Fragmented Beauty: Mosaic Art by Ariel Shoemaker

"A mosaic is like a puzzle. It engages the mind through a sequence of possibilities, trial and error. You look at the broken fragments of tile. Your eye assesses the space to be filled and searches for a corresponding shape. Piece by piece, you come closer to the desired form and effect. Mosaic is not simply an art form but a form of integration, a way of not only seeing the world but responding to it."   --Terry Tempest Williams, "Healing Rwanda"

Twitter is a wonderful thing. I have met many incredibly talented and passionate people through that medium, often quite unexpectedly. Ariel Finelt Shoemaker is one of those happy intersections of discovery.  Many of her pieces captivated me--she expresses a real depth of beauty and meaning in her abstract execution of the artform. After interviewing her for this blog post, I have a better understanding of why her work reflects such emotion. 

(c) Ariel Finelt Shoemaker

Here are excerpts from Ariel's biography on her website. 

Ariel Finelt Shoemaker is a professional mosaic artist and arts' educator. She has a keen passion for color, texture and innovation in this ancient art form. While creating custom mosaic works for private clients and vendors, she also donates pieces of her work to fund-raising events, participates as a featured artist in gallery shows and in group shows such as Newton Open Studios, The Wellesley Marketplace, and The DeCordova Museum's annual Art in the Park event, and teaches mosaic art throughout New England.

Inspired by her students and the vast array of creative people in her life, she hopes to continue cultivating motivational environments where members of communities and schools can find healing, confidence and inspiration through the arts.

Ariel holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Emerson College, Boston, MA with a concentration in Writing, Literature and Publishing. In June of 2004, she completed her Masters of Education, with a concentration in the Arts in Education, from Harvard University's Graduate School of Education, Cambridge, MA. She currently lives with her husband and works in her home-studio on the Charles River in Waltham, MA. 

(c) Ariel Finelt Shoemaker

Recently, Ariel was kind enough to answer a few questions for me so we can better get to know her.

Q. How do you describe your work to people?  

A. Completely original, hand-cut mosaic art pieces.  I also fuse glass, which I call Fused Glass Micromosaics.  All my work reminds people of different things, but general themes include Gustav Klimt's work, tapestries, and "organic" shapes.

Q. What led you to the work you do today?  

A. Boredom and melancholy at a corporate job I was in 10 years ago.  I began breaking glass a few months after 9/11, when I lost several friends--and the founder of the company that I worked for at the time.  It was a devastating blow, and I needed something generative, productive and beautiful to do.  I taught myself how to puzzle together the broken pieces.

(c) Ariel Finelt Shoemaker

Q. How did creativity emerge in your life? 

A. I love this question.  Creativity was always nourished in my home.  Even as a child, I remember feeling rewarded by how creative I was with poetry I had written, art that I had created, or awards that my sister had won for her beautiful art works. Creativity is a completely normal thing for me--it's not an "outside piece of me" or an "other". It's ingrained in my person. Emergence of it occurred the moment I looked around, observed the world, and translated what I saw into writing, glass work, and other mediums I explored.  

(c) Ariel Finelt Shoemaker

Q.  What is the source of your inspiration?  

A. Mostly nature and literature.  Also, shape and color.

Q. What other creative outlets do you have?  

A. Doing art with our 4 year old son, Simon, and our 2.5 year old son, Max; cooking; writing.

Black Swan Bejeweled in Limes (Detail)(c) Ariel Finelt Shoemaker

Q. What are a few of your own favorite pieces/works and why?  

A. "Even in the Wasteland, Flowers Grow"--because I actually thought about the meaning of the poetry I studied so carefully as a student and translated it elegantly and poignantly into mosaic.  It earned a place in a National Mosaic competition and has since been purchased twice in two unique iterations. "Black Swan Bejeweled in Limes" is the other favorite.  It's a brave use of materials and color, and I just love the over-all effect of the interchange between the elements.  Exploring it deeper, you will find you will see more and more than at first glance.

Even in the Wasteland, Flowers Grow(c) Ariel Finelt Shoemaker

Q. Who are your favorite artists and why?  

A. In no particular order... Georgia O'Keefe--her ability to both represent accurately and skew our interpretation of scenes and objects. Willem de Kooning--the vibrancy and intensity of color that he uses just completely makes me tick. Gustav Klimt-- gold, women, lovers, subject/ context/ gorgeous interchange between subject/context and background. Everything about his work and history and interpretation of what he has seen and translates to his art arouses my interest.  Egon Schiele--portrayal of the human figure in all it's beauty and disfigurement.  Gory, yet beautiful.

Q. What music is moving you these days? 

A. Regina Spektor, Mumford and Sons, Beth Orton, JackJohnson, Adele, Coldplay.  All have soul and poignancy and terrifically infectious voices and lyrics.  All poets.  All rock starts.  Lovin' each of them.

Q. When people see your work, what will they know about you? 

A. You tell me.  

Q. What question do you wish people would ask you?  

A. How I ended up with a middle school Math teacher....?  How I deal with work/life/kids balance?  What inspires me?  Each day?

Q. What are a few of your favorite things?  

A. My two sons, my husband (most of the time), time alone, quiet, poetry, pearls, abalone shell, turquoise.

Q. How do you curate your life?  

A. With the love of things that we are able to purchase--within our budget--finding the intrinsic and quirky beauty in the not-so-obvious.  

(c) Ariel Finelt Shoemaker

Q. Any advice for people trying to follow their dreams?  

A. Just stick with it, and make sure that you have a supportive partner that will bring you coffee, a  glass of wine, what have you--when you need it.  Also, have those people around you that nurture your spirit, indulge your whims, and can take you out to enjoy something new and different--so that the boredom of "pursuing your dreams" doesn't make you miserable in the process.

Q. What is your philosophy of life in 12 words or less? 

A. If I am not for myself, who will be for me?  If not now, when?  (Hillel)

Q. Where can we find you online?  

A. On my website http://www.arielshoemaker.com, on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/ariel.shoemaker, and on Twitter @mosaicsbyariel.  

Thank you for sharing your work and yourself with us Ariel!

The Architect Artist: Meet Alice Franklin

Meet Alice Franklin, architect, artist, meditator, creator of beautiful things. Alice explores the fascinating intersection of precision and passion. Alice is largely unknown and I have been a fan of her work for many years.

Shape, color, and surprise are all elements that she uses in her designs. That is probably why I like her work so much. I am especially fond of the three dimensional pieces that draw you into a unique world.

I interviewed Alice Franklin last week to learn more about her inspirations and her work. 

Q - How would you describe your creative work?

I think of my work as an attempt to describe energy and nature. The patterns are a description of the movement and flow of energies as elements interact in the piece and with the viewer. Most people can relate to these patterns as mandalas which can induce a meditative quality for the viewer, but they aren’t confined to a flat surface since I am always interested in structure. I experience and see energy in space and I try to create that experience for others. My other creative work is usually done in fiber and is functional and recycled. The structure of the design, honoring the integrity of the material, and providing an option of uses are what interest me.

Q - What is your background/formal training?

I have an undergraduate and masters graduate degree in Architecture from Washington University in St. Louis, MO. In addition, I have over 25 years of experience in Taoist/Buddhist meditation practice and learning.

Q -  What are the biggest influences on your work?

For design, my first big influence was a professor who taught me well how to respect and understand the nature of whatever material I am handling. This professor was a design teacher, not so much an architecture professor, so what I learned was how to design, whatever the program, whatever the scale or materials. After that, my biggest influence is my spiritual Teacher. A path of self-discovery is always an influence on an artist.

Q.  Who are your three favorite artists at the moment and why?

My favorite artist these past few years is Lee Bontecou. She was a prominent artist in NYC from the late 50’s to around 1970. She was part of the group whose work was shown regularly at Leo Castelli gallery. For 25 years or so, she retreated to her farm in rural Pennsylvania and worked on her own without the influence or knowledge of the “art world.” She had a major retrospective in 2003 which is when I first came to know her work. I am inspired both by her story, her faith in herself and her work, as well as the work itself.

Recently, I was blown away by Theo Jansen who is a Dutch artist who creates Strandbeests from plastic pipe. These “living” beasts walk on the beach, propelled by the wind to kick up sand to help preserve the beaches and dunes in Holland. They are so magical. The integration of a need-- the ecology-- the design and the art are so amazing to me.

I also love Mike and Doug Starn who built the bamboo structure on the roof of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Big Bambu. They have a huge warehouse studio somewhere along the Hudson River Valley. They have created other bamboo structures and filmed the evolution of the construction. I was so impressed with the Big Bambu-- not just as a structure, but as a group building project, as an organic form and by the use of the materials.

Q -  What are your three favorite buildings in the world and why?

I can’t think of favorite buildings. I have always loved the work of Antonio Gaudi, and I think my favorite building just for the experience of it is the Getty Museum. Richard Meier isn’t a favorite, but the setting, the approach, the details, and the relationship with the landscape make this building a wonderful experience.

My favorite buildings these days tend to include some clever use of alternative energy/sustainability, or clever use of materials and construction, often hand built. My area of focus in school in the early 70’s was alternative energy, and I truly thought my expertise would be in demand when I went out to the work force. Sadly, we were too far ahead and it has taken 30+ years for these ideas to be discussed again. I always cheer when I see something new and interesting.

Q.  What are a few of your favorite things?

I love nesting things, and I love tiny things. I love my iPad. I love interesting clothing design-- clever use of the fabric, the joinery, and other details.

Q - What is your philosophy of life in 12 words or less?

Philosophy of life? Kidding?

I am here to cultivate my self in order to transcend the self.

Q -  Where can we find you on the web?   

I try not to be on the web. Before my website, you could google me and come up with nothing. I loved that. But now I have my website: alicefranklinstudio.com