Series Mosaics — Julie Richey Mosaics

Common Heritage Series: Chauvet

Natural stone on hand-formed substrate. I have a deep interest in the work of the earliest artists ~ individuals from "Stone Age" civilizations who may or may not have had an understanding of the concept of making art. Yet they felt compelled to represent. Was it for survival or amusement? In the fragile paintings of Lascaux, Chauvet and Altamira, we see animals depicted, but not humans. Their purpose couldn’t have been egocentric.
I visited the low cliffs of a New Mexican rift valley, photographing petroglyphs created before the Anasazi could conceive of 15,000-year-old horses in the caves of southwestern France. Inspiration for a Common Heritage Series struck. We're the first generation of explorers who can have the experience of contemplating these images side by side as we intersect what Shirley Hazzard calls "a history, a long existence, offering it our fresh discovery as regeneration."

Chauvet detail

The Common Heritage Series: Bru na Boine

Mexican smalti on hand-formed substrate. 3200 BC. Older than Stonehenge and Avebury, this “cathedral of a megalithic religion” contained secrets only revealed during recent excavations. Many of the patterns and carvings on the site were positioned in such a way that visitors would never see them. Astronomical events such as the winter solstice are still an essential feature of these New Grange structures. Did these circular patterns have spiritual meaning in a place that Irish literature and folklore claim is the house of the Irish gods? The reverse spirals are perfectly imperfect and their mysterious purpose may be lost, but we still find endless fascination in their pattern and symmetry

The Common Heritage Series: T'ahu 'u Spirit Keeper

Natural stone on hand-formed substrate. In the petroglyphs and pictographs of the American Southwest, messages emerge as stick figures and symbols rather than accurate renderings. Lunar calendars, religious ceremonies, historical events and relationships between man and nature are depicted in shorthand patterns and stick figures. I visited a remote valley in northern New Mexico and was overwhelmed by the number of images left by Native American nomadic tribes. Were these images of fertility? (Exhibit A: the Spirit Keeper!) Were they place markers? Calendars marking seasons, stars, or female cycles? In her book Valley of Shining Stone, Lesley Poling-Kempes writes, "The Pueblo People of New Mexico believe that the earth is imbued with the breath, thoughts, and feelings of every person that has ever placed a foot upon it. They say that the earth is alive with the spirits of those who have walked across its body: the faraway past vibrates in the soil, and the stories of the long-ago people lie scattered like stones upon the places that once harbored them."

T' ahu 'u Spirit Keeper detail

Fibonacci Series

Created for a Dallas-based investment advisor, the Fibonacci Series examines the many angles of sacred geometry.

The Golden Mean

An actual wooden compass used to draw circles and other geometric forms is embedded.

Fractal Snowflakes

Mexican smalti and three-dimensional crystals create unique fractal geometry.

Nautilus and Hurricane

A real African petrified nautilus segment and an artistic version float in turbulent waters.

Nautilus and Hurricane detail

Fractal Snowflake detail

Drops Series: Fracture

Italian smalti and dichroic glass

Fracture detail

Italian smalti (enameled glass)

Drops Series: Adriatic

Adriatic detail

Italian smalti, copper glass and turquoise

Drops Series: Sleet

Carrara marble and dichroic glass

Sleet detail

Drops Series: Oh, Jetty

Oh, Jetty detail

Mexican and Italian smalti and abalone shell

Drops Series: Aegean

Aegean detail

Natural stone, turquose and mineral

Drops Series: Splatter

Splatter detail

Italian smalti, millefiori and hematite

Drops Series: Aquifer

Natural stone, Italian and Mexican smalti, ammonite fossils

Drops Series: Drizzle

Italian smalti

The Cappucino Bar Series

Created for the University of Dallas and sponsored by various departments which have a Rome campus presence: Music, Constantin College and the School of Ministry.

Cosmati Column detail

Travertine, Mexican and Italian smalti, 24k gold smalti

Casa degli Studenti

Wetsaw-cut natural stone and Italian smalti

The Eight Days of Creation

Mosaic installation at Loyola University of Chicago's Institute of Pastoral Studies. A site-specific commission featuring seven days of creation, plus Easter as the eighth day. All mosaics are 8 x 8 inches on birch panel, made of Italian glass smalti.