Members Out in the World:

Gaelynn Sparker

Thanks to a father who only encouraged "real careers" and growing up in rural TX where only "manly things" are okay for boys I've had a life-long struggle with embracing my creativity. I flirted with a lot of "hobbies" as an escape from the oppression of living in TX, and for a brief time I did foil-wrapped stained glass (and still have a few pieces hanging in the house), but I kinda' fell off this path during the move to the Bay Area in 2000 and embracing a corporate career. Joining OGMC was my first step back on the path toward nurturing my inner artist. Thanks, everyone, for your support on this journey! During the pandemic I've finally made great strides toward pulling my inner artist out of the art closet. (That's a thing right?) I've picked up stained glass again but in a new format: mosaics. 

I love working in glass because SPARKLY!, and I love mosaics because they support a more spontaneous form of expression that's far more forgiving than stained glass windows. Also, you can incorporate almost anything into your composition if you're motivated enough. 

For my first non-class-related mosaic project I decided to combine mosaics with my long-standing geek love for Dungeons & Dragons. I had a wall in the game room to fill, so I set myself a high bar of one mosaic representing each D&D school of magic. One silver lining of pandemic times is that I had a lot of time to work on this project, and I'm so pleased with the final results. I hope they bring some of the same sparkly color and joy to your life as they do to mine. For more photos, check out my Instagram or if you're feeling especially inspired by my work I also have a Patreon. (An Etsy store is somewhere on the horizon as well.) And if you're a geek who wants the full explanation of each school of magic, check out the Instagram photo captions. 

Now I'm contemplating what my next project(s) might be. I hope to soon explore cement sculpture in pursuit of larger-scale mosaic artworks, but I've got a few "honey do" home improvement projects to get off my list first.