Welcome -

My name is Adam Begley and I am a mosaic tile artist. I am presently heading a movement to bring the art of mosaic design back to life through MY interpretation of the ancient methods and traditional materials.

If you like my work and would like me to mosaic an image for you, or, if you would like to purchase something that is still available in the "PICTURES" section of my web site, just let me know and we'll talk further.

The tile work I do the most is either "Wall Hung Art" with a frame or "Home Installations" in showers, floors, back splashes or fireplaces.

For the "Wall Hung Art," the tile is glued and grouted to a sturdy wooden board and the finished piece is usually hung on a wall. Frames are optional.

If you are looking for "Home Applications" such as counter tops, fireplaces, bathrooms and showers I can do that too! They can be pretty straight forward, very extreme or somewhere in between.

Please feel free to move on to the next section or continue reading. These next few paragraphs are all about me and my Personal Art History.

I first saw mosaic art while studying art history in college. I remember being somewhat impressed with it then. But it wasn't until I came face to face with some genuine pieces of Italian origin that I was greatly inspired and decided to begin.?(Check out "Luciano Antiques" in Carmel, California, 2nd floor).

On the flight home from California I saw an advertisement in the In Flight Magazine which included a big mosaic fish and I studied that fish the rest of the way, convinced I could do even better. As soon as I got off the plane I went straight to a place on Garfield Road in Traverse City, MI called TILESTONE IMPORTS www.tilestoneimports.com, an elaborate showroom and supplier of imported and domestic tile, granite and marble. There, I met a woman named Barb Jacobs who brought me out of left field and firmly planted me on first base. Over months and then years she worked with me to hone my experience and technique. We started with the very simple and eventually graduated to the ulta-complex.

Soon friends and family began to take notice and they urged me to peddle my work to some of the local galleries. The next thing I knew my mosaics were in five different shops in and around the Traverse City area with most pieces sitting right in their front windows.

One day, I received a call from the "By Candlelight Amish Furniture Store" bycandlelightllc.com

in downtown Traverse City. "Someone wants to buy one of your lighthouses for $500" the salesperson told me. "SELL" I remember shouting. People were liking what they were seeing and buying it. One of the largest collections of my work on display was an eleven piece show held at the Gusto Restaurant / Gallery in Suttons Bay, Michigan. www.m22italiano.com/ The exposure gained from this two month exhibit changed my life and gave me the impetus to pour every free moment into practicing and improving my work.

I learned that mosaic is one of the oldest forms of art. In fact, reaching back before the Byzantine Empire (A.D. 476-1453) and the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius (A.D. 79) it was being practiced even before the birth of Christ. I was intrigued. I bought books, went to the library, searched the internet; for a period there, most everything I did was focused on investigating the history, variety and technique of mosaic art. And, I found it very ironic. Here I was pouring over this section of art history with an enthusiasm far greater than when I HAD to do it in college.

Eventually, I wanted to see and learn more, so I decided to go where there are more mosaics than anywhere else in the world, Italy. After a long process of figuring out "how", I found myself enrolled at the Ravenna School of Mosaic Design in Ravenna, Italy. http://www.sira.it/mosaic/school.htm Under the tutelage of master mosaicist Lucianna Notturni I worked hard cutting glass, marble, granite and tile by day and toured the mosaic encrusted interiors of basilicas, baptistries, chapels and mausoleums by night. I was there, in Italy, working, learning and setting mosaic designs the way ancient artists did it so long ago.

When I returned, the demand for my work increased and the type of applications expanded. My experience in Italy pushed my technique to a new level and helped me evolve into more difficult areas of intricate workmanship, finer detail, deeper color combinations and attempts at achieving shading, dimension and depth. Every next piece I started would be far more advanced than the previous one. Yah, the time involved in producing just one piece is pretty huge but, when it's done and hanging on a wall, everyone who sees it says, "Whoa!" and then they stand there checking it out for the longest time. Mosaic art is so uncommon that most people stop and look twice because they've never seen it before and it catches their eye.

We see a great deal of watercolor, oil painting, woodcarving, pottery, furniture, metalwork and photography art in people's homes these days but not a lot of mosaic. During the days of the Roman Empire the floors and walls of people's homes were covered with mosaics. So, whether a client wants something small or large on the wall or even as part of a room's construction, the warmth and unique character of my art can become a focal point.

If you like what you see in my "PICTURES" section or after physically going to some of the art galleries listed in the "NOW SHOWING" section, please give me a call or e-mail me by using the "SAY SOMETHING" section of this web site. Let me know if you are interested in having me create your next piece of home art. I would love to meet you and hear your ideas.

My Background:

I was raised in Acme, MI and attended the Bertha Vos Elementary School. After attending several years in the public middle schools I enrolled in and graduated from the Pathfinder School in Greilickville, Michigan. As a Business major at Hope College in Holland, MI I also minored in Art and English. After college graduation I worked two years with Arco Chemical Company in Philadelphia, PA, three years with Olin Corporation in Waterbury, CT, two years for Bruischat Environmental in Holland, MI; four years Advertising and Marketing in a self owned PR business and then ten years as "Adman" for the Tall Ship Malabar in Traverse City, MI. After that, for Four years I was the Marketing and Membership Director for the Northern Michigan Tennis Association (NMTA) which is a district of the United States Tennis Association (USTA). northernmichigan.usta.com

At the present time I am working on a few commissioned pieces, a few of the �always in progress variety of self inspired works" and a high end home installation in Big Rapids, MI. Most of my work is done with ceramic tile, glass smalti, granite, hand cut mirror glass and some marble.

I am also working "On Call" with my Installation Partner and local tile and stone artist Andy Sella. A seasoned veteran in the home, office and commercial applications of regular tile installations on floors and walls, Andy and I knock out such home applications as kitchen counter tops, showers, bathrooms, fireplaces, back splashes and massive foyers and always promote the "Mosaic" options when quoting those jobs.

So, if you need something creative and different in the way of floor, wall, shower, etc., in your home or office we can show you some amazing work in an appointment setting from our photo portfolio.

I enjoy the entire process of creating this type of artwork, although it takes time and patience. It allows me to be so focussed on what I am doing that it becomes meditational. A lot of good energy goes into the production of art like this and, to me, the work seems to come alive once it is hung on a wall or put into place. It's impressionism. It's not a photograph or a perfectly painted picture. It's a variety of shapes and forms united in such a fashion that they create their own unique shape. Looking at my work in the "PICTURES" section is one thing, seeing my work and even touching it is another. I hope you enjoy my mosaics and thank you for your interest.