Works by Connie Murray, Martha Jones and Kim Larson

Opening September 15th, 2017 we have a show not to be missed!!! Three incredibly talented mosaic artists will be featured together for the first time: Connie Murray, Kim Larson and returning Reclaimed Room Artist from 2013, Martha Jones.

Connie Murray

Connie Murray is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Person-Centered Expressive Arts therapist. She has been artistic all her life; doodling, building lamps, sculpture out of obscure objects, and painting the interior of her home a variety of colors. Fifteen years ago Connie began tiling household furniture as an expressive outlet not only for herself but also in her practice as a healing resource for addiction recovery. In her practice following the sequential PCEAT approach all artistic venues offer a path to personal growth and healing.

As an older adult diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Dyslexia she has found that mosaic sculpture is a perfect medium for her artistic expression. The meditative quality of mosaics provides a vehicle for gaining an in-depth understanding of life experiences, and to organize ideas. Additionally this meditative quality has allowed her to seek a graduate degree as it structures time to process research. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Psychology at San Francisco’s Saybrook University with a certification in Expressive Arts under the guidance of Natalie Rogers, PhD., REAT.

Connie’s mosaic adventure crossed over from furniture to mannequins when she was given a dancing figure and decided it was the perfect platform for expressing the frustrations of the transition through menopause. Her creations include a variety of glass, mirror and found objects in strong colors representing feelings involved with women’s issues, death and life transition, and the women who are currently or in the past have been an important part of her life.

Mosaic work by Connie Murray

Martha Jones at work in her studio.

As a Reuse and Upcycle artist, Martha’s work is created from discarded materials. Her quest for abandoned treasures are found on the street, in salvage yards, in thrift stores, yard sales or gifted, just to name a few.

Degreed as an Interior Designer, but with a passion for salvaging, Martha’s work is lively and humorous. Her color combinations and compositions reflect her professional training and inner talents.

“Interior Design has always been my first passion, although salvaging was a close second. I grew up just outside of Boston. I remember looking forward to trash night where you can go out and search street after street for goodies. The reuse passion never ended…things from the past have a soul.”

Mosaic work by Martha Jones

Kim Larson

Kim Larson’s exquisite mosaic work honors organic form as well as delights the eye. Using stained glass, broken china, recycled glass & mirror, found objects, etc as tesserae, Kim works in a playful and unique style.

“My current series, as with all my mosaics, is about the interplay between recognizable shapes and surprising textures & colors. I create very recognizable shapes (substrates) and then ‘flesh them out’ so to speak, with surprising juxtapositions of color and lay patterns. ”

“I find mosaics to be crazy-making! At times I have to admit I walk that fine line between sanity and insanity because each cut, each piece, each color, each placement has to be perfect! Specifically, I like to work with sparkly, mirrored, textured, brightly_colored glass, recycled glass and found objects. I feel like I am painting with light.”

The reflective qualities of the glass force the viewer to move around the piece to see it truly take shape and reveal itself. The recycled china, tiles and found objects create an intimacy with the viewer when recognizable things are used in new ways. “Mosaic art is not a static medium. The play of light adds an extra dimension one doesn’t find in many other art forms.”

Three cow heads

The show will run from September 15th through November 10th.