Visual magic at new tile gallery in Mt. Airy

by MARIE FOWLER

Bright bits of ceramic and hand-made, hand-painted tiles are creeping up a column at 6780 Germantown Ave. in Mt. Airy. Admirers have only to step inside the just-opened Tesserae Studio Gallery to peruse the materials and methods artist-in-residence and owner Jessica Gorlin-Liddell employs to create her visual magic.

The artist defines “tesserae” (pronounced teh-seh-RAY) formally as “small particles of marble, glass or earthenware, used by the ancients for mosaic, as for making pavements, for ornamenting walls and like purposes.” And the Tesserae Studio Gallery is chock-a-block with colored and mirror tiles, stained glass, Venetian glass and sea glass — even broken bits of porcelain dinner plates — all just waiting to be organized into unique works of art. Tesserae offers, as the owner-artist promises, an opportunity to “experience an ancient art with a modern twist.”

“And I really see the studio,” the young and enthusiastic mosaic artist stresses, “as a sort of paint-your-own pottery place, but with mosaic! My goal,” she adds, “is to offer classes and parties for kids and adults,” as well as to showcase her own compositions.

Gorlin-Liddell is a Californian by birth, having grown up in the southern part of the state and studied and worked in the Bay Area. She has a background in arts education and studio art from New College, a small liberal arts institution in San Francisco, but it was a trip to Spain in 1993 that sparked her love for mosaics.

In Barcelona, she found her master — noted architect Antoni Gaudi. “He created whole buildings and parks as big as football fields, “Gorlin-Liddell remembers, her huge eyes sparking, “covered with mosaic tiles.” She could scarcely wait until she got home to give it a try herself. “There were not a lot of people doing mosaics back then,” she said. “I talked to tile setters, studied at the California College for Arts and Crafts in Oakland, made my own tiles and began.”

Gorlin-Liddell has private, public and corporate clients. Among her first projects was a garden wall for a documentary filmmaker in San Francisco and a 30-foot kitchen surround in Danville, Calif. Decorative niches, fireplaces, café tables and signs, garden enhancements — the possibilities, not to mention the artist’s imagination — are limitless. Especially clever is a backsplash she fashioned for a Main Line kitchen. Two teacup halves are worked into the composition, providing not only visual appeal, but functioning as small vases in addition. “Mosaic art brings new life to materials and surfaces that may otherwise be overlooked,” Gorlin-Liddell said.

At an elementary school in Piedmont, Calif. (a small enclave rather like Chestnut Hill, but a municipal entity unto itself, completely surrounded by Oakland), students under Gorlin-Liddell’s direction crafted planters utilizing verbal imagery as well as visual. “Students at Coopertown Elementary in Bryn Mawr did much the same when recreating their school, complete with their own beaming faces, in mosaic.

“It’s a lot of fun working with kids,” the artist is quick to point out. “It’s a treat, a change of pace, since working in the studio can be isolating. Children love working with mosaics and that’s very gratifying.”

For Cheltenham Elementary, Gorlin-Liddell chose as a theme the celebration of seasons. Cleverly, she divided the tasks so each grade had an age-appropriate role in the creation of the school’s mosaic mural. Kindergartners painted tiles, first-graders made leaves and second-graders crafted raindrops. At a South Philadelphia school, Gorlin-Liddell helped younger artists create compositions based on African American quilt patterns. The artist is clearly gifted in assessing the skills of youngsters and communicating brilliantly with them.

Perhaps the artist’s ease in working with children is augmented by the addition of an in-studio apprentice, her 14-month-old daughter, Maya. “She’s already learning her colors,” the proud artist/mom boasts. Indeed, young Maya appears a quick study and seems possessed of her mother’s sunny disposition and outgoing personality.

A turning point in Gorlin-Liddell’s career was winning a national competition for Halpatiokee Regional Park in Stuart, Florida. Medallions of various native Florida fauna, from alligators to pink flamingos, materialized from the magic of her hands.

The Philadelphia Horticultural Society commissioned her to do a series of mosaics for Carroll Park in West Philadelphia, utilizing her hand-made tiles. The artist freely admits one of her favorite things about these sort of commissions is getting to know and work with people in the neighborhoods.

And she’s just completed an important work for Random House’s corporate headquarters in Manhattan.

So why the move to Philadelphia? The artist’s husband, Andrew Liddell, grew up on the Main Line and the couple decided to try an East Coast locale. Currently, Liddell owns Liddell Painting, an eco-friendly concern, on Leverington Avenue.

“Being an artist is easier here,” Gorlin-Liddell says, citing the skyrocketing real estate values in San Francisco where the two met. “An artist needs time and space, and that’s even harder to manage when the cost of living is so high. And there’s a vibrant art scene here. I have been blessed in getting commissions. “And,” she smiles, “while most of my family is still on the West Coast, my brother moved to Philadelphia after coming to visit us.”

“Growing up, I planned to be a teacher,” Gorlin-Liddell says, recalling that when she followed her heart into the art world, “people discouraged me.” Well-meaning family and friends warned, “You’re going to struggle.”

Happily, she ignored them.

Gorlin-Liddell’s Tesserae is a one-stop-shopping locale for mosaic-makers. Rather than race from craft shop to hardware store to tile dealers, patrons can pick up all the tools, grout and tile necessary right here. And, as the artist points out, the brightly colored ceramic tiles can be purchased by the piece, rather than by the box, which is usually the necessity when purchasing from a supplier.

Tesserae also features a line of housewares. Gorlin-Liddell views her mirrors and picture frames as “instant gratification” for her inner artist. “I can sit down and create without consulting with anyone else. It’s how I stay fresh.” Themes like “Bombay” and “Chinatown” reflect her interest in the palettes and patterns of ethnic artists across the globe.

We all know it’s a small world, but the art world is even smaller. About 18 months ago, Gorlin-Liddell discovered one of her mosaic students, Jean-Jacques, also planning to open a shop in Mt. Airy, lived but minutes from her back in Oakland, California.

Upcoming classes at Tesserae will include a beginning mosaic class, offered Saturday, August 28, from 1 until 4 p.m., where students will use tile shards, broken china and found objects to craft a mosaic mirror frame. September 18 and 19, Gorlin-Liddell will offer an intensive class for both beginners and continuing students, exploring tools and techniques in mosaic table design. A family mosaic workshop to make a stepping for the garden is scheduled for October 16 and a mural design and creation seminar is planned for November 13 and 14.

Additionally, Tesserae offers open studio hours for its continuing students on Friday and Saturday afternoons. Workshops featuring guest artists, working in a variety of media, are also on the horizon.

From scouting events to wedding showers and birthday parties, the gallery provides reserved studio space, personal instruction and a seductive selection of materials. Party packages can include decorations, invitations, favors and even mosaic themed cakes. As artist-cum-sorcerer, Gorlin-Liddell promises: “You dream it up, we’ll host it.” And never fear — if you can’t dream it up, you can rest assured this enormously imaginative young woman will.

Tesserae is open from noon until 5 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday, as well as by appointment. The studio/gallery may be reached by telephone at 215-848-2110 or on the Web at www.bellamosaic.com.