On display

Rockville Centre native Karen (Heiberg) Chrisman, now a Massachusetts resident, has had a piece selected for The Art of Mosaic, an all New England Mosaic Exhibition at the Somerville Museum, outside of Boston, through Oct. 31.

Chrisman grew up in Rockville Centre and graduated from South Side High School. She is the daughter of Christie Heiberg, a longtime village resident who now lives in Amherst, Mass. Chrisman's sister, Margaret Kollitides, still lives in Rockville Centre and her neice, Katherine Kollitides, graduated from South Side High School in June.

Chrisman had a long career as a graphic designer before beginning to work in mosaic. “I’ve always been fascinated by this art form and its historical tradition, and I’ve gone out of my way many times to see examples when traveling,” she said.

She currently works in smalti, a richly colored glass that is handmade in Venice, Italy. The mosaic selected for the show, “New Orleans after Georges,” shows a vulnerable city of tropical plants, louvered doors, and delicate ironwork, just after Hurricane Georges veered off from a predicted direct hit in 1998.

The show is a unique opportunity for Northeast mosaic artists to share their art with the public and to see each other’s styles. Mosaic is one of the oldest, most enduring art forms, as alive with innovation today as it was millennia ago. Mosaic artists push the medium in new directions by manipulating traditional and modern materials into statements that engage, provoke and delight the eye, the mind and the sense of touch. The exhibition includes examples of fine art pieces, as well as decorative and functional art objects.