There are many facets to the world of mosaics and the more I work in this medium, the more I have become attracted to the style called pique assiette, which primarily uses broken china. The palette of this style is vast, including not just colors but patterns, textures and images from history. A broken Bauer bowl married with a chipped Mikasa cup joins the past with the present; handcrafted bits combine with remnants of the mass-produced to create surprising harmony.

There are a few notable pioneers and major influences of this form: Italian immigrant Simon Rodia collected broken tile and pottery for thirty-three years, starting in the early 1920s, to decorate his incredible Watts Towers. Frenchman Raymond Isidore, for whom the origin of the term "plate stealer" is attibuted to, began to collect broken crockery and shards of colored tile and glass in 1928, spending nearly thirty years to mosaic his entire home inside and out. The Spanish architect Josef Jujol worked with Gaudi, and he is only recently credited with integrating broken plates, tile and found objects as decorative architectural elements in Park Guell.

Pique assiette spans cultures and generations: Early African cultures often decorated gravesites with pieces of sentimental objects. Victorian era women created "memoryware" on vessels using family china and cherished objects. Today, pique assiette is used to enhance our environment--both indoors and out. It is a fascinating art that is ever-expanding, of great historical value, and a medium rich with options for the creative spirit.

All of my mosaic pieces have been carefully created to stand the test of time, from items I have found or that have found me. I especially enjoy fusing different tessarae into a color-themed, unified whole.

Please feel free to e-mail any questions you may have about purchasing available pieces, commissions or mosaics in general.

Thank you for visiting my website, and I hope you enjoy my work.

Dawn Mendelson
Long Beach, California