Bella Kuper: Mosaicist and Jeweler

Bella Kuper is a physical therapist by occupation, and she loves the healing she sees in her patients. And she heals herself with her art.

"Art is along the same lines," she said. "It puts me in a new state of mind, and that transfers to others."

After hours, Kuper is a mosaic artist working most often in glass. Her beautiful, gleaming mosaics fill her Pikesville home.

She said she began making original mosaics from a functional need to fill certain spaces in her home, but it grew into a passion.

Kuper's mosaics combine her love of bold, modern art with nature motifs and often, an Asian aesthetic. She also works along traditional Judaic themes, both for her own home and for commission.

Take a look at the second art mosaic she ever made, the exquisite "Under the Sea" mirror. It's huge, an amazingly ambitious project for a beginner. And the use of color is masterful. The different hues play off each other, and each gradation and shimmer of the glass has been taken into account.

In her entryway a tall, slender piece called "Winding Maple" fills a unique, narrow space. Like her "Beauty" nesting tables, they show an Asian influence. Beside the larger wall pieces, Kuper has a collection of shining jewelry she designs herself, crafting from tiny pieces of glass.

Mosaics tread the thin line between two- and three-dimensional art. For things like this, an artist has to be both sculptor and colorist, and she has to know how to draw. And Kuper can certainly draw; the outlines in her undersea mirror—and in each piece—attest to the fact.

Clearly, Kuper had a natural knack for her art, but part of her success may be due to her willingness to learn. She checks out every glass book the library offers. She is modest about her art background, but she takes her art seriously.

Kuper studies with master artists in the classes at Maryland Mosaics in Glyndon, where her art is on display. In addition to her work there, Kuper's pieces are on view at both the Fairfax and Rockville locations of Mosaic Tile Company Design Centers. And she is a part of the Mosaic Yearbook CD-ROM, a compilation that presents the work of more than 500 international artists. 

Kuper uses the Internet as one of her major networking tools. She keeps up with trends among contemporary glass artists on the social networking site Facebook and other sites, and she is part of the online international community of Contemporary Mosaic Artists. She shares her own work on Flickr, Etsy and her own website.

Online communications allow her to connect with other artists such as Washington state mosaicist Crystal Thomas. Kuper is able to find artists with whom she identifies, even across the country or overseas.

Her dedication to her art shows. Her finished pieces exhibit a meticulous craftsmanship. "I can sit for hours to get it just right," she said. "It's not finished until every piece fits perfectly."

She also takes an extra step to make sure her works are smooth enough to touch.

"In general, artists don't like their art touched," she says. "I do, and I like mosaics I can run my hands over." That requires extra care over many hours, but it's worth it to make her pieces touchable and safe.

Her greatest fan, critic and support is her husband, Jay Kuper. He's good with power tools and hardware, and he helps keep the structural side of the mosaics sound. For "Sunset Over Old City," Jay cut the marble tiles for the foreground.

She shares her love of art with her 11-year-old twins Adam and Ben. Both of them love the experience of crafting with their hands, and Kuper would like to teach classes for other children.

"The process is encouraging to kids," she says. "They take a material from nothing into a piece of fine art that they can display."

I hope that Bella Kuper's future includes teaching master classes in glass. Other artists would learn a lot from her.
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To commission a piece, contact Bella Kuper through her website. Her jewelry and home décor pieces can be customized to fit your preferred colors, styles and themes.