Hey, I guess I can do whimsy!

"Why Stars Twinkle"

Stained glass on hardibacker.
10.25" x 12.5"
(Click image to view larger)

A bit of background on this mosaic:

On this mosaic journey of mine I have occasionally flirted with whimsy but more often that style has been just one I admire in others. Quite honestly, I tend to over think the whimsy right out of my ideas.
Ciel Gallery in Charlotte, North Carolina is a gallery owned by mosaic artist Pam Pardue Goode and she features mosaic artists frequently in her exhibits. She put out a call to artists this winter for a new exhibit, "Flights of Fancy", to be full of whimsical art.

Soooo, this call to artists was in the back of my mind tumbling around with other snippets of ideas. The main spark for the stars dancing is the children's song "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star", specifically the line- 'how I wonder what you are'. Oh, I did wonder. Mostly wondered what children think of when they see those twinkling stars. Maybe they thought they were dancing up there and that made them twinkle.?

Fun idea, now to try to keep it whimsical.

Well, a zebra cannot change her stripes and I did do plenty of thinking on the details but I reminded myself, often, to keep it light and fun and 'twinkly'.

The dancers were pieced in iridescent glass- for the twinkle factor. Stars are enduring and classic so I chose ball room type clothing but these dancers are swinging to some hip hopping music. I felt the background needed to be very clearly space and chose to add depth with smaller pieces to the center and larger circular flowing pieces to the perimeter. Their dance floor becomes a 'star dust' cloud, as my daughter referred to it, and two more were placed to direct the flow of the piece. And a shooting star in iridescent black/gold glass also directs the flow down to the dancers. Millefiori are sprinkled in the space background, smaller toward the center, of course, to represent stars.

And so, I say that "I guess I can do whimsy.", because you can view this mosaic in person April 2 through May 21, 2010 at Ciel Gallery, 1519 Camden Road, Charlotte, NC. Thank you Pam!

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"Why Stars Twinkle" has sold but you can view my available mosaic art here: 

https://www.etsy.com/shop/MosaicSmith?search_query=mosaic+art 

I create original design silver jewelry too!!

http://MosaicSmith.com