Sadie Rowlands

Sadie Rowlands is a Mosaic artist, she trained as a Graphic Designer but discovered mosaics when her children were very young.  She works with traditional mosaic materials and also recycled china to produce a wide range of work.  As well as working on her own portfolio, Sadie also enjoys teaching people the skills and joy of mosaic to create their own pieces and develop their artistic talents.

email       smrowlands21@hotmail.com

Instagram  @mosaics_by_sadie

facebook  sadiesworkshops

How long have you been a resident at VWS? 3 years.

When did you decide that you wanted to be an artist or maker?

I don’t think I ever made a conscious decision. Being a maker has always been part of my life on some level and has evolved throughout my life. I trained as a graphic designer and briefly had a career working as a designer for Dorma bed linen. Unfortunately, I was made redundant from that position just two weeks before I got married. I then juggled working freelance alongside starting a family for a couple of years. We then moved abroad because of my husband’s job, so that stopped my career in its tracks really. However, I was always making different things with the kids. We came back to the UK about 13 years ago and settled in Cirencester. I joined a Mosaic group through Cirencester College and found my niche making various pieces. About six or seven years ago, I started doing mosaic workshops when I was asked to do a workshop for Shine, a charity offering creative art therapy courses for Mums, and I have been doing mosaic workshops ever since.

What’s your work routine if you have one? What does a day in the life of studio 1 look like?

I don’t have a typical day, especially as I was only here for a year before the pandemic hit. I tend to have periods when I am here more. For example, If I am doing workshops, my studio acts as a hub as there is considerable preparation and packing involved.

Briefly describe your creative process.

I start with an idea in my head and then the graphic designer comes out in me. Then I tend to draw out my design and put together a storyboard of images. If the mosaic is going to be quite large, I do a scaled drawing and trace the design. I then choose my base according to whether the artwork will be displayed indoors or outdoors and start to pick out the materials that I think will work well with the design. After cutting out my pieces using either tile nippers or my ring saw for larger pieces, I use a glass grinder to smooth the edges. The next stage is to glue the pieces down before the messy grouting stage. The final stage is to clean and polish the mosaic.

What is your favourite material or tool to work and why?

In terms of tools, I was lucky to come by my ring saw. It was broken when I bought it second-hand, but my husband fixed it. Having a ring saw has made a real difference to my work as I can now cut much larger pieces and I can even cut cups in half.

What’s your inspiration/ main theme currently? 

I love using pictorial plates, especially those with an attractive backstamp, which can form part of the mosaic itself. I am currently using a piece of this and have cut a long oval shape, which might work well as part of a cactus design with a Cotswold roof tile as the base.

What’s your favourite piece of your own and why? 

I guess its my ‘Snowdrop Ball’, the first 3D piece I created. I made it after I lost my Dad as the last place we went together was Colesbourne to see the snowdrops. It’s far from perfect but I learnt a lot about the making process. 

What do you find beneficial about being part of a community of artists?

Working as a maker can be quite lonely and it’s therefore important to be surrounded by other creativity. I particularly love to be involved in the Select Open Studios, as this gives me a goal to focus on, as well as the Made in Chalford Pop-up shop held at Victoria Works Studios. I love being involved in the set-up and packing away; it makes me feel part of something and helps with imposter syndrome, making me feel valued as a member of the community.

How has the pandemic changed your artwork and working processes?

It obviously wasn’t possible to do Shine workshops at the beginning of the pandemic, but we still wanted to find another way to support the mums with art therapy as well as the opportunity to connect with other mums. We therefore decided to prepare kits and do the workshops via zoom. This was quite a challenge to begin with as I spent half the time sorting the technology and then I couldn’t see what people were making! However, it was beneficial to members, and it also resulted in people asking for mosaic bird kits for themselves. In November 2020, I decided to open an Etsy shop to sell my mosaic bird kits. They were so popular that I had to work out how to shut shop two weeks later as I couldn’t prepare the kits quickly enough!!  This was a steep learning curve, and I wasn’t prepared for the demand. Some people were even asking for multiple kits to do with their friends over zoom. Mosaic kits are now an important part of my business, which is great, but I sometimes feel that has become the focus and I don’t spend enough time working on my own artwork. 

What is the most useful advice you have ever been given? 

My tutor, Debbie, used to say; ‘Try to believe in yourself’. She encouraged me to ‘just try’ the studio at Victoria Works Studios when it became available. At the time, I had been asked to do a mosaic workshop at VWS for someone’s birthday. When I met Anna Simson, the founder of VWS, she mentioned that they didn’t have anyone running mosaic workshops and this led to me considering taking on studio 1. My husband really encouraged me, but it was quite a large studio, so I was a little bit undecided to begin with. However, it soon felt as though it was meant to be. My mum had recently passed away and it had been a very difficult time for me. Mum was an artist and teacher at Kingshill House in Dursley and, being a keen maker, had a large art room in her house. When I came to sort through her things, I was able to keep her boxes of art materials and her lovely dresser in my spacious studio. It felt as though the stars were aligning, with something positive and arts-related happening in my life - I think she would have been really pleased. Having said that, I still needed that encouragement from Debbie and my husband to believe in myself and take the plunge.

And finally, if you had to spend the day in different room or studio at VWS, which one would it be and why?

Studio 4! Lizzie & Emily’s studio as they’re always having a good time! It’s so lovely in there and all their products are beautifully displayed.