We Are All in Love with Red Dog Now
Unveiling the latest Stone with a Story. Plus, Ruins artists in the news, and a behind the scene glimpse into risk taking for the membership
Good morning dear reader,
Today, on this first day of summer, I find myself in a glorious predicament. Too many weeds, too many mosaic projects, too many visitors….and I love it.
Helga Maribel Sanchez was here.
That might sound like something scrawled in a sharpie on the bathroom wall, but for our purposes at The Ruins, it means that something big got done. My dear Maribel comes armed with a plan and the tools to carry it out, always. She understands that making my job easier during ambitious projects is a gift that cannot be priced. This weekend, I am in recovery from taking the first steps of one of the biggest Ruins experiments to date. Scroll to the end for a glimpse into this unique project.
Ruins artists winning awards
My treasured copies of the latest Mosaic and Glass Magazines have arrived and will be handed out to special people over the coming weeks. Issue 9 is quite literally packed with mosaic gems and I highly recommend you get yourself a copy, or better yet, subscribe. Great writing and world class mosaic all curated expertly.
As I turned the pages, I kept exclaiming, oh my, another Ruins artist! But the biggest thrill was when I realized that all five of the award winners for the Mosaic Arts International 2024 Exhibition have work represented at The Ruins Project.
Best of Show: Laurie Frazer
Best Site Specific: Helga Maribel Sanchez (The Boots!)
Technical Achievement: Anabella Wewer
Contemporary Innovation: Kelley Knickerbocker
Best Community Project: Kim Emerson
What does this mean? It means that excellence in mosaic is a hallmark of the artists who make their meandering ways here. Congratulations to all the winners, who have been building strong voices in the mosaic world for many years.
Oh, and I also wrote a little four page spread for this issue. It’s a tutorial on how to build an Uncommon Canvas. You can use it as a taste test for what its like to study with me in a Mosaic Arts Online course.
And now…
The latest Red Dog Challenge…
The Red Dog Heart
by Betty Cleffman Hager
How it works:
I find an extraordinary chunk of our stone with a story, our poor man’s gravel, our red tesserae, box it up and ship it to a chosen artist. The artist agrees to carefully, thoughtfully cut it up and transform it into a mosaic. One rock and no more.
In Betty’s words:
I chose to see a heart-shape in my stone.
I hit the jackpot on the colors it yielded: gorgeous blacks, reds, and teals. On the design, I researched old coal PPE, and equipment. I considered a helmet with lamp, or a wheel. Nothing grabbed me. I kept thinking about how I had hated to break up (so violently) that beautiful heart shape that nature had given this special rock. That was it: I decided to return the cut stone to its original heart shape. That would honor nature and symbolize the heart and soul that you and contributing artists have put into The Ruins by remembering the culture and community that is coal.
The combination of elegant lines, sdoppiamento, and even the bite taken out of the top right corner, show Betty’s attention to the detail of the original stone. Well done!
And now…
A New Risk for The Ruins
Members of The Ruins, are welcome to regular updates as we continue on our risky path to who knows where…
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