Welcome and thank you for visiting. My name is Patricia Ely (Trisha for short.) I grew up around art, as my mother was a commercial artist and my dad was a professional photographer. I have always been involved in some kind of arts and crafts from a young adult and have worked a lot with ceramic tiles, such as, counter tops, floors and shower stalls and the like. In the early 70’s, I owned a ceramic shop that made gift items for gift shops in California. I painted in oils for about 10 years and specialized in Portraits and sold on commission. I also taught arts and crafts to the mental challenged as a volunteer for a State Mental Health Clinic.
I got started in Mosaics about eight years ago after contracting Arachnoiditis, a nerve disease, from failed back surgery. I can no longer walk or stand but a few minutes at a time. My first mosaic project was a kitchen table with a middle leaf. That was an education in itself. I needed something almost indestructible that would be hard to crack or break from dropped items and I wanted to use the colors in my flooring. So, I got on the net and found a mosaic tile supplier and ordered some ¾ inch tiles. I had no idea how much I would need as I didn’t have any pattern to guide me. I roughly figured in my head and I ordered what I thought would surely be enough of some greens, browns, tan and pink. I knew I wanted a dark brown wavy line around the table, which I did first, then I just made up a design row by row. I also experimented with different glues from the hardware store. I only had the one cutter, but with the help of the Internet and a few wonderful mosaic artists that had some tutorials on cutting tiles, I learned to cut tiles. Three months later and about three more calls to the supplier for more tiles, I finished my table. I now have a table that will last my life time and I love it today as much as when I finished it 8 years ago. I also learned how important it is to take the time to plan and draw a cartoon (pattern) or several cartoons in order to please the customer and order the right amount of materials.
From that table, I got hooked on mosaics. With mosaics, I get excited with each new piece and I can let myself go with colors and textures. Unlike most arts and crafts that I would get bored with after I went thru the learning experience. I love using found items or things I get at garage sales. Smashing and cutting colorful dishes or larger tiles is good physical therapy, I find I see things I never took the time to see before. What looks like a old beat up wooden box to everyone else, I see as a beautiful Picassiette (broken or cut china) trunk. I see an old gray cracked and chipped water vessel as a gorgeous lamp. I get excited when a supplier sends me new tile color samples, as my mind whirls with the possibilities. I get lost in another world at the stained glass shop looking thru all the beautiful pieces of glass that I can cut up as tile or elements of a design.
Please take your time to view each item, as a 2D flat picture doesn’t always show the little details that really make my mosaics unique. If you see something you like or would like to order something using your design, please email me. I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed making them.
Trisha