Passion and pride shines in the mosaic pieces that will soon be on display in an upcoming show by a Chilliwack artist.
Jessica Fairweather’s work will be featured in the windows of the Royal Hotel in downtown Chilliwack for the month of September as part of Art on Main.
Her detailed cityscapes and nature pieces are created from hundreds of pieces of meticulously cut, colourful glass varying in size and shape. Each mosaic piece is like working on a puzzle, she said.
Mosaic piece by Jessica Fairweather. (Jenna Hauck/ Chilliwack Progress)
Lately, she’s been spending more time on her work which has resulted in an explosion of new work – both glass mosaics and paintings.
It was during COVID, when her four kids were home from school last year, that she decided to again dedicate some much-needed time for herself.
She recalled doing the same thing about four years ago where, over the course of three years, she regularly went to the gym to get back into shape.
“My whole headspace and everything got so much better,” she said.
Then 2020 came around and places shut down, including gyms.
“I thought ‘I’d like to give the same dedication I just gave to the gym to my art and see what happens when I work on that every day.'”
What came of it was one glass mosaic piece after another and dozens of portraits she drew of her friends whom she missed and couldn’t see because of the pandemic. She made 52 of those portraits – one a week for an entire year.
Chilliwack artist Jessica Fairweather. (Jenna Hauck/ Chilliwack Progress)
“I want to see what happens when I continue learning, creating, teaching and inspiring.”
Fairweather has been working with glass for 20 years and has been painting and drawing since she was a child.
She said one of the things she loves most about creating glass mosaics is that it’s permanent; it’s not like a painting where you can change and paint over something you don’t like.
Fairweather is also a teacher and is hoping the passion she has for art will be passed on to others.
Mosaic piece by Jessica Fairweather. (Jenna Hauck/ Chilliwack Progress)
“I just want to do it and share it with others and I want others to come and enjoy it with me. I want to find my community of people who love it like I do.”
Along with the show at the Royal Hotel, she will be teaching classes to teens and adults at the venue. On Tuesdays from September to December, there will be two mixed-media class sessions (one for teens and one for adults). And on Wednesday evenings Fairweather will offer a glass mosaic workshop which runs for five sessions starting on Sept. 8.
Jessica Fairweather’s artwork will be on display in the windows of the Royal Hotel (45886 Wellington Ave.) for the month of September as part of Art on Main.
For more information about her workshops at the Royal Hotel, or to register, go to jfairwstudios.com. Additionally, in January, she will be offering glass mosaic workshops at the Chilliwack Cultural Centre.
READ MORE: ‘Overwhelming’ response for Art on Main, first artist’s work now on display at Chilliwack hotel
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Do you have something to add to this story, or something else we should report on? Email: jenna.hauck@theprogress.com
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