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PIECE WORK

An exuberantly tiled bungalow in Santa Monica shows off a couple's mosaic madness

 An exuberantly tiled bungalow in Santa Monica shows off a couple's mosaic madness

by Barbara Thornburg

June 10 2007

Louise Farnam's obsession started quite by accident. Her son Ryan's fourth-grade class was doing a mosaic project to help raise money for school, and his teacher asked parents to volunteer. After learning the basics of the art form, which involves making pictures or designs by setting small bits of colored stone, glass or tile in mortar, she helped to finish the class vase. Ten days later she bought 20 plates at a secondhand store, a pair of Glas-Snappers (scissors for cutting ceramic and glass) and some Flexall and began tiling an old lamp.

The complete article can be viewed at:

http://www.latimes.com/features/magazine/west/la-tm-mosaicpiecework23jun10,1,7001270.story?coll=la-headlines-west

Visit latimes.com at http://www.latimes.com

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    Santa Monica Daily Press             Local

 MONDAY, JULY 2, 2007 A newspaper with issues

BY MELODY HANATANI

Daily Press Staff Writer

         ARTISTIC

       VISIONS

STORY BY MELODY HANATANI

PAGE12

 LOCAL LANDMARK: The Farnam home on 26th Street is a site to behold.

PATCH WORK MASTERPIECE: Aziz and Louise Farnam have transformed their Santa Monica residence into a giant mosaic with contrasting themes throughout

                                   Not your

               Average Residence

MID-CITY

  Soon after moving into her new home last year, Pam Barnett was welcomed to the neighborhood by Aziz Farnam with an interesting greeting.

“You are very lucky,” Farnam said to his new neighbor at the time.

“Why,” Barnett asked.

“You get to wake up every morning and see my house,” he replied.

  It’s an amusing story that Barnett likes to tell whenever she has company. Friends and other visitors often inquire about the

marvelous home that sits directly across the street from her residence.

   On the corner of 26th Street and California Avenue is a remarkable home covered in mosaic tiles and beads, a colorful

explosion that forces drivers and pedestrians to stop in their tracks.

   “I always say I’m across the street from the tile house,” Barnett said on Friday, alluding to how she uses the home as a point of reference when giving directions.

  MOSAIC LAND

     It started innocently.

      Louise Farnam was lending a helping

hand during an art project in her son’s class at Franklin Elementary School. The task was to create a mosaic.

     Farnam was intrigued, it was the first time she had ever tried mosaic art. Curious, she came home and started breaking rose-patterned plates, gluing the pieces onto a lamp. She was happy with the result.

     Then one day, Farnam’s son asked if his parents could spice up the façade of the house, add a little mosaic, spruce things up a bit. That was six years ago, before the obsession began.

      Over the years, Louise and her husband, Aziz, began adding more and more tiles to the exterior of the house, creating a mosaic tree and a mosaic killer whale to name but a few. They covered the walkway with tiles, the stairs, the doors, the walls and even

the chimney.

        Each section of the house is dated, reminding the homeowners of when that certain portion of the project began. It takes anywhere from a few months to several years to finish a portion of the home.

       It all begins with an idea, which is then transferred into a sketch. Then begins the time consuming process of finding the right pieces of the puzzle, hitting up flea markets and thrift stores. Sometimes, friends will stop by with glasses broken by their children. Nothing is wasted, Louise Farnam said.

     The obsession extends inside — the columns of the house covered in broken mirrors, tiles adorning lamp shades, coffee

tables and even picture frames.

      Louise and Aziz Farnam become so adept at the art of mosaics; they have started a business, aptly called “Custom Mosaic Art,” launching a Web site by the same name.

    The house has been featured in news articles and television shows, including a segment on a HGTV program.

   “Everyone said we were crazy with what we were doing here,” Louise said. “When we were finished, everyone said it was nice and encouraged us to continue.”

http://www.smdp.com/site/archives/070207.pdf

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                   The   New York Times