Artist Ruth Porter turned a hobby into an art business with theme-inspired images. We spoke to her about her work and how she grew her sales.
ABI: How did you get started making “memory mosaics”?
RP: It all started when I attempted to create a unique valentine’s day gift for my husband. I wanted to give him a gift that commemorated the beginning stages of our relationship. I needed to create something that could easily represent how we met, include some of our dating quirks, and memorable facts about our wedding.
I attempted to compile all of these aspects of our relationship into the shape of a heart. It turned out amazing! My husband loved it and we found that it was a great conversational piece for when we had visitors. Soon after I created the first mosaic, I had a lot of requests from friends to make one for them too. I made a few free mosaics before someone suggested I begin selling them. My business was launched by the interest others showed in my original mosaic and I now have had the opportunity to create and sell these types of mosaics on a national and international level.
ABI: Most of your work is commission-based. How do you work with clients?
RP: I correspond with my clients via Facebook and Instant Messenger. Interested parties send me a message on my business page. They let me know what image they want me to create for them and I request a minimum of a page long list of words to get started.
Once I receive their list, I am given creative freedom to decide what I will draw out as an image in the mosaic and what to keep in word format. It usually takes me two days to complete a Memory Mosaic depending on the size. When I have finished their artwork, I send the client a photo of the finished product to ensure satisfaction prior to scheduling receipt of payment and sending the artwork to them.
ABI: Tell us about other special projects you’ve worked on.
RP: This past year, I created an art piece that was commissioned by a consignment shop called “The Warehouse” to produce car decals and posters in recognition of the Solar Eclipse. The Warehouse made a few hundred car decals and it caught the attention of one of the managers from the South Carolina State Museum. The Museum bought a good portion of the stock and resold them in the museum gift shop.
Seeing my design sold in a museum was like a dream come true! The Warehouse is also working with me on creating designs for different states here on the east coast to put on souvenirs, t-shirts, and other accessories.
