    |
|
Friday, December 5, 2003 By LISA MARTIN / Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News Sonia King's life is in pieces. Internationally acclaimed mosaic artist, teacher and author of an "Creating a mosaic is like solving a puzzle," she writes in Mosaic Techniques & Traditions: Projects & Designs From Around the World (Sterling, $34.95). It's a puzzle she has long since mastered, again and again. Some of her talent must be chalked up to genes. According to Ms. King, her mother, Sherri King, became a proficient mosaic hobbyist in North Texas during the 1960s. Though daughter Sonia was interested in the process, the fire that would shape her career had yet to spark or even smolder. Instead, Ms. King, who did major in fine arts as an undergrad, turned business-minded, earning an MBA from Southern Methodist University. As a young professional, she worked for an oil company as a marketing consultant. "I was working so hard and traveling so much that something snapped, and I said, 'I must make art now!' " explains the artist from her white-walled studio in the Hollywood Heights neighborhood of East Dallas. She dug out her mother's old nippers (a hand tool that cuts ceramic tiles) and went to work. She also managed to use her hectic travel schedule to her advantage. "If I had to go to London, I'd schedule myself to take a mosaic class while I was there," she says. When in Europe or the Middle East, she'd visit spectacular mosaics: the Monastery of St. Catherine on Mount Sinai in Egypt; the tomb of Rudolf Nureyev at the Russian cemetery in The travels not only facilitated her transition to full-time mosaic artist. They also influenced the shape of her first book. "On my Web site, I had a section that included information on what mosaics to see when you were traveling abroad," she says of www.mosaicworks.com. "The feedback was great, and so I proposed to write what was essentially a travel mosaic book." The publisher wanted projects and pragmatic tips, too, which Ms. King readily provided. A longtime teacher at the Creative Arts Center, an arts-education nonprofit for adults in East Dallas, she knew firsthand the information that new mosaic craftspeople need to succeed. "In class someone would ask a question, and I'd say, 'Hold it,' and grab a pen and write that down so I wouldn't forget it for the book!" What resulted was a 256-page book with more than 500 color photos of artwork and projects from around the globe. "This was really the book I wish I'd had when I was just starting out," she says. "I wanted to give really good technical advice to both the novice and those who are advanced, and I wanted to create a helpful directory to the world's great mosaics." Now, as president of the Society of American Mosaic Artists, she's delighted to watch interest in the art surge around this country. "Mosaics have been hot in England for the past five or six years, and the United States is about three years behind that curve," she says. "When I became president of the society in April 2000, there were 185 members. Now there are 732. It's mind-boggling." Mind-boggling, too, is a massive commission that's due to be unveiled later this month: mosaic walls on four floors of Children's Medical Center in Dallas. And for a commission due this spring, she's making frosted-glass mosaics for two floors of windows there. "The doctors and nurses walk by and say they want the walls for their kids' rooms," she says. "I tell them all they can do it themselves. Making mosaics isn't rocket science. "Some people like to use broken china, some people like to use found objects, but I use everything," she says. Among the items: fossils, stones, slices of agate, bone, safety glass, seashells and slate, some of which were rejected roofing tiles from a construction project at Her residential applications include shower stalls, floors, garden paths, swimming pools, tabletops, seating and kitchen backsplashes. In her art pieces, Ms. King often abstains from using grout, a common European technique. The result: The negative space (the space between the tiles) creates appealing shadows and textures. She typically makes eight major art pieces a year, ranging from sculptural works to wall hangings. Several are showcased in her book, including the cover image, a blue and white pot that sits on her living-room table, and the time-out chair, which occupies a corner of "It's a slow art that requires concentration and deliberation," she says. "But, at the same time, it's relaxing." For Sonia King, it seems, mosaics have proved a perfect fit. Sonia King will sign her new book from 2 to 4 p.m. Dec. 6 |
