Play-Doh + Mosaics + Fun

By Lacy 

See her work in The Woven Tale Press 

After earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts, I worked in a studio that put out stunning trompe l’oeil art. With the birth of my first child, I decided to quit my job and put art to the side to take on my new endeavor of raising children.

But as days and weeks stretched into months and years I found myself feeling antsy. I had such a drive to create, but finding time  to paint  proved, without exaggeration, to be impossible.

Then, one day, while the kids and I were playing with Play-Doh at the kitchen table, I mixed some colors together and punched out my very first “dot.” It dawned on me that this could be a way to make real art – in however small intervals, whenever it fit into my  schedule.

First however, I had to make sure it would work. I spent the next couple of weeks figuring out the best was to dry the pieces. Covered… too slow. Dehydrator… too fast.

I also found that humidity made a huge difference, so depending on the weather, I had to adjust how I would dry them. I built a small frame and made a mini prototype with a gorgeous glossy fill. It worked and looked so interesting, I knew this method had potential to succeed.

This first piece I started in the beginning of June 2012. It is 75 in x 48in:

I loved making the dots, each one its own composition. And the size of the dots reminds me of delightful little candies. Arranging the dots is like arranging puzzle pieces but ones that can be rearranged. Up close one can appreciate each individual piece, and from a distance, the picturesque scene.

I want my art to touch people. One woman reminded me that it can. Years after I did a mural for a hospital children’s waiting room in Marin County, a woman wrote to me about how much it meant to have something beautiful to look at while she was there with her sick, scared daughter. And some little neighborhood friends recently came over to play. They looked at the dots longingly and asked if they were candy. I don’t blame them – I want to eat them myself sometimes.

I’ve continued with more projects, and have named this new art form Dozayix:

Play-Doh + Mosaics + Fun