The Bandon Library Art Gallery Annual Mosaic Show Returns!

The 7th Annual Mosaic Show at Bandon Library Art Gallery opened on the 1st of June, and will run through July 31st. On Saturday July 8th at 2pm, there will be a reception that will include mosaic-making for the public. Child-safe materials will be available, and everyone can make their own 3” x 3” fridge magnet mosaic.

Curator Tracy Hodson assembled the work of 22 artists from the Pacific Northwest and beyond, demonstrating the wide range of styles and materials these artists utilize to create their mosaics.

“I am so glad to be back after the Covid years, and I thought the best way to celebrate the return of this annual show was to throw as wide a net as possible. We are showing artists who work in the Classical vein, using marble, travertine, smalti–which is a glass that has been made specifically for mosaics for about 600 years, in Venice and Murano, Italy–gold, tile, and other sorts of natural specimens,” Hodson said.

“In addition to those who work in stained glass or pique-assiette– a modern form of mosaic art that uses broken or cut ceramic crockery shards. There are also glass-on-glass mosaics hanging in the window at the end of the hall, two of which were made by children, and we have two micromosaic jewelry makers this year. Both walls of the gallery are covered, and the cases are full. I don’t think even one more mosaic would have fit!”

The roster of mosaicists includes newcomers and returning artists from as far away as Oklahoma, Maryland, and Texas.

“And Brigitte Raison, who lives in France, sent a mosaic again this year,” Hodson said. “We have a solid list of artists who have stuck with us year after year, and more new ones than ever before. I hope that the show will bring in more new visitors than ever before, too. It’s not easy to see what’s happening in the mosaic world, as it’s not an art form many people know much about, and few galleries show it. As far as I know, we’re still the only annual mosaic show in Oregon, and I am dedicated to keeping it going.”

This year’s show includes work by two Bandon artists, Donn Klewitz and Bessie Joyce. Hodson’s own mosaics will be on display inside the library on the Long Wall, along with Winchester Bay painter Rebecca McCormick. Most of the mosaics in the show are for sale, and many of the artists accept commissions.

The 7th Annual Mosaic show runs through July 31st; the Mosaic Extravaganza happens in the Sprague Room on Saturday July 8th, at 2 pm. Refreshments will be served, and all are welcome.

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The gallery is open during regular library hours, 1204 11th St. SW, in Bandon City Park. For more information about the gallery, visit the Bandon Library Friends and Foundation website, Bandonlff.org.

Article courtesy of Tracy Hodson. Art images, “January” by Jacqueline Iskander; “Paradise” by Peggy Jackson; “Whirling Dervish” by Dee Ruff; “On Mercator #2” by Kelley Knickerbocker.