A mosaic is defined as “a surface decoration made by inlaying small pieces of variously colored material to form pictures or patterns.” They date back to ancient times and were popularized by the Romans.
Thanks to the talent of Kate Stewart, beautiful original mosaics are covering surfaces throughout Globe-Miami.
Stewart’s most recent piece is on display at Stewart’s Antique Nook, 409 W. Sullivan St. She calls it “Arizona Critters: Air and Earth” and worked on it for the past seven months. Her husband Phil Stewart planned a “big reveal” on Jan. 17. She said it was also a reveal for her. They installed the mosaics in the dark on Friday and kept them covered until noon the next day.
“I hadn’t seen them upright yet, just laying down in the basement,” she said. “It was just as exciting for me to see the light flashing off them.”
A former teacher, her mosaic endeavors began during spring break 2020; she had a plan to make a tree. She made it out of broken Goodwill plates and floor tile.
Then, “Covid happened and no one could come see it,” she said.
Nonetheless, Kate continued to create.
Now, her mosaics are on Globe’s Stairizona Trail. She created the sign for the store she owns with her husband. Inside the store is “Kate’s Mosaics” which is an area featuring her art for sale.
Seven permanent pieces can be found from the Miami Mercantile to the Hostetler Pool. The mosaic in front of the Miami Art Works building features a quote by Demetri Martin, “EARTH without ART is just ‘EH.’”
Stewart said she taught for 25 years and “that’s always been a quote around in my classrooms.”
Stewart also created a miner mosaic through a Miami Arts Commission grant, and it will be part of an alley project near Miami Town Hall. For now, the miner is on display in the town hall lobby and is set to be installed prior to the Miami Loco Arts Festival in April.
Additionally, she is working on three more projects that will be installed farther down toward Bullion Plaza Cultural Center & Museum.
Stewart retired from teaching one year ago and has been happy to find a hobby she’s passionate about.
Though she’s been asked to teach her art, she “wants to take a break from teaching for a while,” she said.
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