Julie Sperling mosaic about climate change and meat consumption - angle detail

Fiddling While Rome Burns

Since 2014, I have been engaged in an ongoing series about climate change, titled “Fiddling While Rome Burns.” Each mosaic tackles a specific climate-related concept—be it scientific, cultural, political—an impact, or a solution. I invite you to explore the series by clicking on the titles below, and encourage you to read the associated blog posts to learn more about each piece.

Baseline (We’re Just Getting Started)

Materials: 244 community-made mosaics, onyx, quartz, limestone, marble, thinset tesserae

Size: 3 panels, each 48″h x 36″w

Year: 2017

Bioswale (Slow It Down, Soak It Up)

Materials: Asphalt, limestone, sandstone, marble, litovi, smalti

Size: 18″h x 20″w (approximately)

Year: 2017

Black Carbon (Potent But Actionable)

Materials: Marble, coal, sea spines, smalti, unglazed porcelain

Size: 12″h x 12″w

Year: 2015

"Both / and" - detail (Julie Sperling)

Both / And

Materials: Marble, shale

Size: 14″h x 14″w

Year: 2016

Breaking The Hand That Feeds Us (More Acidic, Less Viable)

Materials: Smalti, shells, mudstone, marble, ceramic, limestone, chalk

Size: 18″h x 18″w

Year: 2015

Dialogue (The Burden Of The Message)

Materials: Graffiti paint layers, shale

Size: 17.25″h x 24.5″w

Year: 2015

Drinking From A Firehose (Flood Prone Yet Drought Stricken)

Materials: Marble, ceramic tile, mudstone, smalti, glass tile, brick, terracotta, sandstone, slate, thinset tesserae, and garden hose faucet handles

Size: 19″h x 14″w

Year: 2015

Enough (Size Matters)

Materials: One single piece of mookaite

Size: 12″h x 12″w

Year: 2017

Enough (Talk)

Materials: 100% thinset scraps and leftover thinset mixes

Size: 13.75″h x 12″w

Year: 2018

Flip The System (Amplified Change)

Materials: Limestone, marble, ceramic, petrified wood, conglomerate, pyrite, phyllite

Size: 21″h x 21″w

Year: 2016

"Follow the man, not the dog" mosaic by Julie Sperling

Follow The Man, Not The Dog

Materials: Marble, unglazed porcelain, limestone, shale, slate, coal, glass tile, smalti

Size: 10″h x 10″w

Year: 2015

Fossil Of The Day (From Leader to Laggard)

Materials: Fossils, shale, slate, limestone, Eramosa marble, sandstone, brick, terracotta

Size: 28″h x 12″w

Year: 2015

"Heat (Each decade hotter than the last)" - detail shot. Mosaic by Julie Sperling.

Heat (Each Decade Hotter Than The Last)

Materials: Mudstone, sandstone, limestone, shale, flue damper

Size: 16.25″h x 24.25″w

Year: 2014

(More Than) Enough

Materials: One single piece of limestone

Size: 16″h x 12″w

Year: 2016

Julie Sperling mosaic about climate change and meat consumption -detail

Pollan’s Rule (Mostly Plants)

Materials: Bones, shale, dishes, gold smalti

Size: 20.25″h x 15.25″w

Year: 2017

Wind power and solar power detail of mosaic about renewable energy by Julie Sperling

Power Dynamic (Renewable Production, Mindful Consumption)

Materials: Marble, limestone, sandstone, mudstone, litovi, smalti, knob and tube, shell, solar panel, petrified wood, shale, ceramic, miscellaneous stone

Size: 22″h x 11″w

Year: 2017

Quod Erat Demonstrandum (All Else Is Junk Science)

Materials: Limestone, Eramosa marble, sandstone, coal, cement parging, salvaged tile, Italian smalti, vintage 24-karat smalti, concretions, metal

Size: 24″ diameter

Year: 2015

Sea ice mosaic by Julie Sperling (quartz detail)

Sea Ice (Steady Unprecedented Decline)

Materials: Quartz, marble, mudstone, limestone, Eramosa marble, smalti, salvaged glass

Size: 14.5″h x 20″w

Year: 2014

Shell Game

Materials: Plastic, plastic cups, shale

Size: 10.25″h x 15.5″w

Year: 2023

Shouting Into The Wind

Materials: Shale, coal, rusted metal, 24-karat gold smalti

Size: 6″h x 5.5″w each

Year: 2015

The Paths Most Travelled

Materials: Redback boot (right), Bogs boot (left), cement, shale, limestone

Size: 26.5″h x 24.25″w

Year: 2017

The Problem With Billionaires

Materials: Shale, limestone, sandstone, petrified wood, driftwood, cork, nutshells, buckshot, bullet casing, e-waste, copper pipe, gold, core samples

Size: 16.5″h x 16.75″w

Year: 2022

(Un)Acceptable Loss

Materials: Limestone, marble, unglazed porcelain, smalti, salvaged glass, graffiti paint layers

Size: 11″h x 11″w

Year: 2016

(Un)Necessary Evil

Materials: Limestone, marble, bituminous dolomite, coal, shale, salvaged glass, graffiti paint layers

Size: 14″h x 14″w

Year: 2017

We Bought A Pipeline

Materials: Limestone, mahogany obsidian, bitumen

Size: 24″ diameter

Year: 2021

Julie Sperling "Weather is not climate" mosaic

Weather Is Not Climate

Materials: Marble, sandstone, terracotta, smalti, beads, copper wire

Size: 10″h x 10″w

Year: 2015