Eileen Gay
Artist Bio
Beginning as a child, Eileen’s artistic talent and interest in being a maker led her to draw, paint, and sculpt in various media to express herself. Since discovering mosaic in 2002, her concrete sculptural mosaics allow her to use her maker process of working in the round to express emotions and tell stories.
Her feeling of a connection with nature and the story she feels compelled to tell for each of her sculptural mosaics are the driving forces behind her works. Eileen’s creative process includes her visceral response to a projects’ site using her own unique translation of what she feels the story is to tell.
With her sculptural and panel mosaics, first there is inspiration (what a rush), design (focus that rush) and then the engineering involved (Yes Eileen, there is gravity and you’d better plan for it). She loves that once the problem solving and planning is in place, she can take flight and become the doing of the work. She feels that the creation process is a magical journey.
Joining the Society of American Mosaic Artists in 2005 gave her access to an expanded, shared knowledge base. That connection, sharing knowledge with her peers at conference gatherings, and taking workshops given by her fellow professionals strengthened her professional focus. In 2014 her submission to the Mosaic Arts International show earned her Best In Show for “Heart,” a public art installation and memorial commission installed in Colorado Springs.
As a public artist since 2002, Eileen has successfully created mosaic installations within budgets of up to $167,000 while successfully working with architects, public agencies, and stakeholders. Eileen considers all to be her teammates working towards the same goal; a successful public art installation.
Artist Work
Title: Heart
Category: Visual Arts
Genre: Mosaic Sculpture
Description: In 2012 the Waldo Canyon Fire in Colorado burned 18,247 acres in the Pike National Forest leaving two people dead and destroying some 346 homes. Heart is a memorial commemorating that loss and honoring the community’s strength for rising to the challenge of healing in its aftermath.
HONORS - BEST IN SHOW, Mosaic Arts International 2015: Society of American Mosaic Artists – Painted Bride Art Center Architectural Installation Category
Medium: Concrete Sculpture, Tile Mosaic
Dimensions: 12’ x 6’ x 4’
Date: 11/14
Location: Colorado Springs, Mountain Shadows Park
Cost: $43,000
Title: Chryshellis
Category: Visual Arts
Genre: Mosaic Sculpture
Description: Inside Chryshellis’ dusky white oyster shell, the sun rises above a golden ocean horizon on the right, while high above in the left half of the shell a crescent moon simultaneously sets above a silvery-blue ocean. And like a butterfly coming out of a cocoon, a new day dawns in Ocean View…
Medium: Concrete Sculpture, Glazed Porcelain and Glass Tile Mosaic
Dimensions: Approx. 9' x 6' x 4’
Date: 10/21
Location: Ocean View Beach Park, Norfolk, Virginia
Cost: $50,000
Title: Water Metrics
Category: Visual Arts
Genre: Mosaic Sculpture
Description:‘Water Metrics’ two spillway forms with their glass mosaic waters splashing down from the tops pay homage to the canals, ditches, and waterways that deliver water to the farms, ranches, and homes in Meridian Idaho. The four colorful mosaic medallions on the sides depict images of local bird and plant life, as well as Idaho potato crops, and are surrounded in raised, concentric rings in recognition of the ripple effect of the waters the canals and ditches bring to the community of Meridian – and a nod to the spinning wheels of the trail’s bicycling visitors.
Medium: Concrete Sculpture, Glazed Porcelain and Glass Tile Mosaic
Dimensions: 2 sculptures each approx. 3' x 3' x 8’
Date: 07/23
Location: Fivemile Creek Trailhub, Meridian, Idaho
Cost: $50,000
Location
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