Name: Ruth Tyszka
Town (or area) & State/Country you reside in: Bloomfield Township, Michigan, United States of America
Business Name: Ruth’s Glass, Inc.
Reef Break II (was in MAI 2024) by Ruth Tyszka
30" x 30" Mosaic wave of stained glass, smalti, 24K white gold smalti, beads, crushed glass, millefiori, repurposed commercial tile
Photo by PD Rearick.
Tell us a little about your artistic background and how you got started in mosaics:
Creating things has been a part of my life since childhood. My mother was a fine artist and we always had art supplies and made crafts. As an adult I continued to make things, but I didn’t identify as a visual artist until much later. During and after college I was a working musician for nearly 10 years before I went to law school. Early in my law career I took a Saturday morning stained glass class with artist Brenda Supuwood. I was hooked on the stained glass material immediately. When I took her mosaic class, I preferred the spontaneity of the mosaic medium and the ability to use it in functional ways. I have been making mosaics ever since.
How long have you been creating mosaic art?
While practicing law, I made and exhibited my mosaics but there were definitely times that it was hard to find time to make art. During my law career, I chose jobs that allowed me to pursue my art practice on evenings and weekends; for nearly 20 years I did both. This is the first year I am now making art full-time.
Tell us about your art training, favorite subject matter, inspiration, materials, and favorite color palette:
I have taken dozens of mosaic workshops and art classes, including at Koko Mosaico and Mosaic Art School in Italy, The Chicago Mosaic School and through SAMA. In a workshop with artist Luca Barberini he told us to ask ourselves “Why mosaic?” when we start an artwork. Through my latest body of work, the mosaic waves, I can finally answer that question in an obvious yet personal way. I feel a primal awe and calming connection to water and waves. That is my inspiration and that is what I try to convey with my art. Glass and water share so many characteristics that I have barely scratched the surface in representing all of this in mosaic. My color palette is generally a variety of blues, greens and pinks or purples. I love layering glass and adding some iridized bits in the waves. My materials are stained glass, smalti, commercial glass tile— almost anything from glass— and recently plastic. I love mosaic as an art form that provides completely different experiences when viewed from afar and then up close.
Who are some of your favorite artists and what would you like to learn or add to your mosaic experience?
The next thing I hope to add to my mosaic experience is a workshop with Maestro Verdiano Marzi, which I will finally take this year! He is one of my favorite mosaic artists— he creates such movement with andamento and uses unexpected shapes that blend so well into the overall artwork.
Dogs at studio door: One likes to be outside and one likes to be inside. 
Studio: Current work in progress, making a mosaic wave from my own wave painting.
What is your least favorite thing about mosaics, do you have any studio helpers/pets, and do you listen to music or something else while creating?
My least favorite thing about mosaics has to be the tiny sharp glass shards. I have two lovely studio dogs so I am sweeping up glass bits A LOT to keep everyone safe. My studio is always one of my favorite places in the world. My current studio is at home and has lots of natural light. In the summer I work with the doors open and the dogs go in and out. Just inside the doors I have houseplants— seeing all of that green helps me make it through the Michigan winters. In the studio when I am designing or planning, I need quiet, but once the work is underway, I listen to music or podcasts. I was surprised to find that podcasts help me stay focused when I am working for long stretches of time.
Tell us about your single greatest mosaic moment?
One of my greatest mosaic moments was many years ago in Botswana. I was visiting friends and they had built an outbuilding for a non-profit organization. We created simple mosaics for the floor. Our materials were so limited- we had a crate or two of large floor tiles that were found at a dump- and we had to break them with a hammer. We used the brown paper left over from building materials on which to attach the mosaics facedown with a simple water-soluble glue (reverse indirect method?). Working outdoors with such limited materials to create mosaics was the first time I felt like an “artist.”
Attach 3 of your favorite mosaics by someone else and tell why they capture your interest:
Here are three of my favorite mosaics by other artists: No. “112” by Luca Barberini— he expresses so much story and humor with simple smalti chips. “Coffee First” by Donna Van Hooser- I love dogs, I love coffee, and her work is both magical and precise. And this final mosaic favorite was created for my birthday by a group of people I admire as friends and artists and I think of them every time I see it (Joan Schwartz, Darcel Deneau, Carol Shelkin, Martine Byer and Sue Majewski). 
No. “112” by Luca Barberini.
He expresses so much story and humor with simple smalti chips.
“Coffee First” by Donna Van Hooser.
I love dogs, I love coffee, and her work is both magical and precise.
A Ruth birthday mosaic by Martine Byer, Darcel Deneau, Sue Majewski,
Joan Schwartz and Carol Shelkin.
This mosaic was created for my birthday in 2020 by a group of people I admire as dear friends and artists and I think of them every time I see it.
One piece of advice for readers:
Keep showing up in your workspace or studio and keep making the art. The more frequently you work, the easier it is to step back into the artwork where you left off. And if you don’t feel like making art that day or only have a small block of time, do simple studio tasks instead.
Favorite Quote:
“This life is mine alone. So I’ve stopped asking people for directions to places they’ve never been.”
— I heard this from a guest on the Art Juice podcast. As artists we are on a less traveled path and this quote reminds me to trust myself.
Dawn Patrol by Ruth Tyszka
8" x 8"
Mosaic wave of stained glass, smalti, crushed glass, millefiori, repurposed commercial tile.
