Living the Creative Life: Ella Rhoades

I first got to know Ella at the beach through shared Urban Renewal meetings and projects. When visiting her beach house (“The Cosmic Cottage”) I was delighted by all the mosaic work underway:

The Cosmic Cottage (the porch columns are all mosaic).

The mermaid shrine…

kitchen backsplash at Cosmic.

So yesterday I visited her home and studio in Corvallis to see what’s she’s up to.

Deep saturated color for the most part, whimsy, movement. She’s done a lot of health care related things in the past few years including a newly completed mosaic (with her friend Wendy) at the hospital:

So many people participated the piece is already much-loved and the hospital has asked Ella and Wendy to come back and continue working!

Meanwhile back in the studio she’s working on a “Tree of Life” piece.

Additionally she does things for private people working with contractors on tile surround in many areas. In her own house she has these two pretty wonderful items:

head board for master bedroom and tile surround for the fireplace:

She’s pretty fearless when it comes to taking on projects–her’s one to wacth for;

THIS ENTIRE WALL WILL BE MOSAIC!! She’s planning a “bland” sort of quiet patter but then,

as you turn the corner, it will become a riot of color. I asked her if she would make drawings or prepare a pattern and she says nope. She just let’s it happen.

Stay tuned.