Double the Joy no. 61: Broken Joy
January 10, 2025
It’s snowing today in North Alabama, a relatively rare occasion. We have about three inches with some more to come later.
One of the things I have been trying to do, over the past week or so, is to consciously turn my attention back in time. Maybe I should have done it sooner, but as the calendar has turned to 2025, I have been reflecting back on 2024. I have never been a great diarist or journalist, though I have sought to do more since my Sabbatical last summer.
Much like I did in my previous post, rounding up the various things I read during 2024, I wanted to look back at what I created in 2024. Specifically, I wanted to collect my various tile mosaic projects in one place. Some I have shared in previous editions of this newsletter, but there are two (of five) that I haven’t. The last one is of the largest pieces I have ever done and one that I am pleased with (though there are things that bother me - one thing especially).
I started making mosaics, initially on various flat surfaces, as a way of redeeming a little side table that was marred by a large heart carved into the surface. That was compliments of my brother. I began teaching myself this art over twenty years ago. For quite awhile now, I have been creating mostly smaller pieces that can hang or sit.
For the longest time, I did not think that I was creative. That was a lie that I told myself and believed for too long. I wrote briefly here about that.
Without further ado, here is my 2024 Collection. I can guarantee that each one is 100% unique and I would have trouble replicating them. That is one of the things I love about creating joy from these broken pieces of tile.
2024 Mosaic Collection: Broken Joy
Communion Cup — I love this piece and shared extensively here, earlier in the year. In short the tile used in this piece is from a chalice that we had used at North Hills Church for a long time. It fell out of a cabinet and shattered. I decided to redeem the brokenness by creating this piece, which reminds me of the joy that is offered through Christ offering himself for us.
Talia — I also shared about this piece previously, here. This girl is precious to me and our Church family. I made this as an encouragement to her, as she fights stage four cancer at a much too young age. Last fall, many of us participated in a fundraiser for St. Jude and one of the local news crews was there and interviewed Talia. You can see and read that here. If you are reading this, please a prayer for Talia and her family. I could write a thousand more words here, but it would be through many tears.
Also, if anyone has a connection to Chef Bobby Flay, please let me know. I am serious. I know it’s a long shot, but Talia would love to meet him. Her Beta fish is named Bobby Filet.
Lydia — Using the same technique as Talia’s above, for only the second time, I made a piece for my wife that has our wedding date and a verse from Ruth (part of our vows). This was a surprise for her and it now hangs near our breakfast room. I said a little bit more here about the concept/design elements of this piece in an earlier post.
Now, for two pieces I never shared previously.
Kara — When your daughter asks you to make a mosaic for her, you make a mosaic for her. We were in my new favorite store for tile and she brought me a particular piece of tile that she wanted me to use - the green tile. This isn’t the best picture, as I think had some fine tuning still to do, but you can see the mostly finished project. [Can you hear my perfectionism creeping in?] All three of these pieces that I made for Talia, Lydia, and Kara are approximately 9” x 9” and can hang on the wall (with some light hardware on the back) or can be stood up with some support. The same is true of the Communion piece. A friend keeps suggesting I open an Etsy shop and I have pondered it.
Rocket —My final piece in 2024 is one of the largest that I have ever done and it is an homage to our home in the Huntsville area. We have lived just outside of the “Rocket City” for nearly 16 years now. While we have strong connections and affinities for places we have lived previously, this is the longest we have ever lived one place. So, I made one of the most iconic symbols in this area - the Saturn V rocket. If you ever in the area, you will likely drive by one that is outside of the U.S. Space and Rocket Center (home of Space Camp). You would have to drive with your eyes closed - not recommended - to miss it, if you were driving through our main thoroughfare.
This is currently in our living room. I made it as much to scale as I could, with this piece being two feet tall. The border or frame is a recycled piece of an old “murphy desk” that we had to replace. I’ve kept the wood for a few years and finally found a use for it. It ended up being perfect for this kind of work - providing a base and a border that the tile is at the same level as. While it may be hard to tell here, the “penny tile” at the top is a dark metallic blue. The various blue tile was for the concept of movement from lower atmosphere to the upper atmosphere and into space.
Thank you for allowing me to reflect on one of my creative outlets in 2024. I often just float through life, which has some advantages, but it is helpful to stop and reflect back. In many ways, that is what this newsletter is about. Trying to pause and capture the reality of joy firmly amidst many sorrows.
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Love these,Adam.
Each one so beautiful.
Tal has hers hanging by her bedside.♥️