available
Above photo shows the sculpture installed on Main Street in Alamosa, Colorado. It is part of the 2021/22 Artscape Sculpture Program. Vote for your favorite art via the city website here: https://cityofalamosa.org/public-art/public-art-archive-2021-2022/
The sculptural form is built from plywood, white foam, mesh and is covered in exterior foam coat from the Hotwire Foam Factory.
There is a custom-made steel base inserted into the center of the sculptural form. It is in there permanently.
I created all of the unique ceramic tiles in my studio. I hand rolled the clay, cut out each shape and added patterns to each tile by hand before the bisque fire. Then I glazed all the tiles. I love the final part, opening the kiln for the grand reveal of the completed tiles.
Here I am laying out the first set of tiles on top of my blueprint for the pattern.
This was my favorite of the tiles for the first side of the sculpture.
It was so exciting to see one side of the sculpture ready for gluing.
Here are the tiles for the second side of the sculpture. After the first firing, I didn’t like the way some of the tiles turned out so I had to reglaze some of these. It was well worth it as I loved they way they came out on the second go around.
I loved examining each tile and arranging it into my pattern.
These bigger shapes were my favorite on this side. The whimsical, organic feel of them was mesmerizing to me.
On the left is my son Ethan, inspecting my layout before I glue down each tile. On the right, I am inspection from above after I glued all the pieces down, making sure that all the spacing feels right.
Here I am with the finished sculpture with Side B facing forward. All the tiles have been glued and the mosaic has been grouted.
After finishing the sculpture, I decided that this was the Side A of the sculpture. It was a difficult choice as I love both sides, plus originally, the other side was intended to be Side A. But I was drawn to the vibrant blue hue of the tiles on this side. That’s what swayed me to choose this as the primary side, if there needed to be one. But the sculpture is 2 sided and intended for both to be equally enjoyed by the viewers. Further more, the circular cutouts encourage the viewers to look forward, through the sculpture, as if they are looking toward a brighter future.