Robin: Ordinary Choices Prompted by Extraordinary Love
Sometimes, while I am working on a mosaic piece, I begin to feel myself becoming anxious over the idea that I have wasted precious hours prepping and organizing for a result that is less than inspiring. The process calls for the artist to apply the grout to the point where all the beautifully hand-picked pieces are hidden. The result she is striving for is hidden underneath the muck and she wonders whether the piece will recover its brilliance once the grout dries. This is the point where, similarly to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, I want to hide the object behind the spaghetti leftovers in the trash bin in my kitchen.
The correlation between mosaics and motherhood are striking. The idea of a little person coming into the world with the image of the mother and father and the community shaping and coaxing those things that are planted inside there by her creator looms large in my head these days. The parents represent the sponge I use when removing the grout. They help to remove the childish ways of thinking that could destroy a future while cultivating the personality and the fascinations the child holds and exposing her to opportunities that enhance the interests the one working with the pieces can see upon close inspection.
When that mosaic piece begins to show me things that I may not necessarily like about myself or remind me of the roadblocks that I experienced that may have detoured my life whether temporarily or permanently, rather than throwing up my hands in dismay I can promote opportunities for the child to sidetrack the pitfalls (or minimize the opportunity for long-term damage!).
Observing a mosaic piece to see how it responds to the grout as it is laid and observing a child as she responds to life as new challenges enter in — obviously one has less room for error. I am amazed that as I create new things, fashioning them with my hands, I can enter into my responsibility as a parent in a deeper way and in turn experience a more intimate connection with my Creator.
Studio Mothers: Life & Art 
i love associative thinking and how it can inform us in our everyday lives.
I love your post Robin. There must be a real moment of terror as you rub off all of the residue grout to reveal your artwork beneath, but it also must be so THRILLING when you see it’s beauty emerge. The connection you made to that and parenting also reminded me of when children become teenagers. Suddenly parents look at their once innocent, sweet babies yet now they are finding their own way, their own individuality as they progress into adulthood. Yet, as parents if we have carefully placed the right values and beliefs in our children, even when we are terrified of the actions they are taking – the true beauty of them will always emerge in the end. Well … that’s been my experience anyway!! Thanks for a great post.