Grizzly Bear

 

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This new grizzly bear mosaic is for the front yard of our home in Long Branch.

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Working with Seniors

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We facilitated 5 mosaic-making sessions with seniors at a long-term care centre. We cut out the templates from plywood and prepared a big selection of materials, and we provided coaching and direction. The actual work was done by the residents, none of whom had done this kind of thing before. I think they did a great job, and it was a great pleasure to watch these folks become engaged with the project. The photo above shows the work created by the seniors.

Sue’s Sparrow

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A mosaic sketch improvised watching the sparrows in our back yard.  Twinkling in at 16.5″ long and 9.5″ tall. For Sue.

Butterfly Hatch for a Garden Festival

 

Apricot Nut
Jersey Valley
Marsh Boss
Double Dutch
Caledonia
Cloud Blue
Alpine Clove
Starfire

Just in time for the Mississauga Garden Festival  on June 23rd, 2019 – Long Branch Mosaics will be set up for the day in the Marketplace Artists & Artisans zone.  The  Festival is free, with plenty of activities for all ages. It runs rain or shine from 10am-4pm in Riverwood Park.  Come out and enjoy!

Freedom Butterfly

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This butterfly mosaic was made with Smalti glass tiles. It’s a donation for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada June silent auction.

Northern Flicker

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This Northern Flicker mosaic is being donated for the silent auction at the Salah Bachir Show in support of St. Joseph’s Health Centre here in Toronto. This work is made with a combination of broken crockery and smalti tiles. It’s 38 inches beak to tail.

Saw-whet Owl

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We’re donating this mosaic for an upcoming fundraiser supporting the Pelee Island Bird Observatory.

Long-eared Owl

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We’re donating this mosaic for an upcoming fundraiser supporting the Pelee Island Bird Observatory.

The McCracken Cardinal

We installed the McCracken Cardinal at a delightfully eclectic bungalow in Brampton Ontario. This mosaic is made from “everything but the kitchen sink” – from broken crockery to smalti tiles to erector set pieces. This piece has a great wall with lots of daylight, which will change it’s appearance as the light changes through the day.

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Featherweight – in support of Camp Ooch

Camp Oochigeas is a privately funded, volunteer-based organization that provides kids with and affected by childhood cancer unique opportunities for growth through challenging, fun, enriching and magical experiences.

This includes a camp in Muskoka as well as activities at their space at College and Bathurst in Toronto. I toured their Toronto facility today and it is really wonderful.

We’re very pleased to support the Camp Ooch Paddle Project by creating the mosaic work, Featherweight. The paddle project has been happening since 2010. It was set up to raise awareness and funds by showcasing one-of-a-kind paddles designed by artists and celebrities. A selection of paddles will be auctioned at the Imagine the Magic Gala while others will be sold online through the Online #PaddleProject Auction.

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Featherweight – made with Smalti glass tiles

To learn more about Camp Ooch and the #PaddleProject please visit their website. We encourage you to support them if you can. They’re doing great work.

The Paris Cardinals

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We recently installed these two male cardinals at a home in Paris Ontario. They’re hanging on a set of wires which are designed for roses and clematis to grow on. As the plants mature, they can grow around the mosaics.

These cardinals are traditional mosaics made with smalti glass tiles.

Chickadee

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This mosaic was made with Italian Smalti glass tiles, and was grouted. It’s fairly small, about 2 feet beak to the tip of the tail. Here’s another shot of it.

 

Black-crowned Night Heron

When the alewives came into shallow water to spawn over at Sam Smith Park, the black-crowned night herons showed up to enjoy the bounty. Standing on the bridge on the west side of the yacht club, looking north, some evenings we could spot 4 or 5 of these chunky birds.

We decided to do a night heron mosaic. We did this one with Italian Smalti (glass) tiles on a birch plywood ground, and unlike the mosaics we do with broken crockery, we grouted this one.

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This mosaic is about 3 feet tall.

We love butterfly season!

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This one has a 19 inch wingspan. It’s made from broken crockery, ceramic tiles, a wooden bead (on the head) and two plastic animals (can you find them?).

Shell-bodied butterfly

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This butterfly has a wingspan of about 19 inches. It’s made with shells, broken crockery, ceramic tiles, smalti tiles, pennies, plastic flowers.

Custom Mosaic Work

Long Branch Mosaics – we are Eugene Knapik and Sheila Gregory. We’re two artists living in Long Branch (SW corner of Toronto) who began creating mosaics to enhance our own home. We now create mosaics to order in all sizes, complexities and themes.

Call Eugene at 647-518-2570 or email: longbranchmosaics@gmail.com to discuss a custom mosaic for your home or garden.

We make all kinds of indoor or outdoor work in all sizes and themes, including birds, butterflies and bears as well as large granite benches. Materials range from broken crockery and found objects to Italian smalti (glass) tiles. Prices vary depending on size, complexity and materials. Each project is a one of a kind work of art. We would love to make something special for your home.