Looking for that special something to set off your garden or home?  Something that will bring sparkle and joy to your space?  Joanie Callen, the featured artist at Red Chair Gallery during August, may have exactly what you are looking for.

Callen is a mosaic artist that creates magical creatures and beautiful color saturated wall pieces utilizing deeply colored and dichroic glass pieces.

When Joanie became fascinated with the mosaic art form she took her studies in  classical mosaics to Ravenna, Italy where she studied under master glass workers.  The technique learned was the ancient Byzantine method of setting tesserae (pieces of glass) directly into a mortar bed.

This Italian experience inspired her to translate the ancient technique into a modern interpretation.  Recently Callen has added fused glass pieces to create a three-dimensional effect in many of her works.  She can be found hunting through discarded pieces from professional glass blowers to find that special piece that can be repurposed into her works.

Joanie creates functional art pieces, especially large colorful glass mirrors, which bring color and excitement to any environment. “I love color; it floods my senses. I love the tactile sense of touching  different shapes and the textures of  glass pieces.  When starting a project I usually have no idea where it will take me, then I am always amazed at how it seemingly transforms itself into something magical.”

Joanie especially loves to create whimsical animal sculptures utilizing the variety of items at her disposal.  “My animal sculptures are  significant in that I hope to remind people to take care of the beautiful and remarkable creatures with which we share the earth.”

Joanie moved from Northern California eight years ago and lives with her husband and three dogs in Southwest Bend.

Callen’s work has been purchased by collectors from all over including  Sweden, Italy, France, Germany and South America. She has participated in juried art shows in Oregon and California and belongs to the Society of American Mosaic Artists, the Mosaic Guild of Central Oregon.

She is a member artist at the Red Chair Gallery and will be featured during August 2016.