Joy 4/82: Mosaic Class

Tuesdays are mosaic class.  It's not really a class ... it's more like a quilting bee.  Everyone works on their own projects, sharing inspiration and materials, encouraging each other, offering advice and all the while talking about life and what's going on in the foothills.  This is one of those places where, if you weren't born here, you're an outsider.  It doesn't mean a whole lot, just a fact ... someone is single or married, short or tall, male or female, local or from somewhere else.  It's just one of the ways people categorize others. 

About half of the class are women who were born and raised here so a lot of the conversation is about people I don't know and the way things used to be.  But it's nice.  It's like stepping back in time to a kinder, gentler world where people made things with their hands and recycled and reused almost everything.  While most of us buy a lot of brightly colored tiles, we also scour the thrift stores and yard sales for plates, bottles and a myriad of "found objects."  Very little gets thrown away when a mosaic artist is anywhere near ... old chairs, tables, suitcases, shelves, baby beds, picture frames ... everything is fair game.  The screen door shown was done by our leader, Colleen Wittke, for the Sierra Art Trails open studio tour this weekend.

Tuesdays have become one of my favorite days of the week.  Even though I'll never be a "local," I feel very accepted and welcomed by this group.  They have helped me feel at home and introduced me to a craft that enchants me.