Featured Artist of the Month: Robin Mueller

Featured Artist of the Month: Robin Mueller

Name: Robin Mueller
Website: whimsiesdesign.com
Email: whimsiesdesign@gmail.com

What kind of mosaics do you make? I like to work with stained glass the most, but I have a lot of old plates and tile ready to go when the mood strikes.

When did you start making mosaics? Around 3 years ago. I started with flower pots, picture frames, and table tops, and then branched out into stained glass.

How did you get into mosaics? About 15 years ago, I saw a segment on television about using old plates to decorate table tops. The program gave the process a French name. I tried looking it up at the library, but I had no luck. Then, 3 years ago, my friend, Jeanne found out that I was interested in this, and we did a little more investigation and found that what we wanted to learn about was mosaic.

What inspires you? If you look at my work, you would probably say, “circles”. I don’t know what that says about me, and maybe I don’t really want to know! I love putting colors together. Sometimes, I see a picture of something, and that will get me to thinking, and then a idea will spring from that. I do a lot of, “I wonder what it would look like if I did this?”

How did you develop your style? I can’t really say that I have a style. I do what comes to me.

How did you learn to make mosaics? My friend, Jeanne and I went to Mosaic on a Stick and told the friendly people there that we were interested in learning how to mosaic. We got about a 5 minute lesson on what tools to use and how, and we were on our way.

What do you do with your mosaics once you finish? When I first began, I either kept every single thing I made or asked my kids if they would like something. When I was laid off a couple of years ago, I became a mosaic fiend. The more I worked on mosaic, the better I felt. Until, at least, I looked around the room I was using as a work room, and discovered that there was so much ‘stuff’ sitting around me, that if I didn’t find a way to sell my mosaic, I’d have to either stop making mosaic (not an option), start filling a storage unit with them, or find a way to sell it.

What is your favorite thing about working with mosaics? Besides being a wonderful way to express myself, I love that each thing I do is unique. Change a shape here, a color or two there, and the finished piece can look so different.

(This note is from Barb Keith - Please check out Robin's website. She didn't even mention her sweet little "whimsies" in her interview! See below. They are really cute figures with very long legs, check them out! Her website is listed at the top of the page.)