One of the annual events at Shake Rag Alley is the weekend known as “Mosaic Madness.” I used to wonder why they called it this, but then I took the 3-day class and promptly lost my mind. It’s an all-consuming experience.

The class is open to everyone and many of the students are gifted artists. Others — like myself and my mother, who took the class with me — not so much. But the instructors Judy Sutcliffe and Heidi Dyas-McBeth are very encouraging to us amateurs.

I spent much of my weekend making “Mosaic Zoe” based on a photo of my daughter as a flower girl.  Let’s just say that human Zoe does not consider the end result to be a compliment. I recall at the time, that one of the instructors gently suggested that I slow down by reminding me that “it wasn’t a race.” In my head I truly believed I was in a race, but that was just part of my “madness.”

My mother made something she calls “Goober.”  Here he is, sitting on the edge of her driveway where he has stayed year-round for the past four years.

I can verify that he’s very resilient, because a couple years ago I ran him over with the car and he didn’t break. Actually I just tapped him with the car and he fell over.  He also acts as a snow gauge, a testament to his ability to withstand all sorts of abuse.

One of the things I learned during my weekend of mosaic insanity is that people not taking classes at Shake Rag are free to roam around and look at what’s happening. So, I encourage you to go down and check out the creations from this weekend. Today (Sunday June 23) is the last day and it runs ’til 4. Don’t be alarmed if the students can’t make conversation or eye-contact. Understand that they’re in the throes of Mosaic Madness.

-Contributed by Lisa Hay