Highspire Rest Stop on the PATurnpike
 

I just finished up a project with Steelton Highspire High School. Wow, this was so different than what we normally do. One of the stipulations of the project was that it had to be subject matter about the surrounding area. When you have up to twenty pairs of hands going at one time, it is a little difficult to manage super specific pictures.  These students pulled it off. 

We spent the first two days making tiles.  All tiles were white and became the clouds. Always, love this part.  

It's funny, I have been thinking about doing the capitol dome for quite a while. I never imagined it in a residency but here we are. In every other residency I have ever done, I take in blank boards and the design is usually drawn by students or teachers.  This was so specific and with limited time, so I drew it before I got there. You cannot imagine how crazy it is to keep three shades of grey straight when you have 4 people at a time working on it... then the people change every 40 minutes. The number one rule is always "Don't lay tools on the glass."  There's a little oops shown above, ha ha. 

  

PA turnpike has installed this in their Highspire Plaza. A really cool thing about this project is that tomorrow Steelton Highspire students who worked on this mosaic will be going on a field trip to see their work now that its installed. I hope I can sleep tonight; I just can't wait! Then on top of that, PA Turnpike is throwing in pizza! 

I have sincere gratitude for Pennsylvania Council on the arts, PA Turnpike, and Capital Area Intermediate Unit for making this project happen.  I am so blessed.

peacocking

Another dream project swung my way.  I have wanted to do a peacock feather for a long time and kept throwing it out to organizations in proposals and finally got a YES!  Plus, they asked for a companion piece, and I chose a whole peacock. On the 30th, I get to see them both hung up.  I can't wait!  there is so much iridescent in this mosaic. The eye feathers have a ring of irid and also the highlights on his head and neck.

At the beginning, I started to question my decision to go multicolored. Once it was done, I think it makes this bird look even more cheerful.  Both of these go in the MICU in Penn State Hershey Medical Center. 

The feather incorporates tiles made by faculty at the Med Center. They did a fantastic job as you would have guessed.  I regret not having many close-up photos, but I had a phone mishap and lost a bunch of stuff.  I had a great photo of hospital peeps here in my shop working on tiles but unfortunately, that was one that is missing. 

One of the tiles made here at my shop was a cute little ice cream cone.  I had to have that one piece of feather swoop down so the ice cream cone would be upright. It is hard to see but that little drip has an ice cream cone on it.