Laura  and Jack Harris- Mosaic Artist

Laura Harris was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1961.  She is the daughter of the late Midwest sculptor/painter, Walter Lenz.  Laura has been working in mixed media, including fiber art, acrylic art and mosaic art for over 25 years.  More recently, Laura has concentrated on mosaic portrait art.  She uses a direct method of application whereas each piece of tessera is permanently adhered to a substrate.  After sketching out a design, each individual piece of tessera is hand cut to create unique mosaics.  Her tesserae include venetian and dichroic glass, 24 Kt. Italian gold smalti, porcelain, ceramic tile, mirror, stone and salvaged or recycled materials.  Laura’s work has been compared to some of the great European mosaic artists of the 21st century.

Laura’s work is on exhibit at Eggert’s Fine Art Gallery, North Lake,Wisconsin and at Landmarks Fine Art Gallery, Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. As well as appearing in numerous newspaper and magazine articles, Laura was selected as one  of only four artists from the state of Wisconsin to be a featured artist on “Channel 10 Great TV Auction “ in 2007 and was a guest artist on the TV show,“Artist to Artist”.

Laura's career was not limited to the field of art. Laura graduated summa cum laude from UWM-Milwaukee with a master's degree in 1985.  She worked as a speech-language pathologist for over 15 years and was recognized in 1998 as one of the top 5 teachers in Wisconsin for her efforts in the field of Assistive Technology and voted New Berlin Public School Teacher of the Year in 2001.  Laura has now retired from her teaching career to pursue her art full-time.

Although handicapped with MS, first diagnosed in 1985, Laura has risen above her physical limitations to create fine art mosaic pieces that encapsulate the heart and soul of the subject matter.

Awards

2007

Best in Show, Watertown Fine Arts FestivalWatertown, WI

         Award of Excellence, Eagle River Artarama Riverwalk Art Show Eagle River, WI

            Best in Show,  Oconomowoc Festival of the ArtsOconomowoc, WI

Best in 2-D Mixed Media, Oconomowoc Festival of the ArtsOconomowoc, WI

2008

Award of Excellence, Eagle River Artarama Riverwalk Art Show Eagle River, WI

.2009

2nd Place  in Glass, Spring Green Art FairSpring Green,WI

2nd in Show, Itasca Art and Wine FestivalItasca, IL

 “Today, the world can appear fragmented and its people disconnected,  mosaics allow me to fuse the pieces  together to create something cohesive and beautiful , what I wish the world could be.”  --   Laura Harris

www.melonheadgallery.com

e-mail:   LauraHarris@centurytel.net