AMY NEIMAN MOSAIC ART

My Journey in Mosaics

 

Visual inspirations, combined with a love of doing things by hand, have often taken me in different directions, but none of the many artistic pursuits I’ve tried has taken hold of my psyche as strongly as mosaics. Ever since I can remember, my head has always spun at the sight of patterns, textures and colors, in whatever form they presented themselves. What I see inspires me to create, and those inspirations range from architecture, fabric, colorful spices or fruit artfully displayed in a market, to the local yarn stores or sari shop windows near my home. 

 

A graphic designer by profession, my desire to learn mosaic art was brewing inside me for a while. In 2003 I finally started studying mosaics. Although I have tried many art forms over the years, the materials used in mosaics speak to me in a way that paint or ink never has. I love the variety and vibrancy of the materials available, and the variation of techniques and effects I can achieve. Nothing gives me greater pleasure than setting out my "palette" of glass, tile, beads, or whatever else I’m using. Many times, before I even know my precise direction, I choose my materials and they inform my design. I love that I can create a piece that's decorative, functional, or both, and the strength and permanence of mosaics really appeals to me. 

 

Over the years, I have studied with my mentor and inspiration, Laurel True, as
well as many visiting artists at the Institute of Mosaic Art in Oakland (then later, Berkeley), Studio Arte del Mosaico in Ravenna, Italy, Perdomo Smalti in Cuernavaca, Mexico, and Stained Glass Garden in Berkeley, CA. My work, using mostly glass, tile, and ceramic, tends toward the decorative, but I also enjoy doing representational work. Two of my portraits are featured in the book, "Mosaic Fine Art Portraits," published by Mosaic Fine Art Books. My mosaics have
also been exhibited in numerous shows including at the Institute
of Mosaic Art, Stained Glass Garden in Berkeley, the O'Hanlon Gallery
in Mill Valley, CA and the Firehouse Arts Center, Pleasanton, CA.

 

Teaching enables me to share my love of mosaics. I teach the Mosaic
Birdbath, Mosaic Steppingstone, and Picassiette Mirror classes at
Stained Glass Garden and have also taught classes in Design and
Color theory with an eye toward mosaics. 

 

I am not sure where I’m headed in my mosaic journey but regardless of the
project I’m working on, as long as I continue to grow, mosaics is a journey
I don't want to end.