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!
Bear in the morning
Freedom Butterfly
This butterfly mosaic was made with Smalti glass tiles. It’s a donation for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada June silent auction.
Black-capped Chickadee
This black-capped chickadee was made with a combination of broken crockery and Smalti glass tiles
Northern Flicker
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
We’re donating this mosaic for an upcoming fundraiser supporting the Pelee Island Bird Observatory.
Long-eared Owl
We’re donating this mosaic for an upcoming fundraiser supporting the Pelee Island Bird Observatory.
The Pollinator
The Magnolia Bench
The Paris Goldfinches
This group of goldfinches lives at a residence in Paris Ontario. 
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.
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.
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.
Bluebird of Happiness
This smaller mosaic was made to celebrate a wedding.
The Paris Cardinals
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.
Cedar Waxwing Details
The Perth Cedar Waxwing
This cedar waxwing mosaic, made from broken crockery and tiles, has been installed at its new home near Perth Ontario.
Nuthatch
The Paris Bear
The Marshall Butterfly
Boreal chickadee finds a new garden home
Black-crowned Night Heron – looking for lunch
Goldfinch – exploring a new garden home
Spring butterfly supporting NABS
Supporting the Pelee Island Observatory
We donated 2 mosaics for a silent auction in support of the Pelee Island Observatory. Here’s Sheila at the Bird Ball.
Goldfinch – supporting St. Joseph’s Hospital
Scarlet Tanager
Scarlet Tanager – final stages
This scarlet tanager mosaic has just been grouted. We still have to do a final polish, clean up the edges and install hanging hardware on the back.
Chickadee
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.
2 new butterflies
Night Heron in the Kitchen
We’re keeping the night heron for our crazy kitchen – but we can create any kind of custom mosaic work for you.
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.
This mosaic is about 3 feet tall.
We love butterfly season!
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?).
The Owl and the Butterfly
Shell-bodied butterfly
This butterfly has a wingspan of about 19 inches. It’s made with shells, broken crockery, ceramic tiles, smalti tiles, pennies, plastic flowers.
Giant Monarch
This one is for our place on Twenty Seventh Street here in Toronto.
Two new butterflies
These two new butterflies each have a wingspan of about 19 inches. They’re made with broken crockery, ceramic and smalti tiles and a few surprises.
Six Penny butterfly
Some of our butterfly mosaics imitate actual butterfly species, but others like this “6-penny” butterfly made by Tuffy P as a gift, are completely improvised.
Butterflies on the Brain
Please visit our page at the Brain Project website to learn all about this project. If you like you can vote for us for “people’s choice” brain. This mosaic is in support of Baycrest Health Sciences. They do great work. If you would like to make a donation to Baycrest you can do so online here.
Our brain is sponsored by Cineplex.
The Brain Project – in process
We’re currently working on a piece for The Brain Project in support of The Baycrest Foundation. They have provided a cast over-sized brain and we’re transforming it with smalti tile mosaic. This work includes 5 giant monarch butterflies. Watch this site for updates.
Sheila Gregory and Eugene Knapik
Sheila Gregory and Eugene Knapik have been active in the Toronto art scene since the mid-1980s. They have organized numerous large-scale group art exhibitions and are featured in the Collective City short film The Un-Collective.
Sheila Gregory has published her ongoing series of photographs: The Left Overs online.
More about Eugene Knapik at his personal blog 27th Street. His book of short stories, Squeeze Box Man is available at Amazon.
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.
Blue Butterfly
This butterfly features saucers and lids!
Fridge Mosaic 27th Street Kitchen
Grouting the bench
The Magnolia Bench is a traditional smalti tile mosaic. We grouted this mosaic with a fortified polimer grout called Permacolor. After the grout was spread on, we cleaned it up with damp sponges.
We wanted to be sure there were no sharp edges on the bench so we spent some time identifying sharp spots and cleaning them up with a Dremel tool.
Installing the bench…
With the help of a crane, the guys from HGH Granite installed the granite for the Magnolia Bench on-site in Paris Ontario.
The Brett Cardinal
This male cardinal mosaic is playful and rich in detail.
Female Cardinal
Grizzly Bear mosaic – watch the progression
The Cat Door
This full-door mosaic is in our home.
