Have you ever looked at something broken and thought about using the pieces to make something new? If so, then you might be a mosaic artist!  

Mosaic art is the process of laying pieces of glass, ceramic, stone, or just about anything else into an adhesive such as cement. Mosaic art can be created from almost anything including: broken pieces of glass, china, keys, and even dice! 

Seattle artist Rebecca DeVere creates mosaics. She mosaics everything from garden turtle molds to a Buck statue. Rebecca always knew she wanted to be an artist. She says, "I loved the world I could be in when I made art. I have always been short, but when I was making art, I felt tall and smart. Art was the only place where I felt like it was my language. I was awkward as a kid and art was my world."

Growing up, Rebecca's parents were both artists. Instead of watching television, Rebecca was always doing interesting art projects at home. At the time, Rebecca wished her family was just ‘normal’ and drove a station wagon instead of a motorcycle. However, Rebecca excelled in art. Rebecca's first grade principal hung one of her drawings in her office, and Rebecca won Best Cook Book in fifth grade.  

For high school, Rebecca attended The Colorado Springs School. When she struggled in math, a teacher had her learn M.C. Escher's tessellations. Tessellations are an art form that requires math. Rebecca says this saved her and after high school, she went on to art college where all her classes were art-related. 

As a student at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Rebecca continued to follow her art passion and took a painting class. However, Rebecca's paintings kept becoming fractured and without a focal point.  

"Shapes were all over the place,” Rebecca says. "I kept trying to pull the painting together and make it something it didn't want to be."  

Her teacher suggested that she go with the fractured and stop fighting it.

Rebecca's introduction into mosaics happened when a shelf fell down as a bus rumbled past. Rebecca picked up the broken treasures and ended up making ‘bits.’ After that, Rebecca continued to learn about mosaics. She checked books out of the library and asked a lot of questions at the hardware store. 

Today, Rebecca runs a successful mosaic business. One of Rebecca's well-known mosaic pieces is "Lucky Garden Turtles."  The turtles are made from hand-cut glass tiles and antique china, placed onto shells of concrete turtles. Rebecca stumbled into the turtles by accident, and again, taught herself everything she needed to know by going to the library and checking out every book on turtles.  

Last year, she made 1,483 mosaic turtles. Although Rebecca creates many turtles, her favorite project is "Recycled Queen." She created the piece from found objects and recycled parts. Rebecca says, "I got to experience a cool thing in art where things fall into place—serendipity, synchronicity."   

Rebecca loves being an artist and says, "I really have felt I was born an artist and every time I have tried doing something else, I am not being truly me and I end up unhappy in the situation. To me there is no choice. I was born this way, this is who I am, an artist.”

 

Some of Rebecca’s work can be seen here: http://www.rebeccadevere.com/.

Rebecca also has a virtual studio tour located here: http://www.vrseattle.com/pages/browse.php?cat_id=821

Photograph Copyright © 2008 Rebecca DeVere & Larey McDanial

Copyright © 2008 by Mindy Hardwick