"Reach of the Sacred Heart", c. 2012, Krystie Rose Millich

I’ve been extremely neglectful in sharing this, with all the craziness of the last few months, but, great news; I’ve been accepted as a Member Artist at a wonderful gallery in Denver’s Santa Fe Arts District, the CHAC Gallery.  CHAC, the Chicano Humanities and Arts Council, is a 33 year-old non-profit arts organization that works with the community to promote Chicano/Latino art for both children and adults.  CHAC  features the art and culture of the vibrant Chicano/Latino community of Denver and the surrounding areas through its programming, two Santa Fe Drive art galleries, and community programs.  Popular annual events include the Members Season Opener in January, Santos & Crosses in August, Chile Harvest Arts Festival also in August,  El Dia De Los Muertos (“Day of the Dead”)  in November, and Our Lady of Guadalupe & Christmas Mercado in December.  I am honored and excited to be a part of this valuable organization, learn more about the art and the community, and have a chance to share my take on Mexican and Latino art and folk art.

I’d love for you to come on down and check out my latest (and LARGEST!) collection of art on exhibit at the CHAC Norte (North) Gallery through the end of February! I have a whole wall and displays of my work, including several wall hangings, some tables, gift items, and jewelry! This includes my piece above, “Reach of the Sacred Heart”, the first piece I have made with the wonderful Royal Mosa tile I acquired for my shop after training with Flair Robinson, the Telluride artist who beautifully uses this tile in many of her pieces.  Tons of amazing bright colors, creative bits of materials, and lots of Latin flair!

Come on down for  Jan. Third Friday on the 20th from 6:30 to 9 pm,

Feb. First Friday on the 3rd from 6 to 10 pm,

or Feb. Third Friday on the 17th from 6:30 to 9 pm,

OR during regular Gallery Hours;

Wed. & Thur. 10-4, Fri. 12-5, and Sat. 12-4.

You can find my work at the back of the gallery, on the orange/terra cotta colored wall that faces you as you walk into the large back room with the bar (which includes, ahem, lots of nice drinks and treats!). The Gallery will also be full with lots of other fellow artists, who have wonderful, fabulous work; Rob & Tammy Yancey in the front room, Crystal O’Brien, Joe Martinez, & Ellen Pruitt in the large back room with me, and special areas featuring the amazing work of Stevon Lucero, Suzanne Martino, Michael Penny, and Robert Martinez. Next-door, the Main CHAC Gallery features two Pueblo artists this month: Maria Lopez and Anthony Armijo, with beautiful small and large scale works that will take your breath away! And, if you’re looking for some cool little thing or art gift throughout the year, you can always visit their wonderful “La Tiendita” (small shop) in the Main Gallery during regular gallery hours.  For more info. see www.chacweb.org!

Happy New Year! I’m a little late in getting this info. out, so please accept my apologies! Following are the Supply Shop and Open Studio Hours for January:

Sun. 1/15-5-9 pm

Mon. 1/16, 1-5 pm     (MLK Day! 15% off in the Supply Shop!)

Mon. 1/23, 4-8 pm

Thur. 1/26, 4-8 pm

Sun. 1/29, 5-9 pm

Also; please be on the lookout for upcoming posts and registration links regarding the next Tempered Glass & Jewelry Classes in February and the next Outdoor/Garden Mosaics and Beginner’s Mosaics Classes in March.  I will be attending the Society of American Mosaic Artists’ (SAMA) Conference in February, and will be bringing back lots of good information, techniques, and updates from the world of mosaics!  While there, I will also be meeting with several other mosaic artists about coming to Denver as “Visiting Instructors” to teach us their special skills and techniques in a variety of mosaic methods!  This year will be another year of growth for TileMosaicGirl, with more instructors and more classes! Be on the lookout, GO BRONCOS, and See you Soon!

Come check out a great local market here in the Denver area; Sweet William Market at Stapleton; you’ll find it at the end of the roundabout in the “29th Ave.” business district of Stapleton, just off Quebec at 29th Ave.  It’s only open from 9-2, so come early before the cupcake truck runs out, the live music stops playing, and all the ‘good stuff’ is gone!  I’ll be there with all kinds of new mosaic finery; jewelry, pet tags, garden stakes, frames, trays, tables, wall art, etc., etc.!  Come on out and meet me if you haven’t already and let’s ‘talk some mosaics’! Class registrations and information also available at the market; come ask me your questions and see which class is right for you!

Amanda Edwards/Mandolin Mosaics

Staci Sterenberg

Starting the Monday after next, July 25th, is an entirely new, requested-by-continuing-students class, Mixing Ceramics into Mosaics / ‘Pique Assiette’ Class! This class will involve choosing and painting (flat and/or 3-D) ceramics from the shop on the first session, after which they will be glazed, fired, and ready for us by the 2nd class. We’ll then take our ceramics and mix them together with tiles or other tesserae into a beautiful 2- or 3-D mosaic. We don’t even have to grout these mosaics! This is a great way to be able to truly personalize your tesserae by painting the ceramics with whatever words, images, or colors that you want! You can also bring any ceramic or porcelain family or garage sale treasures you’ve been saving to work into your piece! Because this is such a different form of mosaic (that’s been around for 1,000s of years, actuallly!), you don’t need to have taken a prior mosaic class!

Class runs (2)  Monday nights; July 25th and August 1, 5:30-8:30 pm each night. I know many of you were interested in and requested this class, so sign up now! Email me at tilemosaicgirl@gmail.com and I’ll email you an invoice to pay through paypal (you don’t need a paypal account to pay this way). Cost is $125 for class and $50 for materials fee ($55 if you need safety glasses). Check out the photos of several very different examples of this form of mosaics from some wonderful mosaic artists!

Amber Pierce

Kathy Brogden

Linda Edeiken

Staci Sterenberg

I’ll be posting LOTS of photos, information, ‘reports’, suppliers, and resources from the 2010 Society of American Mosaic Artists conference I attended in Chicago the week before last, starting with this short report…

I’m happy to report that my Art Salon piece, titled, “The Unknown” (question mark mosaic in pic; not the white background; that’s supposed to represent how it would hang on a wall; better pic of it on my Gallery page), sold to a gallery in Canada, outside Toronto, the Maplestone Gallery; www.maplestonegallery.com! Yey! SO Fun! I see a lot of their stuff is very bright like my piece, which makes it interesting.  I also see that they offer a variety of mosaic classes, in case you’re able to attend.  Check them out; I met Aiken, the co-owner along with Suzanne (who looks like she does FAB mosaic work), and he was really nice! I bet their classes are great! I see they are also offering a special visiting Artist workshop with wonderful mosaic artist Carol Shelkin in August; sign up now; she is VERY popular and her work is fantastic (see her piece below from the Mosaic Art International 2010 Exhibition)!  Anyone who’s attended or knows the gallery, please feel free to post your feedback here!

"Fabulous Hair" by Carol Shelkin