My SAMA Story – Renee Spears

Next up in our series of stories from SAMA Members, Volunteers, and Board of Trustees, we have SAMA BOT Member-at-Large, Renee Spears.

I haven’t been a member of SAMA for the entire 25 years, but pretty close. The first SAMA conference I attended was the 4th annual conference in Washington, DC, in 2005. I was brand new to the medium, and didn’t know anyone, but I was hooked. I was welcomed with open nippers! I haven’t been able to attend every conference since then as I had a full-time career that was required to pay the bills, but I attended as many as I could fit in. Whenever possible, I volunteered to help with whatever tasks I was needed during each conference. Volunteering during free time allowed me to learn constantly from the best of the best. Through the years, I have made so many like-minded friends from all over the world, and I look forward to catching up with them every year. What a group of talented artists they are! Each year, I add more friends to my friend group and enjoy keeping up with everyone over social media when we can’t be together – we are scattered near and far! In honor of SAMA’s 25th Anniversary, I urge everyone who hasn’t yet joined or hasn’t yet renewed their membership to do so. After all, you can never have too many mosaic friends. The friendships keep growing, and the learning never ends!

Before I close, I’d like to leave you with a few more thoughts:

Many mosaic artists love working with animals because they bring a paw-sitive energy to the studio. (Even though my cat uses my Hardee stump for a scratching post!)

The best thing about mosaic art is that there are no wrong pieces, only misplaced opportunities.

It’s easy to get lost in a mosaic project, but always try to remember that Rome wasn’t mosaiced in a day.

Hope to meet you soon!

Renee Spears, SAMA Board of Trustees Member-at-Large

As we continue to celebrate SAMA’s anniversary, we would love to share your story of connection, inspiration, education, revelation, and/or motivation as it relates to SAMA’s role in your creative life, practice, or business.  Email: Info@americanmosaics.org and add “My SAMA Story” in the subject line.  Add an image or two and we will add to our series here in your inbox and on SAMA’s website.