"Eye'm Watching Over You"
Glynda Benham and the EYES OF NEPAL MOSAIC PROJECT
Studio regular, Glynda Benham, recently took the class with the internationally renowned British mosaic artist Martin Cheek here at Mosaic Oasis. During the weekend she discovered that Martin has been to Nepal to teach mosaics under the auspices of the UK-based Esther Benjamins Trust (EBT) which rescues Nepalese children who have been trafficked or displaced into India and are subjected to appalling treatment and living conditions. The trust offers refuge and rehabilitation to rescued children and also supports education and vocational training initiatives for young hearing impaired people.
Martin and another mosaic artist created the “Eyes of Nepal” project to raise funds for EBT. More than 100 mosaic artists are creating 10 inch square mosaics incorporating Martin’s fused glass eyes, that will be permanently displayed in a hotel in Kathmandu. When she found out about the project, Glynda knew she wanted to be a part of it, because her daughter has lived in Kathmandu for over two years and she has visited the country, but the challenge was, she only had a short period of time in which to finish the piece because it needed to be in London by May 1st. Glynda's mosaic, shown above, is entitled “Eye’m Watching Over You” and was created in just under two weeks using Italian smalti, vitreous glass, turquoise, assorted beads, crystals, pebbles and raku, and is inspired by a lizard’s eye which has incredible detail when viewed at high magnification.
Each of the mosaics is being sponsored with all of the proceeds going to support EBT’s Bhairahawa Art Workshop in southwest Nepal.
If you would like to sponsor Glynda's mosaic, donations of any size, large or small, can be made online through:
If you would like to read more about the Eyes of Nepal project or the Esther Benjamins Trust, here are some other links:
Esther Benjamin’s Trust: http://www.ebtrust.org.uk/
Eyes of Nepal Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/
