While reading an issue of Country Living Magazine in 1997, writer and artist Pagosan Laura Winzeler came upon a tiny photo of a pique assiette mosaic watering can created by Marlene Hurley Marshall, taken from a book showcasing her artwork titled Making Bits & Pieces Mosaics. Laura was so attracted to the colors in the small picture that she immediately ordered the book. Upon its arrival, she could barely contain her excitement while leafing through the photographs and instructional pages.

Pique assiette artist Laura Winzeler and her pal Leah

"I went nuts!" Laura laughs in recollection. "I was initially attracted to the colors because I'm a real color freak. It was the contrasting and complimentary colors; the juxtaposition between the colors in the pottery and china shards she used, and it was random and whimsical—and yet deliberate. Controlled chaos, making something whole out of a bunch of different chaotic parts.

"But it also reminded me that when I was really young, my favorite way to color was just to take a black crayon and do swirls all over a blank page—just chaotic lines. And then I'd go back in and fill in each little chunk with a different color. So it was almost like drawing a mosaic with crayon. It was something very young and primal, the "little girl wanna-be artist" in me. But I could never draw or paint as I have no ability to translate three dimensions through my hands."

The term "pique assiette" (pee-kay ah-see-ette) means "stolen from plate" in French, and the centuries-old traditional pique assiette pieces found in Europe are similar to the type of work Laura likes to do, as opposed to more commonly known mosaic art that is often pictorial in nature. "For instance, regular mosaic artists can create a picture of an elk in a field with tiles. But again, as I can't draw, and I have no sense of perspective when it comes to creating a realistic image on a one-dimensional surface, I can't do any of that," she explains.

A pique assiette birdhouse created by Laura

"Part of it too was the use of vintage pottery and china patterns in creating pieces as opposed to stones or tile or glass like some mosaic artists use. There's something about that era, part of which is because my 91-year-old maternal grandma Emma had me collecting Bauer mixing bowls at a very young age."

The book ignited her creative passions and the desire to try her hand at this art form first made famous by Frenchman Raymond Edouard Isodore, who was called "The Crazy Plate Stealer" by his neighbors. She set about ordering the supplies she needed for construction along with a fellow artist friend and began collecting vintage china plates from a thrift store for the composition. They sat together one day and created their first pieces, which Laura admits were "very crude." The two put together a show at Town Park for the Arts Council, but Laura didn't sell a one.

Nonetheless she was not dissuaded, as the creative process itself was enough to keep her moving ahead and perfecting her craft. "The joy of finding a creative way to use my love of color and my hands—I'd had the desire but didn't have a modality in which to ground it that I could also be good at," she said, her voice reflecting the jubilance of artistic self-discovery. Creating physical objects d'art balances her more cerebral artistic expressions as both a commercial and creative writer.

A pique assiette frame created by Laura

Her search for interesting dishware in local thrift stores was soon exhausted. "That's when I found eBay back in '97 – '98, and the china and pottery dinnerware categories. Once I found that the whole world opened up. You can buy six or eight pieces of a pattern. Then I started finding sellers who when I would tell them what I was buying this for offered to save me chipped and cracked stuff. They'd set aside some beautiful pieces they couldn't sell in that condition, and some of them would even let me have them for the cost of shipping. So the third floor of my house was full of merchandise. eBay allowed me to be selective about colors and patterns and china makers."

Laura collected so many pieces at first that she still has boxes to choose from. "I'm really trying to work with my inventory, but it doesn't mean I won't find something specific for a custom project."

When asked about how she goes about creating a new free-form work, Laura answers the question thoughtfully. "Each piece is borne in my imagination and sort of creates itself. Not to be trite, but it is an organic, evolutionary process. The catalyst is probably the most important part, which is inspired by a particular color and pattern. Then the next pattern or color to be added to it 'reveals' itself. That's why I call my company Mystical Moments Mosaics, because it's such a mystical process. Any artistic process defies words so it's hard to explain it."

A pique assiette vase with a cherub Laura created

Since those early learning-by-doing days, Laura went on to master the techniques involved and put together a broad collection of vases, tables, clocks, picture frames, mirrors, flowerpots and even a birdhouse inspired by the first photographed piece she saw created by Marlene Hurley Marshall. Commissioned pieces make up a major portion of her work, something she continues to expand upon. " I LOVE commissioned work, especially if the client has a piece or a set of family china or something with very deep sentimental value to them that I can incorporate and build the entire piece around.

"For example, I'm doing a frame for a client. She sent me her grandmother's "Blue Willow" china, and she made a porcelain rose for me to incorporate on the picture frame. She even had a decal made of a photo of her mom and dad as they've both passed away recently. It's going to be like a memorial frame—it'll be gorgeous! I like incorporating pieces that are special to the client as it infuses the piece with so much spirit."

A pique assiette wine amphora commissioned by private collectors in New York

Laura is also looking into producing custom-designed "Memory Urns" for pet ashes that are derived from "an African tradition of sharding trinkets or bits and pieces of items important to the dead person and incorporating them on crude but beautiful jugs put on top of the grave site," she explained, which is quite similar to the French pique assiette tradition. She'd love to do a custom kitchen backsplash, and the idea of producing a full-sized mural appeals to her as well. "I'd love to do a wall with the pottery and the china because you can do really fun things—like take a tea cup and saw it in half and place it on, and add a three dimensional element to the flat surface. The thing for me though is I won't go and create it in someone's home. It would require someone to construct a panel or panels to bring to me so I could work on it in my studio, and then they'd have to attach it to the wall."

When asked how long an average piece like a vase takes to complete she replied, "That's a great question. Some couples will walk by me at craft fairs and the husband will say, 'Oh honey you don't need to buy one of those, I'll just break up some of your cups!'—and then laughs as though he's really said something hilarious. People don't realize it's a multi-stage process. First you select the foundation. If it's wood for example, you have to prime and seal it so it won't suck up the moisture from the grout. I choose every single plate and every single object deliberately, and I hand cut each shard with tile nippers. I then glue them on to the piece, and make the design, grout it and let it dry and seal it to protect it from moisture. So one little tiny piece can take several days, even if you were to work eight hours a day, just to allow for drying time between stages."

A pique assiette clock commissioned by private collectors in New York

Unlike others who do mosaic art, she does not buy mosaic tile pieces on eBay. "Some people take china plates and chop them up and sell them to artists. For me, buying them would take all the fun out of it. They're too uniform—too pre-cut. Part of the whole joy for me is nipping each shard individually by hand, controlling that chaotic form. For me it's the difference between being a mosaic artist, versus being a pique assiette artist. I like the treasure-hunting aspect of finding the perfect shards."

Laura is in the process of putting together a website to showcase her work, but in the meantime many of her pieces are available for viewing at http://www.tafgallery.com. She is not showing her art anywhere in Pagosa Country as she does not wish to do consignment and prefers to sell directly. She is planning to sell her work at the Tesuque Pueblo Flea Market in Santa Fe this spring. Most of her custom work clientele comes to her by word of mouth referral, but if you are interested in buying or commissioning a piece, drop her a note by email and she'll be more than happy to talk with you: lauraw@frontier.net.

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