This week we are featuring two friends from the BAMM West Midlands group Yvette Green and Jo Moreman, who have recently had an exhibition of their work at the Museum in Cirencester. We asked them to write a little about themselves:
Jo says… ” About 16 years ago I went along to a mosaic workshop with no knowledge of what it would entail. When I had completed 2 small mosaics I was hooked! After many visits to the local library to borrow books and many trial and error projects, I began creating mosaics for family and friends. I now create mosaics as a full time business which involves private commissions, school work and craft markets. One of my first professional commissions was the creation of two large mirrored trees for the reception area of a large company. I mainly work in unglazed ceramic, sometimes adding coloured glass to lift the mosaic. At the start of 2016, Yvette Green and I began sharing a studio space and this works really well. I met Yvette through a mutual friend and with our passion for mosaics our friendship has grown. We have been planning the Exhibition for two years, it started over a cup of coffee, agreeing to jointly hold an exhibition at the Corinium Museum…then the hard work began!”
And Yvette… “I started going to mosaic evening classes about 14 years ago. I worked my way through vitreous glass, ceramics and china until I came to work with coloured glass on a transparent base. I loved the extra quality that the light gave to the mosaic and and I have not looked back since. I started selling small items at a craft market and it has blossomed into a full time occupation. I still sell at craft markets and also work in schools, do private commissions, workshops and I am in a shared artist collective in Cheltenham. My main work had been glass pieces for the garden and mosaic jewellery, but recently (mainly due to this exhibition) I started working with opaque stained glass and on multi media pieces and a whole new world has opened up! I met Jo 4 or 5 years ago through a market friend. we worked on large hares for the Cirencester March Hares Festival. I popped in to say hello to Jo when she had a studio at the Brewery Arts and we attended BAMM 2014 together. It was around that time we agreed to do an exhibition together. We moved into our shared studio space in January and muddle along really well together. Its lovely to have someone to bounce ideas off and someone who can give an educated, honest opinion about whether a piece is working or not.”
John and I were fortunate enough to be present at the ‘Meet the artists” preview of the exhibition and I was struck by the difference in their work. Jo using the softer muted colours of unglazed ceramic and Yvette’s bold bright colours reminiscent of her South African background. Although there is a striking difference in their work, they seem to compliment one another and the exhibition showed off their work to its best advantage.
Scroll down for more pictures of their work. Yvette’s work can be seen at http://www.baobabtreemosaics.co.uk, and Jo’s can be seen at http://www.muddlehousemosaics.co.uk. They also have Facebook pages.
Jo’s first commission, the silver tree!
Chameleon by Yvette
Cracked Earth by Yvette
Toucan by Yvette
Jo’s 3D mosaic, Mother Earth
These mosaics of Jo’s showed up well on the dark wall. They are L-R; Apple Blossom, Sunflower Mirror and Busy Bee’s.
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