Mosaic – Rachael Que Vargas Atelier

La Siren III, a Commission for the American Museum of Natural History

La Siren III, 2017Vitreous glass, bottle caps, stone, copper, 15.65

Envisioning Black Feminist Voodoo Aesthetics by Kameelah L. Martin

My mosaic of the Vévé for Erzuli was used

Radio Ancestrale, an installation commissioned by Tarble Arts Center, EIU, 2000

Introduction “Nowhere is Kongo Angola influence on the new world

Acrobat Fence for Discovery Playhouse, 2011

Discovery Playhouse commissioned this fence for their Children’s Museum in Cape Girardeau, MO. The faces in the fence are glass mosaic, which were complete as a project with a local arts group.

Old Glory an American flag created from over 20,000 Budweiser bottle caps for Stagecoach Festival

Old Glory is an American flag created from over 20,000

Bottle Cap Art Tutorial: How I Craft my Bottle Cap Mosaics

Every few weeks I get an email asking me about

Mosaic Commission for LimeLight Lodge, Aspen Colorado

Mosaic Fish For Limelight Lodge Swimming Pool, 2008
Sicis glass, glass eyes, glass tile
Dimensions variable
Commission

Mosaic Art 2007 Yearbook

Buckingham, Bill. Mosaic Art 2007 Yearbook. DVD.

Johnny Evers Mosaic, Centerpiece of the Chicago Cubs Triptych

Johnny Evers Mosaic Portrait, 2006vitreous glass mosaic, steel frame.48″ H

Brook Trout Glass Mosaic No. 2, 2006

Brook Trout Mosaic No. 2, 2006Sicis Iridium glass tile, glass

Rainbow Trout Glass Mosaic, 2002

Rainbow Trout, 2002glass tile, glass eye, copper, Wonderboard substrate on

Bluegill Glass Mosaic, 2005

Bluegill Mosaic, 2005
Sicis Iridium glass tile, glass taxidermy eye, copper.
11″ H x 17.5″ W x 1.5″ D

Lake Trout Glass Mosaic, 2006

Lake Trout Mosaic, 2006Sicis Iridium glass tile, glass taxidermy eye,

Rainbow Trout Mosaic, 2006

Rainbow Trout Glass Mosaic, 2006Sicis Iridium glass tile, glass taxidermy

Brook Trout Mosaic No. 1, 2006

Brook Trout Mosaic No. 1, 2006: Dimensions: 11″ high x 19″ wide x 1.5″ deep. Materials: Sicis Iridium glass tile, glass taxidermy eye, copper. Mosaic is set with mortar on a Hardibacker substrate over plywood and finished around the edges with copper banding.

Bluegill Glass Mosaic No. 2, 2006

Bluegill Mosaic No. 2, 2006Sicis Iridium glass tile, glass taxidermy

La Siren II: A Mosaic Mermaid Sculpture in Bottle Caps and Glass, 2004

Christy MacLear commissioned this piece for her gallery, Fleur Fine Art, because people kept asking her to sell the mermaid from her private collection and she couldn’t bring herself to part with it. She gave me “total artistic freedom” to create any bottle cap mermaid I wanted to and I took that ball and ran with it. Unfortunately, this is currently the best photo I have, but I will replace it as soon as possible with one showing the mermaid straight-on. in the meantime, click here for a close-up of her face and hair.

DisneyQuest Chicago: Mosaic Mural and Sculpture for Cows On Parade

DisneyQuest Chicago: Mosaic Mural and Sculpture, 2005
Plastic rhinestone mosaic
Commission

The Friendly Gesture: A Retro Mosaic Table

The Friendly Gesture, 1999 ceramic tile, slate, plywood substrate. 24″

Ballad of the Dragon Mosaic Table

Ballad of the Dragon, 1999ceramic tile, glass, plywood substrate.24″ x

Cocktail Girls, Mosaic Table

Cocktail Girls, 1999ceramic tile, glass, plywood substrate.24″ x 48″ x

La Femme Astrale Mosaic Table

La Femme Astrale, 1999ceramic tile, plywood substrate.24″ x 48″ x

El Corazon Mosaic Table

This table was commissioned by Angelo at Casa Loca in Chicago. The original design is from the Mexican Loteria deck, a traditional game similar to Bingo.

Erzuli VeVe Mosaic Table

Vévé for Erzuli Mosaic Table, 2003vitreous glass, glass gems, steel

Peter The Crow Mosaic Table

When my dad was young he had a series of pet crows, all named Peter, and Peter was the hero of my bedtime stories.

Elvis Is Love Mosaic Mirror

This piece and the What Would Elvis Do? mirror were created for a show of all-Elvis art at Fleur Fine Art in Chicago.

Green River Station Glass Mosaic Panel

My neighbor across the street lives in what was once the old train station, sometime around the turn of the century. He commissioned this piece for the exterior of his home. This was actually the most difficult mosaic I’ve done to date.

Community Harmony Through Song & Play, Panel 3: Peace in the Park

Community Harmony Through Song & Play Panel 3 In the park a band plays, a man and woman dance, a child jumps to catch the notes in the air…. A man sells balloons and children get sno-cones from a pushcart vendor, a common sight in North Lawndale…. Community Harmony Through Song & Play: panel 3, 2001: ceramic tile on wood substrate 66″ x 48″ x 2″ One of three mosaics created for Manly Career Academy High School in Chicago’s North Lawndale neighborhood. Assisted by Caswell James and advised by veteran muralist Nina Smoot-Cain, I worked with a team of nine community youths to design and produce three mosaic panels totaling 66 sqare feet. Commission sponsored by Chicago Public Art Group with support from Gallery 37 and the Mayor’s Office of Workforce Development.

Community Harmony Through Song & Play, Panel 2: Arts and History

Community Harmony Through Song & Play, Panel 2: Arts and

Community Harmony Through Song & Play, Panel 1: Music

Community Harmony Through Song & Play, Panel 1: Music, 2001Ceramic

Four Marble Mosaics Commissioned by Northeastern University, Boston

One of four mosaics commissioned by Eson Chan, Art Director at Northeastern University Magazine,to illustrate an article about dolphin watching off the coast of Spain.

Atlas Mosaic in Glass and Bottle Caps, 2003

What I love most about this piece is the variety of interpretations I’ve heard— from holding up the weight of the worlds garbage, to being crushed by alcoholism, to a desire to drink in the entire world.

Mermaid Mosaic Sculpture in Bottle Caps and Italian Glass, 2000

La Siren With her Italian glass top and bottle cap tail, LaSiren reflects not just light but a sense of humor and playfulness. Private collection.

What Would Elvis Do? Mosaic Mirror

This piece and the Elvis Is Love mirror were created for a show of all-Elvis art at Fleur Fine Art in Chicago.

Shiny Happy Puppy: A Modern Take On An Ancient Mosaic

Shiny Happy Puppy: A Modern Take On An Ancient Mosaic When I first saw an image of this “beware of dog” mosaic from Ancient Rome, I immediately fell in love with it…. If you compare the flow of tile where the dog’s right shoulder and rear leg meet the body, I think you’ll agree that they look a little better than the original mosaic…. More importantly, I kind of feel like the world is far too full of warnings and dire threats these days and I just don’t want to contribute to the culture of fear even on a minor level…. This is the kind of thing that makes being an artist so much fun really— you start out with a simple idea like recreating an ancient door mat, and by the time you’re half-way through you’re doing amateur cultural analysis based on how the words available to a culture influence what and how they can think…. One guy had said something to the effect that he really didn’t care one way or the other about the war, the economy or stem cells, but he really wished that they would let him shoot the endangered wolves that were eating his cattle.

Mosaic Headstone for pet cat

Mud’s Marker, 2001Concrete, Ceramic tile12.5″ H x 12″ W x

Vodou Libation Bottles in Tile Mosaic

The mosaic bottles shown here are a series completed between

Frank Lloyd Wright Styled Fence in Steel, Slate, Copper + Glass

The floral pattern in these fences was designed to complement clerestory windows overlooking the courtyard where they are installed. Incorporating natural slate, iridescent glass mosaic tile and copper, this project is the culmination of techniques I have been developing over the past few years.

A Love Story: Narrative Fence in Steel, Glass, Copper and Brass

Having seen pictures of my Acrobat Fence, my friends Howie and JoAnn approached me to design four sections of fence to enclose a round garden at their Evanston, Illinois residence. Together, they scripted a narrative telling the story of their lives together in four acts: meeting and falling in love; traveling Asia; their first child, Gabriel; and their second child, Julian.

Steel + Mosaic Fence with Tumbling Acrobats

These graceful figures suggest both the motion of their dance and the music that moves them. The obvious joy of the figures is engaging— but their simplicity is what really captivates us. We can easily see ourselves, someone we know, or the person we might like to be in this dance.

Community Harmony Through Song & Play: Three Mosaics for Manly Career Academy High School

The Mosaics: Music | History | Peace in the Park

Frank Chance Mosaic Portrait

While I was in Chicago, I delivered the finished mosaic of Frank Chance that Mya and I worked on this summer. This is the second of a tryptich featuring portraits of Joe Tinker, Johnny Evers and Frank Chance.

Classical Erotic Mosaic In Marble

Erastes + Eromenos Marble Mosaic, 2005Marble mosaic on Durock substrate.

Altar for Anima Sola and Marinette

Anima Sola/Marinette Altar, 2004Steel, cast iron, vitreous glass mosaic, slate,antique

Angel Watching You

For a long time, my most well-know work was the Devil Girl tile mosaic windvane. I felt like she needed an angelic sister to balance the family. So last winter while the snow piled up to the eves of my studio I created this sleeping angel. I knew exactly what pose I wanted, but, not having access to a live model I had to search the web for an image to work from.

She Whirls! World’s Only She-Devil Mosaic Wind Vane

The Amazing Devil Girl— She Whirls!, 2000ceramic mosaic, plywood,

Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 55, 2011

The city of Lincoln City, OR commissioned this Fish and a 41 inch Waves O’ Fire Sculptural Firebowl as public art. I was a Featured Artist at the Art Sea Festival and gave a live demonstration of creating a Bottle Cap Mosaic.

Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 54, 2007

Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 54, 2007plywood, primer, bottle caps,

Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 53, 2011

Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 53, 2011plywood, primer, bottle caps,

Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 52, 2011

Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 52, 2011plywood, primer, bottle caps,

Bottle Cap Fish Mosaic No. 51, 2010

Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 51, 2010plywood, primer, bottle caps,

Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 50, 2011

Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 50, 2011plywood, primer, bottle caps,

Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 49, 2009

Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 49, 2009plywood, primer, bottle caps,

Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 48, 2008

Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 48, 2008plywood, primer, bottle caps,

Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 47, 2008

Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 47, 2008plywood, primer, bottle caps,

Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 46, 2006

Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 26, 2006plywood, primer, bottle caps,

Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 45, 2008

Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 45, 2008plywood, primer, bottle caps,

Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 44, 2009

Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 44, 2009plywood, primer, bottle caps,

Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 43, 2008

Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 43, 2008plywood, primer, bottle caps,

Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 42, 2007

Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 42, 2007plywood, primer, bottle caps, recycled

Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 40, 2006

Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 40, 2006plywood, primer, bottle caps,

Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 39, 2006

Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 39, 2006plywood, primer, bottle caps,

Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 38, 2006

Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 38, 2006plywood, primer, bottle caps,

Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 36, 2006

Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 36, 2006plywood, primer, bottle caps,

Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 35, 2006

Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 35, 2006plywood, primer, bottle caps,

Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 34, 2006

Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 34, 2006plywood, primer, bottle caps,

Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 32, 2006

Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 32, 2006plywood, primer, bottle caps,

Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 30, 2006

Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 30, 2006plywood, primer, bottle

Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 28, 2006

Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 28, 2006plywood, primer, bottle caps,

Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 26, 2006

Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 26, 2006 plywood, primer, bottle

Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 24, 2006

Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 24, 2006plywood, primer, bottle caps,

Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 22, 2006

Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 22, 2006bottle caps, recycled roofing

Bottle Cap Fish Mosaic No. 21, 2006

Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 21, 2006 plywood, primer, bottle

Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 17, 2006

Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 17, 2006plywood, primer, bottle caps,

Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 15, 2006

Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 15, 2006plywood, primer, bottle caps,

Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 12, 2005

Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 12, 2005plywood, primer, bottle caps,

Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 10, 2005

Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 10, 2005plywood, primer, bottle caps,

Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 8, 2005

Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 8, 2005plywood, primer, bottle caps,

Mosaic Art + Style: Designs for Living Environments by JoAnn Locktov

Mosaic Art + Style: Designs for Living Environments, JoAnn Locktov, Rockport Publishers, March, 2005. 117.

Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 7, 2005

Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 7, 2005plywood, primer, bottle caps,

Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 5, 2005

Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 5, 2005plywood, primer, bottle caps,

Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 4, 2005

Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 4, 2005plywood, primer, bottle caps,

Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 3, 2005

Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 3, 2005plywood, primer, bottle caps,

Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 2, 2005

Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 2, 2005plywood, primer, bottle caps,

Joe Tinker Mosaic Portrait for Lakeview Baseball Club

Joe Tinker Mosaic Portrait, 2004vitreous glass mosaic, steel frame, copper.48″

Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 1, 2004

Bottle Cap Mosaic Fish No. 1, 2004plywood, primer, bottle caps,

Northeastern University Magazine, Vol. 28, No. 2, 2002

“The Days of the Dolphins,” 4 marble mosaics, Northeastern University Magazine, Vol. 28, No. 2, 2002, 14, 17, 21-22

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