FEATURED ARTIST: Ginny Moss Rothwell
Friday, January 8th, 2010
Ginny Moss Rothwell in her studio
The best word to describe Ginny Moss Rothwell’s work is “incredible.” At first look you think it is an exceptional painting but looking closer you realize it is a uniquely created mosaic. Her goal is to create images that will inspire the imagination and leave a lasting impression. Patience and persistence best describes her talent.
In the 70’s she worked for the famous Tucson artist Ted De Grazia as a member of the De Grazia Guild. She created dolls in the image of the children in his paintings and were authorized and signed by both De Grazia and Rothwell.
In 1994, years after De Grazia’s death, Ginny was commissioned by the De Grazia Foundation to restore the artwork in his Mission in the Sun located on the Gallery of the Sun grounds. She was selected because she knew De Grazia’s work, his style and had a feel for the chapel. It was a very detailed job as it was dry brushed on adobe-plastered walls using colors that had aged since the mid 1950’s when created.
The mosaics are her latest creations but she is also talented in creating bronze sculptures and oil paintings. By reviewing the work below you will see the influences she received by living in many foreign cultures such as India, Nepal, Indonesia, Pakistan and Uzbekistan and was particularly inspired by the colorful tile designs she saw in Samarkand in Central Asia.
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Explanations of the individual works in her mosaic series can be seen on her web site (in process): http://www.mossrothwellfineart.com
Her Frida Kahlo pieces seen above depict Frieda Kahlo in the way she likes to think the artist would be today…. free from pain and in a more peaceful place.
Her newest mosaic work was inspired and encouraged by her artist friends from Uzbekistan
Dmitriy Novakov http://www.artsogdiana.com/novakov_dmitriy/index.html
Anna Ivanova http://www.art-domain.com/ivanova.html
Dmitriy Akhunbabaev http://www.artsogdiana.com/akhunbabaev_dmitriy/index.html
When I first saw Ginny’s work I was amazed. As a professional artist myself with over twenty years experience with ceramics I understand the difficulty in accomplishing what she has created with her mosaics. Below are a few photos and explanations of her process.
In process mosaic by Ginny Moss Rothwell
Each part of this process takes great patience and skill. As you can see, each piece of the picture must be hand cut, hand glazed and then fired. To accomplish the proper color for the painterly effect she desires in her completed work the pieces sometimes need to be fired multiple times and often have to be discarded and replaced by new cut tiles and then re-fired to match the desired color.
Mosaic in process by Ginny Moss Rothwell
Jewel In The Lotus Mosiac in process
Rothwell often has to fire several combinations of colors before arriving at the perfect blend needed. This is something that just takes time. The color of the glaze that comes out of the jar usually does not look like the fired color. To match these colors takes much trial and error testing. In her mosaics she uses as many as 18 colors of grout in her finished work, which is also amazing.
She is presently not represented by a gallery and sells her work out of her studio. The best way to contact her is through her business email: mossrothwell@cox.net
If you have ever experienced ORBS, you may like to see this unique photo of some taken by Ginny Moss Rothwell titled “Is Anybody There?” She seems to have a knack for “calling them” into her photos.
Orb photo by Ginny Moss Rothwell...Is There Anybody There?
