Julie Richey is a multi awards winning mosaicist whose creations stand out in the crowd. Versatility of mosaic art is clearly evident through her wonderful artwork. From past two decades, Julie has been creating mosaic installations for kitchens, baths, living areas and commercial spaces.

She has won some prestigious awards like Orsoni Grand Prize in 2009 for her creation 'Night Shirt'. And recently, her work 'La Corrente' has been awarded as the 'Best 3-D Mosaic' at the 2011 Mosaic Arts International.

Not only that, she is now known internationally for her splendid work. Soon, she will be going on Mosaic Masterpieces tour from October 3-10, 2011.

Apart from the beauty in her work, Julie's level of dedication and hard work towards her passion is commendable. Lets know about her award winning creations and her artistic journey in the interview below:

Julie, please introduce yourself to E-junkies.

Hi! I'm Julie (Groschen) Richey. Married, Texan, mother of two great teenage girls and two rescue cats. I've been making mosaics at various levels of intensity for more than 20 years. In the beginning, mosaics were a weekend pursuit since I had a day job in public relations. When I had children, I managed to make a few mosaics a year in my spare time. Once they started school full time, I was able to devote a lot more time to my art and accept larger commissions for residential and public work.

Enlighten us with your wonderful artwork.

My first mosaic was part commission, part dare. A college friend and I (we both have art history degrees) decided we'd like to try our hand at mosaics. A friend was remodeling his master bath and said, "if you make the mosaic, I'll pay for your tools and supplies so you can learn how to do it. And I'll help you with the installation." We bought a used wet saw, foraged for some scrap marble at a local granite fabricator's shop, bought a How To Install Ceramic Tile book from Home Depot and created a beautiful Pompeiian fish floor. The fabrication went well. The installation was kind of a sitcom-meets-DIY-show, but it all looked beautiful in the end and my friend was thrilled.

From there, a series of referrals, friends commissioning us and magazines featuring our work let to a steady stream of commissions. My friend got her MBA and went off to conquer the advertising world. My work now is about 80 percent commissions for private homes and commercial spaces, including public art mosaics. The other 20 percent is work I do on my own, taking what inspires me and turning it into one-of-a-kind mosaic sculptures.

When did you realize that you're meant to be an artist?

Hmm. As we grow in our work, I think our understanding of the label "artist" evolves. I go through phases feeling like I've earned the term, or alternatively that it's a label others have placed on me because I'm involved in artistic pursuits. Maybe the first realization was in 6th grade, when the teachers gave me two end-of-year awards: "Most Artistic" and "Barbie Doll Hair." Someone should analyze the effect these premature labels have on impressionable children. Someone with a PhD in Psychology.

Did you take any formal training in Arts or is it something that has come naturally to you?

I have a bachelor's degree in Art History, which necessitated some studio art classes. I then won a Rotary graduate scholarship to Italy, where I studied things like Gothic architecture, 13th century Umbrian fresco painters, and some other really cool artists whose work escapes me now, due to the fact that I was in graduate-level university courses with a merely intermediate level understanding of Italian. I had notebooks filled with half-sentences in Italian and English. I'm sure some really insightful nuggets of artistic wisdom went right over my head as I was struggling with my dictionary. Once I decided to make mosaics, I took selected workshops on certain techniques: working the paper-faced method with glass mosaics; portraiture in smalti; construction techniques for three dimensional mosaics. Each workshop brought me a new skill set which now allows me to have a broader range of mosaic vocabulary I can pull from to create my work.

I simply loved your 2-D and 3-D creations. Tell us more about them, specially the “L’Ambasciatrice” and "Night Shirt' ones.

Thank you. I've only recently discovered that I'm much more engaged with 3-D creations rather than 2-D. Both of the works you mentioned were inspired by travel and friendship. "L'Ambasciatrice" is a depiction of native Texas wildflowers and butterflies on a child's clothing mannequin. A friend asked me to create a piece for the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center Gala several years ago. I had wanted to use a baby mannequin form I'd purchased from a store that was going out of business. Once I created the child's dress armature and started to embellish it with flower designs, I realized that the project was going to take a very long time to complete since the level of detail was intense. So it didn't make the gala deadline. The name "L'Ambasciatrice" means the ambassadress in Italian. I chose the name halfway through the construction of the mosaic. I was taking it to a lot of classes and demonstrations. People were asking questions about my technique and about mosaics in general. The little sculpture was a great promoter for the art of mosaic.

"Night Shirt" is a depiction of a particularly special night with some of my best mosaic artist friends. We were at the closing night party of a mosaic conference in San Francisco. One of the sponsors had a limousine. We were taken on a very memorable ride and ended up in a park overlooking the skyline of the city at 3 am. This image stuck in my head and eventually became the "Night Shirt." Later that work went on to win a Juror's Choice Award from the same mosaic organization and was displayed both in San Diego and San Francisco. Night Shirt also on the Orsoni Prize for international mosaic fine art. Definitely a career highlight for me, since the prize came with a trip to Italy for me and for the mosaic. "Night Shirt" was displayed for four months in the Orsoni company's gallery in Venice.

How much time does it take you to complete one piece of work?

Each work is different, but all are painstakingly cut and assembled. The sculptural works you see here, like "Night Shirt" and "La Corrente," have styrofoam structures reinforced with fiberglass mesh and thinset, making them very light, but rigid. I then apply the mosaic designs.

Which piece of work is the most special to you?

I would say "Night Shirt" is my personal favorite, because it captures a special moment and depicts a mood - the city at rest, at night, with its beautifully colored lights and reflections on the water. When it's back at home, I hang it above my fireplace, where the light hits it perfectly. If it sells, I'll really miss it.

Do you have any dream project?

A few projects. One that comes to mind is that I'd love to be given a big wall surface in a public space - a transit center, a park, a public building. I have so many ideas about how I could transform it into an interactive work that would engage and delight the public.

Many of our readers and artists would draw inspiration from you. What message do you have for them?

I'm fortunate to have found a medium I love and am inspired by. If a medium grabs you, and you're passionate about using it - whether it's photography, digital art, welding or whatever - you should do it with integrity. What I mean is that you should explore all the options, techniques, processes. Take courses to expand your range of skills and bring new possibilities to your work. Research the latest tools, materials and what other artists in the medium are doing. Use your own voice, but don't be afraid to network with others in your chosen art field and share information. I've learned so much from other generous artists who have shared their knowledge. It's a wonderfully large community, and the internet makes it even more accessible.

Julie, thanks for sharing your story with us. Your creations are truly a treat to one's eyes. We wish you all the very best!

Don't forget to check out her website.

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