Mosaics by Julie
Beautiful mosaics are being created by a young woman in Fourways 1 in Bridge Street. Julie Smith, who lives in Amble, has been creating patterns and pictures since she was a child. Now, using many different materials she is creating colourful mosaic patterns and pictures.
At the moment she is thrilled to be preparing for her first exhibition in London. “I was visiting a friend in London”, she said. “And I met somebody who liked my work and asked me if I would display some of it in one of the coffee shops that she owns. I’m really thrilled about it.”
Much of Julie’s work is commissioned, such as that by the owners of a cottage in Alnmouth, where she designed mosaics for sitting room and bathroom. The owners of the house were so pleased with her work that they opened their house to visitors during the Alnmouth Art Festival in June.
Materials used in her work include tiles, recycled ceramics, shells, pebbles, glass and smalti. (which is a mixture of glass and minerals). These materials add different textures and colours and all are hand cut to size.
Art wasn’t Julie’s first job choice. After leaving Coquet High School she tried hairdressing, but gave it up to join a sign-etching firm in Morpeth, doing silk screen printing. After a short time in Spain, she returned home and decided to do a course in mosaics in London.
For a short time, a piece of Julie’s work, named Kathmandu will be on display in Strands, on Bede Street. It is destined for a centre in Nepal, where they care for children injured in traffic accidents. Other pieces of work are shown in the Bakehouse Gallery, Alnwick, the Drift café in Seahouses and Wooler gallery.
Julie is now interested in restoration work, having been inspired by a restorer she met in Ravenna, Italy. She would like to get involved, while continuing with her own creations, of course.
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