The Old Guard

I totally geeked out on this mosaic. I tried different kinds of tesserae and used the pieces in ways that were new for me. I sliced varied kinds of stone on my tile saw, incorporated rusty metal into the art, and worked three different adhesives into the design.

This tree started out as one kind of old growth tree and morphed into another. Both types of trees I photographed and obsessively studied. I ripped up my labor and rebuilt it several times. At one point I just had to call it good enough. I imagine that I will be creating many more mosaic trees until I get it right.

However, this art piece is more than just an experimentation in tesserae and adhesives. It is much more than my study of old growth trees. The vast majority of the time, the sole reason I create a mosaic is because doing so brings me pleasure. That’s it…… end of story: “What you see is what you get.”

However, this one is different. “The OLD GUARD” is who I aspire to become: the aged one who stands watch over the young ones in my purview. The well-being of children consumes my thoughts, is the subject of most prayers, and fills my dreams.