Evelyn Kaplan, Mosiac Artist
Evelyn Kaplan is a mosaic artist who creates one-of-a-kind objects d’art in the style of pique assiette that are romantic, quirky and unconventional. Using vintage china and found objects, her collection includes Judaica and Home Decor.
Evelyn was born in Philadelphia, PA and received her BA in Social Welfare from Temple University. After a fulfilling career as a mother, homemaker and teacher, Evelyn took courses at the New York School of Interior Design. Her passion for collecting treasures of the past combined with a love for beautiful china, tile and porcelain inspired her towards the art form of Pique Assisette. Enthralled with this art style, she sought a private mosaic teacher and was soon taking lessons from Connie Sheerin, a well-known local artist.
Evelyn started Inspirations in Mosaic in 1998 after receiving enthusiastic response to her art. Her work has been featured on the Nancy Glass Home and Garden cable television program as well as many publications. Evelyn has also exhibited at many wholesale and retail art shows throughout the country. Today she remains intrigued by Pique Assisette. Evelyn utilizes her sense of design, her eye for color and her passion for old treasures and antiquities to create pieces of exquisite beauty and design.
Artist Statement
Ever since I was a little girl, I was always fascinated with beautiful porcelain and china. As I grew older this captivation continued and I developed a love and joy of collecting treasures from the past. Many of the pieces I collected were broken, chipped and cracked shards; artifacts of another time and place, a living history of great charm and allure. I was enchanted by the art form of Pique Assisette, the use of broken shards to create a new whole. These broken pieces had other lives, have told other stories, have witnessed special events in the lives of those who possessed them, were once a part of another whole, another world. I became passionate about this art form. I feel I was keeping the sentimental, that which is close to the heart, yet restoring it to a new life and a different form of existence. Through Pique Assisette I am producing truly original creations with histories of the past. Every broken piece tells a story; it awakens a memory, sparks speculation, offers reflection and reminds us of precious times gone by. By creating, recycling and preserving I feel I am taking the past and bringing it into the future. I find the sources of inspiration to be as varied as the pieces themselves. To me this art form possesses an added level of expression in the stories the pieces tell.
As a result of practicing this art medium, I have developed many obsessions as well as an incurable creative itch. My obsessions are beautiful vintage china, flowers, antiques, lovely old lace, coordinating fabrics and gardening. I love color, patterns, textures, imagery and nature. I draw from my lovingly accumulated collection of vintage china (of which, according to my Husband, I have 10 tons) and found objects to create one-of-a-kind objects d’art that are romantic, whimsical and unique. My pieces are meticulously detailed and include furniture pieces, mirrors, picture frames, perfume trays, clocks and religious items. With every piece I create, I try to express my love of color and patterns.
Through my art I have learned that when you are passionate about something, you keep taking your creativity further and further. The creative impulse explodes. The greatest thing about my work is that my imagination is set free and my options are truly limitless!! Most importantly, I have grown to understand the beauty of vintage and the tales it tells of bygone days.
Evelyn's Art
Pique Assiette is a French term that translates as stolen from plates. Most accounts claim that this art form originated in 1938 when a gentleman by the name of Raymond Isidore compulsively began gathering bits of colored glass and pottery from the fields surrounding his home in Chartres, a small town outside of Paris. Mr. Isidore was a foundry worker, a cemetery caretaker and a totally untutored artist; but he felt motivated by a spiritual calling. He was struck with the thought of using the bits of glass, porcelain debris and broken dishes to create a mosaic to decorate his house. Isidore devoted the rest of his life to covering every surface inside and outside of his home with bits and pieces of what he could find…much to the chagrin of his neighbors. They mocked him and called him “Picassiette” or the “plate stealer.” Today, this term is used to refer to this art medium. Isidore’s house, Maison Picassiette, is a popular tourist attraction and is a testament to the persistent force of creativity. Even before Mr. Isidore made this mosaic art form so popular, this unique folk art flourished for centuries around the world.
One of the most creative parts of this technique is choosing your materials. The possibilities are endless and your imagination is set free. Some options include broken dishes, buttons, glass, jewelry, marbles, sea shells, china figurines, bottlecaps…anything that you can apply to a surface. What is so fascinating is that every object you select carries with it a human story of the people who used and held it. This art form is one of the most enjoyable ways to recycle for the present while reconnecting with the past. Every time I apply my own creative energy to working with these pieces, a whole new story begins.
Many of my designs arise out of a desire to save objects that have sentimental or artistic value but are no longer useful. This is a craft that expresses the story the shards carry and the sources of inspiration are as varied as the shards themselves. For example, a client of mine downsized from a home to a condo. During the moving process a box containing her grandmother’s antique porcelain urns was dropped and the urns were smashed to pieces. She remembered visiting my booth at a fine arts show and taking one of my cards. She searched throughout her home, found my card and gave me a call explaining what happened to the urns. I arranged to visit her new condo, pick up the broken antique urns, and together came up with an idea that would express the sentimental value of the broken urns and compliment her home. The end result was that I created a parson’s cube covered with her grandmother’s china. I also added china from my own collection that complimented her grandmother’s in order to complete the entire cube. The table was covered with a round glass top and placed between two chairs. When she saw the table, she cried. The broken urns…. now transformed into a table… became the ultimate expression of her identity as well as a new family heirloom. It exemplified her family history yet; at the same time, expressed her own taste and personal sense of style. This is a great example of how pique assiette can be used to furnish, decorate and put your own signature on your home.
In closing, I would like to say that my world and that of my clients has been enriched by these broken pieces…shards of our past that are put together to begin a new life and tell a whole new story. I feel I am using broken pieces of our past to create art that functions beautifully in our present and our future. This art form has developed within me a commitment to artistry and beauty.
Claude Levi-Strauss once said, “The magical thinker creates new myths from odds and ends of old ones, from shards of individuals and collective history.” I can’t think of a more perfect way to describe my art.
Thank you for inviting me to share my passion with you!!
