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I specialize in one-of-a-kind and custom mosaic art, and each fine handcrafted original is made in my Skillman, NJ studio. Just as a painter creates an image one brushstroke at a time, I create the mosaic surface one tessera (tile) at a time, unit by unit. I like to think of the process as painting in glass. Studio materials include opaque, iridescent, and mirrored metallic glass. I select the glass sheet for its color, patterning, and textural properties and use traditional glass-cutting tools to hand cut each tile. As I cut, I edit for the choicest bits, creating tiles that vary in size and shape; surfaces that are matte, shiny, or iridescent; color that is solid, shaded, or streaky; textures that are smooth or irregular. I then carefully place the tiles, trimming and fitting as I go, to create a complex interplay of luminous color, shape, pattern, and texture. The special quality of a mosaic is the exciting interplay between the individual tiles and the composition as a whole. It is this interplay, this tension, that makes mosaic art so dynamic, so fascinating. Some of my representational mosaics are suggested by natural forms: flowers, foliage, and waves. Others are inspired by well-known paintings of the Fauve period. In these representational pieces, I am particularly interested in finding a way to express in exquisitely colored glass the painterly qualities of the original. In my abstract compositions I work spontaneously and expressively, using modulated color progressions and variations in the shape and texture of the tesserae to create visual metaphors for complex ideas. Commissioned mosaics may be abstract or representational. Compositions can be single- or multi-panel, in a range of sizes and color harmonies, to bring drama and dimension to any living space. I am a member and officer of the Society of American Mosaic Artists. My work has been featured in SAMA’s International Juried Exhibitions of Mosaic Art—in Miami in 2003, in San Francisco in 2004, and in Washington, DC in 2005. My mosaic Breakaway has been selected for SAMA's Mosaic Arts International 2007, a juried exhibition at the Mesa Arts Center in Mesa, AZ. Rhonda Heisler
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