A high priestess in mosaic art – Irinia Charny

 A lady at the canals of Venice mosiac by Irinia-Charny‘Carnevale a Venezia’ – Irinia Charny mosaic

 

 

 Irinia-Charny ceramic mosaic of lady playing a mandolin

‘Serenading Gustav’

 

Ceramic, glass and bead mosaics :

 

 Irinia Charny came to the USA in 1975 and is currently based in Irving, California. She studied various artistic disciplines ranging from large scale soft sculpture to polymer clay, to flameworked glass. Later on she worked as a computer programmer and librarian. She stumbled into the mosaic arts when she decided to redecorate an earthquake damaged fireplace with a mosaic design. Fortunately this blossomed into a full time career where she now creates mosaic panels, mirrors, decorative objects, and murals.

 ” As a child growing up in Russia, even before I knew they were called mosaics, I created collages from pieces of broken glass found in the street, rocks, paper, seashells, and bits of crockery. Through the years I tried various media for artistic expression but have now returned to my origin — mosaics. This medium gives me a chance to explore color, shape, and texture, to experiment with different materials, and satisfy the passion to integrate unrelated small bits into a single work of art. “

 

 Irinia-Charny-mosaic wall panel of 3 byzantine figures

‘Byzantine Trio’

 

Irina is a self-taught mosaicist who is inspired by the rich history of the medium and  strives to build a unique and personal art form on a base of classical mosaics. She draws her inspiration from music, dance, nature, myths, legends, fairy tales, stories, poems, nightmares, hopes, desires, fears, jokes, fantasies, and other flights of the imagination. The themes of Irina’s mosaics range from the lyrical to the whimsical. Each of her pieces has the innate ability to draw you into her rich worlds of beauty and intricate detail.

“In addition to traditional mosaic tesserae, I incorporate unusual materials in my work including mirror, pebbles, found objects, beads, buttons, wire, handmade ceramic pieces, and broken plates. I never return home empty handed from a walk on the beach or a trip. Beach glass, pebbles from a path on Hampstead Heath, broken glass from a studio in Seattle, a bit of bone found on the shore are special little bits that are inserted into each mosaic to give it a special, personal meaning.”

ceramic and glass mosaic cello - Irinia-Charny

‘If it ain’t Baroque don’t fix it…’

 

 

 Irinia-Charny - mosaic of embracing couple

‘Couple’

 

 Irinia-Charny - mosaic of girl in blue dress standing on a horse

‘Journey II’

 

 Irinia-Charny - sailor and mermaid mosaic panel

‘Siren’s Song’

 

 Irinia-Charny- blue bird in a tree 2d mosaic

‘Blue Bird’

 

 Irinia-Charny-Women with gold hair holding an umbrella in the rain mosaic

‘Rain’

( glass,gold,beads )

 

Irinia-Charny-mosaic rug abstract patterns

Mosaic ‘Kitchen Rug’

 

 

Irinia-Charny - mosaic panel - lady holding a red fan - turquoise background

‘The Fan’

( mosaic with glass, gold, porcelain )

 

‘Journey III’

 

Irinia-Charny Mosaic art - lady seadted on an armchair holding her cat

‘Companions’

( glass, porcelain, millefiori, gold, beads )
2006

Irinia-Charny mosaic of a lady wearing a wide rime hat adorned with flowers

‘New Hat’

( glass, gold, beads, millefiori )

 

Irinia-Charny-women dancing at night at a temple

‘Ancient airs and dances II’

 

 

Irinia-Charny-mosaic close up

Irinia Charny

Irinia-Charny mosaic flower

‘Red Yellow Flower’

 

Three dancing Goddesses mosaic by Irinia-Charny

‘Ancient Airs And Dances’

( lynna57 –  flickr )

Irinia-Charny-two mosaic bottles with female heads

Two Mosaic Bottles

 

 

Irinia-Charny -large mosaic flower with a flying bird

‘Swirly Flower’

(  glass, beads, millefiori, gold, porcelain, dichroic glass )

 

Irinia-Charny-round mosiac of the tree of life

‘Tree of life’

 

Irinia-Charny abstract mosaic mask

‘Mask Giordano’

 

Detail Bright III   ( see below )

Irinia-Charny large butterfly mosaic

‘Bright III’

 

 

A lady weaving a rug - Irinia-Charny

‘Weaver’

 

 

Irinia-Charny three dragonflies mosaic

‘Three Dragonflies’

2007

Irinia-Charny-detail-of the muse mosaic

A section of ” the Muse “  ( see below )

 

Irinia-Charny-mosaic of a lady playing a harp with butterflies

‘The Muse’

 

four ladies dancing in a circle -Irinia-Charny

‘The Dance (Earth, Water, Fire, Air)’

2006

 

Irinia-Charny A rectangular mosaic of a abstract city

‘Fantasy City’ – Irinia Charny

 

 

Large golden flower - Irinia-Charny

‘Yellow Flower’

 

Mosaic artist Irinia-CharnyClick here for more Irinia Charny

 

 

 

 

5 Comments

  1. Posted August 25, 2012 at 1:14 pm | Permalink

    Wonderful to see this profile of one of my favorite artists! I have shared it on Mosaic Art NOW. Miss you, Irina!

  2. Deb O'Dell
    Posted October 14, 2012 at 11:06 am | Permalink

    Your work is truly inspiring! I love the variety and the detail of your pieces.

  3. julie Swenson
    Posted September 19, 2013 at 3:37 pm | Permalink

    Your work is spectacular, just beautiful!

  4. Rita Pacheco
    Posted October 23, 2016 at 2:37 pm | Permalink

    I am a true admirerer of your work! Congratulatins.

  5. Rita Pacheco
    Posted October 23, 2016 at 2:38 pm | Permalink

    I am a true admirerer of your work!

Post a Comment

Your email is never published nor shared.