| | | | | | | | | Traci Lynne Ores |  |
| | | | | Dyer, IN USA | | | | | | | | | | | 
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Raised Catholic, church has always been a place of mystery and a source of significant visual inspiration for me. I am fascinated by religious icons, particularly images of the Virgin Mary. In Catholicism, the feminine aspect is centered on the Virgin Mary, and being a woman, I am innately drawn to her image. To me, the Virgin embodies all that is fresh, all that is vernal, and all that is feminine. She presents an image of wholeness and integrity, of nurturing and healing power, which I find to be comforting.
Though I have worked in an array of artistic media, I am currently working mainly in ceramic and acrylic. Working from actual models, sketches, and photographs, I aim to capture my subject and the spiritual aspect of the Virgin or other icon of the church in the form of a ceramic mosaic portrait. The outcome is reminiscent of the stained glass windows that adorned the walls in my church.
My process of creating a work is very labor intensive. I begin by wheel-throwing a plate in which the mosaic is to rest. I roll a slab, which will ultimately be the mosaic, and cut it into a circular shape to fit inside the plate. I then transfer my image to the slab and cut it into small pieces which are usually no larger than the size of a quarter. The clay is then fired, pieced back together, glued, painted, and grouted within the plate. The entire piece is finally set with a spray on satin glaze.
While it may require a lot of time for such a small piece of work, the outcome is “miraculous.” My goal is to evoke from the viewer a sense of reverence akin to what I feel when looking at the religious iconography used as inspiration for my work.
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