Artist/Vendor Profile: Cheryl Hazen

Name: Cheryl Hazen
Company name: Salvaged Tresures By Cheryl
Location: Battle Ground, WA
Website: Battle Ground Art Alliance
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Your products/projects:

I am a glass mosaic artist, all of my art is recycled, reclaimed, and given a facelift and new lease on life. I use reclaimed items as a base, then add glass to make marvelous nature scenes. My favorite piece is a Celtic Tree of Life, I won "Best Interpretation of the Theme" at the Battle Ground Art Show & Sale. I cut out each "leaf" as a celtic knot and pieced them all together. I also "wove" the tree trunk and used old barn wood for the frame. 

I make table tops, birdhouses, bird baths, water fountains, old windows, wall-hangings, and a totem pole, cabinet doors & a gun rack. I currently am doing a series of Revelation Scenes. 

I have artwork in Fusions Artist Gallery in Oceans Shores, I will be showing at the Regional Library Nov. 1st, 2013 and the featured artist at Vinnie's Pizza for the month of Nov. I am a board member of BGAA and a member in Ridgefield art association. I've just undertaken a new project. It is called LandfillArt, and it is making art on a hubcap, so I will try to add glass mosaic to a metal hubcap and if selected, my piece will be put in a book. 

I don't have any "failures" but I do have UFOs (un-finished objects), and that is usually because I don't like them. I thought I could mosaic broken china, and I found a very pretty ceramic design with daisies, also found green plates with daisies and broke them. Well I tried to add "dishes" on a satellite dish--- I had never worked with plates or on a curved surface so it just kept getting worse, I did finally finish it, but I did not like it, it is just too chunky. But it is in the back corner of my shop! Still haven't done another broken china piece.

Green "Cred"

Creative reuse, Handmade, Durable, Made in the USA, Recyclable packaging, Recycled content product, Recycled content packaging, Reusable, Reusable packaging, Reused materials, Locally sourced materials

Why is "green" important to you?

I love the idea of the "hunt" and finding "treasure." Each piece I find is a treasure just waiting to be turned into something else, and given a second chance. I save these pieces from going to the landfill, and I try to make each item fun as well as functional. I just finished a raccoon clock, it started as a painted welcome sign with a flower on it. I saw a hollow in a tree, and cut off the flower part, added a ceramic raccoon to the side, When I found the raccoon I knew what to do with the welcome sign and then I wanted to make little faces coming out of the hollow, but before I made them I found a flat ceramic piece with painted raccoons on it that fit perfectly! I used browns & blacks to symbolize a tree. I just love the feeling of accomplishment when it all comes together like that!

Your origin story?

I have always been creative and have dappled in lots of crafts. I was a Campfire Leader and we were always doing crafts with the kids. 

I have experimented with ceramics, quilting, crocheting, jewelry making, clay, sewing, etc. My first mosaic project was a 6' table. I have an oval table from the 50's from my husbands' grandfather, and an oval mirror that came from my parents' 100 year old home. They fit together beautifully, then I got the idea to mosaic it, in blues, greens, purples. I added a green vine with white flowers, and huge dragonflies in each corner. The mirror is in the middle with the design around the edge. I used tiny plastic pieces for the tessera and glass gems for the dragonflies and black grout. I painted the aluminum legs purple. It took me all summer, but it is beautiful and I still use it for my patio table! But I liked the process of using tiny pieces of something and making beautiful pictures out of them and started using glass for the tessera and Salvaged Treasures by Cheryl was born!

Your inspiration?

I am inspired by nature, landscapes and animals. Sometimes I cannot sleep for all the new ideas running through my mind. Usually I will have to get up and draw out the ideas so I can get to sleep. When I find a base object, I usually get a picture in my mind of what that piece wants to be.