“Bonito”

Racka Sheep Beaded Skull

Kelly Nygard is a mixed media mosaic artist from Minneapolis, Minnesota. She began her artistic career mosaicking flowerpots and tabletops. The foundation of her work was glass mosaic. “I love symmetry in designs—polka dots, stripes, plaids—but the challenge is creating the appearance of symmetry without being attached to the perfection of the lines.” She started with tile, Czech seed bead or sheets of beautiful stained glass. Eventually she turned to creating floral bouquets from vintage objects found at thrift stores.

As a mixed media mosaic artist, Kelly usually begins her process with a favorite object as the central focus piece and works outward from there. She enjoys incorporating found objects into her skull designs and they often serve as a central focus point. Kelly will also use what she calls “interesting objects” like porcupine quills, old architectural pieces and other upcycled objects. She loves blown glass, vintage jewelry, Italian Capodimonte porcelain flowers, and charms of all types.