Doreen Bell Mosaic's photostream  

"I'm a little bit 50's housewife, a little bit Alice in Wonderland and a little bit 60's hippie chick"


I have been blessed by the heavens to be able to do what I love full time...Mosaic. I have been one type or another artist since my high school days, many moons ago. In my 20's I was a hair designer who during the early to mid 70's worked for a well known hairdresser (like Warren Beaty in Shampoo) who was from Paris I was his assistant he taught me all there was to know about cutting and styling hair as well as blowdrying which there was an art to. We did movie stars that were in Chicago doing performances, as well as many local socialites,sports players, and politicians, This was a most unforgettable time (with the brain cells I have left) fun time in my life, I then in 1979 got married to my high school sweetheart who was
( polar opposite of me) at the time was in law school.

I continued to do hair but not with my mentor, I moved on to
only men's hair at the exclusive Carlton Club in the Ritz Carlton Hotel on Michigan Ave in Chicago. I hung out at Faces on Rush Street, just like Studio 54 in New York.
What a wild time in my life.I felt like a movie star.(my 15 min of fame)

The 80's brought children into my life and was lucky enough not to have to work. I retired from hair and only took my scissors out to cut my family's hair and on occasion a friend or two. Boy oh boy but was I busy with those kids, I loved those days, but I'm glad it's all just a memory now!

Mid 90's I found cooking (another obsession), and became a gourmet food artist who played with food to make it look beautiful at presentation. I worked independently for private
parties. This was all self taught. I totally enjoyed this and became a food junkie and weight watcher!

Around 2003 I found mosaic, I took a class in our little town of Long Grove, IL . At the time in my life I was feeling blue, (singing in my head Lonely Girl..) kids out on their own and now what was I to do with myself and asking myself what was I made to do on this earth.

Taking a walk to cheer myself up changed my life that day.
As I turned the corner I noticed a little shop that had just opened with it's colorful sign called Artist@Heart, wow that's me...so I walked on in and was greeted by an awesome cute as whiskers on a kitten lady named Lori who owned it. I saw that she was going to have classes there, and noticed that her whole desk area had been mosaic-ed, which I thought was just the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. I pointed to that desk and said "I want to learn how to do that!" Lori, replied "I have a class tonight" I couldn't get my checkbook out quick enough ...The rest is history. Have been at it ever since, living and breathing it non stop.

My husband had our attic finished and half of that space is my studio, I call it "Stairway to Heaven Studio" it's a perfect area with huge skylight windows that open up to the sky, 2 of my dogs are always up there with me sleeping in their little bed keeping me company while I listen to either my old hippie tunes Classic vinyl on xm radio or current country hits while I'm creating. Life is good, yes I am blessed. Mosaic is what I was meant to do! I live and breathe this ART!



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