The Mosaic Art House is located in a residential neighborhood, close by a small lake…read more
My husband, our little girl dog and I are really into non traditional attractions and often times will look up things to see and do on roadsideamerica.com. My husband discovered this home on it and decided to make a trip out here on a Tuesday afternoon, around 1:30 pm. I had emailed one of the owners (Carol) and made a phone call earlier but unfortunately had not heard a response. On a whim, my husband decided to just knock on the door and ask if we could have a tour. To our surprise, Blake answered the door and was more than happy to offer us a tour of his home. According to Blake, his wife, Carol, had just had cataract surgery and so she was not able to join in on this tour (which also made sense why I had not heard from her via email. However I do want to mention that she did email me back the next day after this tour visit).
I want to briefly talk about both this highly talented husband and wife team. Carol Sackman has a background in art and Blake White is a self taught artist. Their home is covered with objects that include antique button jewelry, mosaic tiling, glass and dishware. There is a lot of Asian pieces used for some of the sculptures and covering on the the walls. This labor of love took about 15 years to make and this couple still have plans to continue adding to it all.
Blake started out telling us about some of the artwork he and his wife had made on the front porch and then lead us to the side of the home where we saw a few bird baths and a large Saint Bernard dog (which he referred to as the guard dog). Here it was where Blake just briefly talked about "Brother Can You Spare A Dime" panel that he made for the St. Petersburg Folk Festival. This panel expresses how he feels about corporate greed. Another panel we come to was made by Carol. Blake had said that one of her friends had breast cancer and just wanted her friends to get together and create some art. Once in a while, some of their pieces here around the house may be collaborated with their friends but most of it was created by the 2 of them.
Blake eventually led us to the backyard where there are still even more colorful panels. I especially love the tree of life panel that is in the middle of the back of the house. Blake also shows us his art studio, which is different from Carol's. Blake really likes to dabble with doing his own tile glazing (in which he has 2 large ovens, or kilns, in the corner of his studio) and tells us about what has inspired him to decorate his studio.
Later on he takes us to Carol's studio, which has a different vibe and creativity. Carol likes to paint on fabric and also likes to use buttons and other types of objects in her art. We were told that they also like to teach art classes in their home and will travel (mostly in the summer) to various art shows to try to sell some of their art (they consider their art to be folk art style).
After that, we are taken inside the house from the back entrance. Here we see Blake's bathroom, which of course he also decorates to the same style of the outside of the home. Later on when we come to the kitchen, we see coffee cups and sauces made out of tiles on the walls and flooring and coffee stenciled all along the counters. Blake and Carol are big time coffee lovers (and love cats as well, as Blake said they had about 9 or so cats).
We eventually make our way to the living room where Blake shares a few stories with us about some personal items that are in the room (like a painting and this boat that was brought back from China from a good friend).
And then we conclude the tour outside, right back on his front porch. Blake tells us that the arch way that is in front of their home was made by their friend Bruce. He made it out of wood and this talented couple just started decorating it. On the front of the arch way, at the top, has words "Changes Make Waves". On one side of the arch are pink letters that spell out Carol's mother's name and some of her friends, in a way to honor them. We were told that pets are also honored too.
After the tour, Blake more than welcomed me to stay and take all the photos that I wanted and to take my time to look at everything. My husband and I (and I'm sure our little girl too) felt so honored to have a tour by Blake and truly enjoyed learning about him and Carol and their inspiration for creating their home.
If you are looking for something out of the box, consider checking out the Mosaic Art House. If you are interested in a (free) tour, you can email Carol, carolblakeart@gmail.com or call 727-736-4036.