. contemporary mosaic artist Lynne Chinn

For me, being an artist is not something I chose - it is who and what I am and always was. My ideas are constant and internally driven and they come from my everyday life experiences. The things I see or do, the people I know, and the places I travel to.

Lately, I have been fascinated with the idea of making glass and stone mosaics that appear light and airy as though they are lightly draped fabric softy billowing in the wind. It is my intent to make them appear to be minimal and subtle, to impart for the viewer a seeming effortlessness in their creation, which in turn creates a feeling of calmness and serenity.

To this end I work within a mostly monochromatic color scheme and am very deliberate about the harmonization of the hues, shades and tints. In shaping the tesserae I can manipulate their texture and appearance, and then I work diligently with the fit and ease of the pieces as they touch and transition from one to the other to create movement and flow.

In a 'former life' my medium was oil paint on canvas, now my medium is glass and stone and my canvas can be flat or shaped and sculptural. As a painter I found ways for the brush to impart different textures to the paint on the canvas, now, in my 2- and 3-dimensional mosaic art works, I use the tesserae and it's andamento as my textural brush strokes.  Generating my own processes for the artwork I create is as important to me as the finished pieces I construct.

Within this ancient art form, I believe in using the finest materials I can find including 24k gold smalti, colored smalti, marble, natural stone, crystals and minerals, vitreous and stained glass, Millefiori, and shell, in conjunction with the most up-to-date installation tools, products and techniques to create my modern yet enduring works of art.

Mosaic is mesmerizing and it is like life; choice, judgment, magic, frustration, coordination, shaping, fitting, adhering, beauty, joy, quality, and effort.

. biography

 Lynne Chinn is a Graphic Design/Fashion Illustration graduate of Colorado Institute of Art.

After many years as an award-winning Art Director in magazine publishing, she redefined her life by becoming an Abstract Oil Painter, exhibiting and selling her works in Dallas, TX. She was named New Texas Talent, Craighead-Green Gallery in 1999.

Since 2001 Lynne has been designing, creating and installing large scale, one-of-a-kind mosaic art pieces for designers, architects, public art committees, liturgical clients, art consultants, her gallery and homeowners. She has completed countless commissions for commercial and private clients, including a 72'w x 6'h public art commission as well as a 6'w x 9'h Italian smalti mosaic Icon for Mt. Angel Abbey in Oregon.

Within this ancient art form, Lynne believes in using the finest materials such as smalti, marble, natural stone,  crystals and minerals, vitreous glass, Millefiori, and shell, in conjunction with the most up-to-date installation tools, products and techniques to create her surprisingly modern and enduring works of art.

Recently, Lynne received a cherished 3eme Prix Professionnels for her work Valentino at the Rencontres Internationales de Mosaique, Prix Picasiette 2010, she was recognized as 'Best In Show'; Mosaic Arts International 2009, an international juried exhibition of contemporary mosaic art, and was honored with 'Finalist; for Fine Mosaic Technique and Originality of Expression' in the coveted Orsoni Prize 2007, International Award for Mosaic Fine Art.

Lynne's inspired fine art mosaics are represented in private homes and in public places all over the United States and Canada. Lynne has been a member of the Society of American Mosaic Artists since its first year in existence. She teaches workshops and classes in design and in the art of mosaics all over the United States and has studied with renowned instructors in the art and technique of mosaic in the US and as far away as Bastelica, Corsica.

Lynne's work has been featured in several books including Mosaic Techniques and Traditions, by Sonia King, Sterling Publishing, 2003, Mosaic: Finding Your Own Voice by Brit Hammer-Dijcks, Blurb.com, 2008, and in Mosaic Renaissance: Reviving Classic Tile Art With Millefiori by Laurel Skye, North Light Books, 2009, and was the featured cover artist and editorial for Mosaic Art Now, "Lynne Chinn: Making a Loud Statement in the Quietest of Ways" by Nancie Mills Pipgras, Mosaic Rocks LLC, No. 2, 2009 Edition.