Community Art

We had a lot of fun yesterday at the The Beehive’s latest work session on the Beehive’s Community Art Project that will be installed in the new Jasper Public Library, Jasper, Indiana.  During the 2019 Beehive gathering, many of you contributed to this public work by painting different areas on the panels with your own designs.  We were impressed by all the talent and enthusiasm you all showed for this project!

Jasper is fortunate to have a great city arts program and is currently building the new Cultural Center in our downtown area, which will combine our public library with our city arts program and will include artist studios, classroom spaces, multiple galleries and shared public spaces.  This large art piece will be installed in the main area of the new library.  We are both very happy to be a part of the Beehive and are proud to help create this inspiring piece!

The first photo shows Clare sketching out the overlay designs, the second photo shows the final look of a section of the project after the overlay design was painted on, and the third photo is of the community-painted panel prior to the overlay work. The photo below is from the 2019 Beehive where members of the community were invited to paint on panels which will be installed in the new library upon its completion.

Custom Handmade Ceramic Mosaic Wall Art

Hello!  Here we are just outside our studio (Clare on left, Romy on right) with a commission we finished a little while back.  Our client particularly wanted to include little blue birds throughout as a reminder of a visit to California.  It’s a very joyful piece and wanted to share it!

If you are interested in creating a custom stoneware clay tile mosaic art piece, it all starts with a simple conversation.  Whether it is one of our clay tile mosaic wall art pieces or bringing new life to an old furniture piece, just reach out to us.  You can see us in person at one of our shows, email us at romyandclare@gmail.com, convo us through etsy convo, or phone us. 

Just let us know what you are interested in creating and include some measurements to help us get started.  To find out more about our custom order process visit http://www.romyandclare.com/custom or click link in bio and select “custom order” from menu.

Colorful Pottery Wall Art Entryway Coat Hook

We love the joyful feel of bright colors. We are often asked how we get such bright colors.  Our palette of glazes and underglazes consists of 13 colors, but since we layer these colors, the number and depths of the colors are multiplied. After glazing we raku fire the tiles which usually adds a bit of iridescence and some unexpected personality.

This repurposed vintage trim wall shelf features a set of our colorful handmade clay tile mosaics in varying patterns of dots, vine, suzani, etc. We add semiprecious stones into the tiles to add a little more sparkle and texture.  With the set of repurposed vintage coat hooks, it’s what we like to call functional wall art.  We think it would look great in a mudroom or entryway. Find it here>>

Turquoise Bracelet with Smoky Quartz and Recycled Glass Beads from Africa

The idea of using recycled materials in our work not only because it makes us feel good that we are diverting materials from the waste stream, but also because they just have a charm and patina all of their own.  We made this three strand chain link bracelet with turquoise and smoky quartz but also sourced recycled glass beads from Africa. These brown beads are produced in large part by the African Krobo tribe using a century’s old method where powdered glass is poured into clay molds and baked in a specialized oven. The bicone shaped metal beads are handmade individually and are from Ethiopia. 

We love the ethnic look when all the stones and beads are combined.  Each bracelet, and really each jewelry piece we create, are unique pieces due to the use of these natural materials. We may make several of these bracelets but they will not be exact duplications of stones and beads, but they will be made in the same spirit as the one you see pictured. See this bracelet and more of our jewelry in our shop>>>

Turquoise and Smoky Quartz Artist Made Jewelry

We are trying to be a little more thoughtful in the way we work and present our jewelry collections.  We fight to keep a lid on our desire to create in the moment so that we can service the more practical need of running a business.  Guess it’s the yin and yang of life! 

The group we show in this post is from our Turquoise and Smoky Quartz collection.  Clare especially loves combining these two semiprecious stones.  You can find jewelry made with turquoise (and our mosaic wall art and belt buckles too!) here.