A little gathering in Austin
I’ve recently returned from the annual SAMA (Society of American Mosaic Artists) Conference in Austin, Texas. Cool town, that Austin. More like Boulder or Madison- progressive and full of culture and laid back-ness. This annual event is always different; it varies because of the locale (ie:San Diego in 2009, Chicago 2010) and because of the participants who travel from across the nation and across the globe. For artists and enthusiasts, inspiration can be found in the MAI Exhibition (this year at the Mexican American Cultural Center), the many workshop offerings over a three day period (Guilio Menossi, Ilana Shafir, Pamela Irving, and Gary Drostle just to name a few..) and the presentations. This year the Keynote Speaker was Pamela Irving, who gave a refreshing look into her projects, her process and the development of her visual vocabulary. I think her honestly and lack of pretension was embraced by the SAMA audience.
There were several other notable presentations, particularly a screening a film about artist El Anatsui, who is catagorized as a “found object artist”. Thanks to Rhonda Heisler for introducing him to the mosaic arts community, who seemed to connect to his process. British Artist Gary Drostle told the story of the creation of his “River of Life” commission at the University of Iowa; a commission plagued by volcanoes, studio fires, and installation challenges. A beautiful work. Sophie Drouin introduced many uninitiated into the world of “Dalle de Verre” – a way working with thick, slab glass. Sherri Warner Hunter lead a panel on Community Built Mosaics with Chicago artist Tracy Van Duinen and New Orleans based artist Laurel True. Tracy’s Bricolage mural with Chicago’s American Indian Community and Laurel True’s incredible work with children in Haiti were featured and left the audience moved and grateful for their work in these communities. The last panel was a discussion called” Defining Mosaic Art- Who Cares, and Why?”. The majority of the panelists did not care to define anything , and aside from Jean Ann Dabb’s terrific introduction referring to the historic timeline of the word ‘mosaic’- the majority of the panelists seemed more interested in discussing marketing for artists versus discussion  about why people who identify themselves as mosaic artists gather in the same room. It was certainly a topic of conversation after the conference. Advice is like cooking- you should try it first before you feed it to others.
I led a series of gallery talks at the MAI Exhibition (work above by Andryea Natkin) over a period of 3 days. There were anywhere from 20 to 50 people gathering to look at the works, discuss them critically, and to ask questions about the exhibition, the jurying process and the individual artists. Talking about work honestly, not being afraid to say you like or don’t like the work – and more importantly, why, was a new experience to many. I think that in general, the public is too  shy or embarrassed to say they don’t understand a work of art. The MAI talks gave everyone a safe forum to look and listen and contribute, and the participants engaged in lively and conversation about the show.
And the multitudes of volunteers who make a massive undertaking like a SAMA Conference possible have to be acknowledged. particularly the Austin Mosaic Guild. The AMG made their presence known to visitors as soon as they disembarked form their airplanes at the airport- there was great display of small works by members of the guild throughout the concourse. Karin Gerstinhaber and Deborah Immel were the Austin SAMA co-chairs that made this conference ‘like butter’.
And a shout out to two Uber-humans, Dawnmarie Zimmerman and Chris Forillo, who I love and respect dearly- not just for all the work they do, or the passion they have for SAMA, but because they are two of my favorite people on the planet. SAMA would not be SAMA without these two, who have these conferences down to an art form.
I will be following up soon with a review of the MAI Exhibition.
