Sequoia Mosaic

by Amelia Williams

I was commissioned to do a 7 ft x 4 ft mosaic of a sequoia for my client’s house in the Sierras. At the time I had a studio near the site. But with a few life- changes I ended up in a Las Vegas apartment 2 years later before I could begin.

Now the task was even more interesting as I had to create this from my apartment in sections, because 7 ft would not fit my Prius AND on sticky mesh instead of the substrate, because that was being prepared by the contractor on site. I created the tree on one work bench with the 2nd work bench straddled perpendicularly underneath. Now I had room for the top half and the bottom half! I would be completing the design-surround on-site.

There were some interesting challenges in getting the glass. The tree incorporates 5 different browns. I didn’t have enough of the terra cotta, the company changed product line, so I called the supplier in case they had any inventory left. NO! But they gave me the name of the last glass artist who ordered it. I called her and she agreed to sell me her last piece. What an amazing gift from a kindred spirit. Then I needed to purchase the surround sky. The local glass shop had some and agreed to order more. After months of no show, I finally ordered from the manufacturer to be delivered on site. Dye lots are ever changing (whether it’s yarn or glass) so what arrived was deep sea instead of airy sky. And the contractor cut a much chubbier oval requiring even more glass. There I was in the mountains far away from a glass shop. I made a 5-hour roundtrip south in one day and a 12-hour roundtrip north the next day to 2 different glass shops. Finally, I had what I needed. I had a pop-up studio and we were finally able to hang the piece. Fortunately, the client loves it beyond her expectations.

You can view samples of my work at my website: ameliawilliamsmosaic.com