When the American Society for Surgery of the Hand purchased a 100-year-old building in the West Loop of Chicago, I was asked to make a mosaic for it. I learned that the original window over the door, containing the building’s address, was going to be discarded. I decided it would make a great base for the new mosaic.
I began by sanding the window frame to remove chipping paint.
Then I began to play around with possible design, using my completed bird mosaic for inspiration.
I decided to go with birds, but over the numbers instead. Here you can see the pattern underneath.
Here’s what the window looked like with the birds and numbers mosaicked.
Then I started cutting leaves for the side panels. This is what one night’s worth of cutting amounted to — not even enough to fill one panel!
The mosaic began to come together.
Once it was completed I painted it and grouted it.
And then it was hung in the 822 office in front of a window, so light could shine through.
The whole process took several months of evenings and weekends to complete.