Spread Joy to the Maximum!

Jan 13

In January of 2020 I heard Ross Gay on NPR read his poem “Tomato on Board”, from his book, The Book of Delights. That poem helped to get me through the pandemic. I held on to this notion of finding joy and delight in the little things.

This show (Spread joy to the maximum) was informed by two things ; fear of the 2024 election- my determination to not let fear overwhelm me. And wanting to have time to explore and play with joy and delight.

My mosaic Spread joy to the Maximum was inspired by the joy that I feel when I see colors, patterns, movement and the little plants that grow up between the cracks in the sidewalk.

I am a process artist. Mosaic is a slow, labor intensive art form. I hand cut and place each piece. It is very intentional. I try to work as intuitively as possible. When I am working on my own work. I am able to play and experiment and build and dismantle. I try not to let perfectionism infect my work because it takes the joy out of playing

I am the owner of a Mosaic on a Stick, a community based mosaic supply store, classroom and home to many wonderful loving artists who make their art there. I am a public artist known for creating art around trauma most notably the Survivors Memorial on Boom Island. I am also a community artist known for working with and for the community to make spaces beautiful and filled with love. I am also a mother of three young adults, who are amazing young people that I am so proud of and grateful to be their mom.

Thank you to the Minnesota State Arts Board and the people of Minnesota for making this possible. Thank you to all my friends, my family, and “the regulars” at the stick for supporting me. Thank you to my long time friend Noah Wallace for helping me figure out how to make things move. Thank you to Fresh Eye Gallery for hosting me and to the artists at MSS who came to play with me at Mosaic on a Stick.

Lauren Hughes

Spread Joy to the Maximum!

Marrie Bottelson (Spellbound)