Week 20! The END! Wow. It’s been an interesting ride, but also an increasingly tough slog as the weeks wore on. I’m happy and proud that I stuck with it, and I will be doing a post in the coming weeks with some thoughts on the whole experience. But, for now, let’s take a look at what I made for this final challenge. The theme actually didn’t come as a surprise to me. I had a sneaking suspicion that we’d get to do something of our own choosing for the big finale, and I like the way Sophia worded the challenge prompt:
“Look at the work you’ve done over the past 4 months, think about what you’ve enjoyed, what you’ve hated, what you are capable of accomplishing given a week and a few hours in the studio. Use the materials you love, choose a design that plays to your strengths, make something that reminds you why you fell for mosaic in the first place.”
So here’s what I did…
Title: “Wayfinding”
Size: 6″ x 6″
Materials: Nothing but rocks!
How long did it take to complete? About 7 hours, I think… I lost count
Thoughts: This, in theory, should’ve been the easiest prompt: just do what you do. Instead, it was the hardest (but I guess the things that are closest to your heart usually are). The one phrase in the challenge prompt that really resonated with me was the one about making something that reminds you of why you fell for mosaic in the first place. And the reason I fell in love with mosaic (at least the way I do it now) was the rocks. I love knowing where my materials come from and having a very direct hand in their sourcing and processing. I also love how rocks are imbued with history and meaning; they have stories, whether they are unspoken geologic stories or tales of modern-day adventure. Who hasn’t picked up a stone while on vacation as a memento? People connect with stones, and I love that. To honour that connection, I made this mosaic entirely out of stones—all from Canada—that had been given to me by various rock fairies (and people very dear to my heart), who chose these stones specifically for me to use in my art. In terms of composition and process, I get no greater pleasure than when I let the tesserae and the lines take me on a journey, so with this piece I just followed their lead and went wherever they decided to take me. Overall, this feels like a fitting end to this 20-week challenge.