Ocean City, Maryland
The
large mosaic piece, Over Water, was created
throughout the spring and summer of 2005 in my
Broom Factory studio, and was installed by Tim Goss
at the Capri Condominium in Ocean City Maryland in
March of 2006. Measuring 5 feet by 2 feet,
Over Water is the largest piece to date of a body
of work focusing on abstracted birds.
Birds have held a fascination for me since my early
childhood on a farm in Wisconsin. I grew up
with binoculars in my hand, and our birdfeeder was
filled every morning. I still have a
cherished photograph of a chickadee eating seeds
out of my hand at age 4 or 5. Gulls in
particular have been long familiar, as the farm is
located very near Lake Michigan, my first
“ocean”.
This piece captures the stillness of one of those
privileged moments: it is the witness of a
bird’s silent grace skimming the
water’s surface, seemingly drawing the
horizon line behind it with its tail
feathers. I love the two sides to
gulls: their awkward gawky land selves,
clumsily tottering on the sand turn to a poetry of
motion in the air, a brilliant white confetti in
the sun, and jet black silhouettes at
sunset.”
Mosaics with irregularly smashed and hand-nipped
pieces of ceramic tile work well to portray the
suggestion of a bird; they leave much for your eye
to fill in, as well as your
imagination. This piece is now in the
great room or community room at the Capris leading
from the beach to the lobby. Guests will see
the mosaic on the far wall from quite a distance
away. The image will grow and change as
people approach it and as the eye receives more
information about the image.
