My latest piece was inspired by nature, folklore & the below poem. Each piece of this mosaic is about the size of my pinky nail and the entire thing is about 2′x2′. When done I plan on coating it with clear acrylic resin instead of grout.


The Dryad by Julie ShielIn

a far remote region,
in the midst of the wood,
there lives a great oak tree,
where a faery ring once stood.
In the curve of its branches,
in the roughness of bark,
the dryad continues
though the world has grown stark.
Her eyes are the green
of her moss covered oak,
and her skin is the brown
of the tree she evokes.
She speaks with the whispers
of the wind through the leaves,
her voice falling silent
each winter as she grieves.
She dances with her sisters
and teases the satyr,
under the moon and the stars
as she taunts him to chase her.
She allows him to catch her
upon Midsummer’s Eve,
and sings in her innocence
as their souls interweave.
But when morning arrives,
the lovers must part,
for her life is entangled
with the tree’s ancient heart.
And when the great oak sickens,
and draws nearer to death,
the dryad pales also,
and takes her last mortal breath.