Art should point to the space between thoughts.
There is something beautiful, sometimes frightening and always strange that underlies and unifies everything. I’m always trying to get a glimpse of this strangeness out the corner of my eye. There is something about the sharp, hard materials of mosaic and the colors of glass and stone that I find irresistible. The interstices between the tesserae are an analogy for the unifying force.
Influences:
My most important artistic influence is my mom, Marsha Meltzer. Marsha is a master ceramicist. She studied illustration at the Rhode Island School of Design. She didn’t find her true medium until later in life when she had three kids and no time. As a little kid, I got to watch her develop her craft and artistic voice. I didn’t realize it at the time, but I was getting a whole art education just sitting in the kitchen watching her play around with clay.
I love Japanese pottery to learn proportion, weight, and line.
Danish furniture is my favorite inspiration for fine craftsmanship.
I fell in love with glass when my mom took me to a Dale Chihuly show at the Dallas Museum of Art when I was ten years old. I also love to look at stained glass from European cathedrals and Tiffany – there is something about the way that glass plays with light and color that just takes my breath away.
Mosaics have been of special interest ever since high school, when a wonderful history teacher introduced me to Antoni Gaudi and the Islamic mosaics in the Santa Hagia Sophia in Instanbul.
Textiles, especially textiles from India, have always fascinated me. See Handcrafted Indian Textiles: Tradition and Beyond by Rta Kapur Chishti, Rahul Jain for a beautifully illustrated source of inspiration.
Mexican paper craft and Talavera Pottery charm me with their bright colors and simplified shapes.
My latest obsession is this book: Yokai by Koichi Yumoto. Yokai are roughly (and not well) translated as “monsters” from Japanese mythology. Please check out this amazing book if you love myths and crazy creatures. In that vein, I also love Hieronymous Bosch for his terrifying and hilarious monsters of Christendom.
Read Sarah’s interview for the Leading Women issue of Living Magazine
b. 1980, St. Louis, MO
lives and works in Rockwall, TX
EDUCATION
2021 - present. Owner, Sarah Wandrey Mosaics.
2019 - 2021 - Internship with mosaic artist, Barbara Dybala. See her work at www.BarbaraDybala.com. During this time, I executed all stages of large scale architectural mosaics, from planning and applications to sourcing materials, cutting, placing and installing tile, glass, and mirror for indoor and outdoor mosaics. My favorite projects included three floor medallions for the Sunnyvale School District and the east wall of Hidden Mosaic. I also taught classes to students and volunteers on how to cut and install tile for large scale outdoor mosaic mural.
2006 - J.D. - University of Chicago Law School, Chicago, IL
2002 - B.A. Philosophy and Political Science - Emory University, Atlanta, GA
1998 - Greenhill High School – Dallas, TX
EXHIBITIONS and AWARDS
PaperCity Design Awards 2023 “Best in Wall Coverings" Dallas, Texas
Coverings Installation and Design Awards, “Special Recognition for Artistic Use of Tile” Coverings Expo, Orlando, Florida
As Seen Through New Eyes Mosaic Exhibition, Foothills Art Center, Golden, CO, 2022
The Keller Prize, 2022, https://www.instagram.com/thekellerprize/
Women in Art: Group Exhibition, 2022 https://www.laslagunaartgallery.com/2022women
The Other Art Fair, Dallas Market Center, Dallas, TX 2022 https://www.theotherartfair.com/dallas/
“Repair, Rebuild, Renew,” International Mosaic Exhibition by invitation, Museum of Biblical Art, Dallas, TX, 2021 - 22
CAL National 2021, Juried Art Competition and Show, Conroe, TX, 2021
Rockwall Art League Library Show, Rockwall, TX, 2020
100 Moments in Mosaic, Society of American Mosaic Artists, Chicago, IL and Tuscon Arizona, 2020
Madeley National Juried Art Competition and Show, Conroe, TX, 2020
125 Show 2018, Plano Arts Association, Plano, TX, 2018
Exploration of Light, Vanessa Lacy Gallery, St. Louis, MO, 2018
Arts214 Juried Exhibition, Dallas, TX, 2017
Creative Arts Center of Dallas Member Juried Exhibition, Mary Thomas Gallery, Dallas, TX, 2016
Creative Arts Center of Dallas Student Exhibition, Dallas, TX, 2015
PRESS
2023 PaperCity Magazine - “The Winning Projects of the 2023 PaperCity Design Awards Dallas”
2023 Living Magazine - Leading Women
Blue Ribbon News, April 26, 2023 - “Rockwall Artist Receives Global Honor”
2023 Coverings Press Release “2023 Coverings Installation and Design Award Winners Announced”
Blue Ribbon News, April 24, 2023 - “Rockwall Art League Welcomes Demo Artist Sarah Wandrey at April Meeting”
2022 Living Magazine - Leading Women
MOSAIC TEACHING EXPERIENCE
3 hour Mini-Mosaics, Alders Retirement Community, Rockwall, TX 2021
Introduction to Large Scale Outdoor Mosaic, Hidden Mosaic Studio, Rockwall, TX, 2019 – 2020
Mosaic Frame Workshop, Rowlett Art League, Rowlett, TX, 2019
Hippo, the French bulldog, keeps me company in the studio. He loves to chew on sticks and take naps.