The Michael David Markman Portrait Mosaic

The completion of this portrait mosaic marks the finishing touch on a deeply meaningful journey. The piece was originally begun in a classroom setting with its owner, Julie Markman, who mapped out the initial details and placed the very first tesserae—focusing on the eyes, hat outline, and collar. When Julie's life took a sudden turn with a pancreatic cancer diagnosis, work on the portrait paused. Years later, her son Peter reached out, and we agreed that I would complete it.

Finishing this piece has been a true labor of love: a tribute to both my passion for mosaic and the enduring bond shared between Julie and Peter. Having done very little portrait work in any medium prior, it was a steep learning curve. We are certainly our own harshest critics! Working in mosaic is vastly different from painting when it comes to blending colors and capturing shadows, light, and expression. Reaching the grouting stage and witnessing the magical transformation of color was immensely satisfying—and seeing it now, fully completed, is wonderfully rewarding.

Fragments from a community mosaic is finally taking shape, with fragments of crockery from the Swan River, old childhood tea set and lates dating back to 1910 is been a joy and a challenge to place these treasures into some cohesive design, though it’s coming together. Watch this space.

Sculpting Rikki

Touching back after 30 years to get my hands creating in clay again has been nothing short of life-giving. Kneading and moulding such a tactile medium is a wonderfully sensual experience, and the intense attention to detail keeps the mind completely focused.

The sculpture of my daughter, Rikki, proved to be an adventure in its own right. A major pivot came when I decided to fire the piece directly rather than making a plaster cast. Because it had been built around an armature, that meant "radical surgery"—cutting the sculpture in half to painstakingly remove all internal wires and the central support. Rikki (the sculpture, at least!) took great umbrage at this and began rebelling by falling apart around the base and shoulders, requiring some swift emergency procedures to restore her. Now safely back in one piece, the final details were executed, and the work has been successfully dried and fired.