Mosaic artist made art more visible after theft

By Irene Bowers Correspondent

VIRGINIA BEACH

When thieves stole Michael Combs' artwork from a local Shell station, he took it as a challenge to make art more visible, rather than less.

"You have to keep on with what you believe in," he said.

As a result, a new mosaic adorns the service station at 2900 Shore Drive, and Combs is considering plans to bring similar art work to area businesses with temporary installations.

The station's original artwork was a large shell, made with concrete and glass pieces. It was created at the urging of Carole Anderton, who manages the service station with her husband Ross Anderton.

"I'd seen the lizard mosaic someone else did further down Shore Drive and thought it would be awesome to have something like it here," she said. "We've known Mike for years, so I asked him to make a mosaic to brighten up the front."

Combs, who runs a detailing business out of the service station, agreed. The mosaic was installed in 2005 and sat in front of the service station for almost four years before it disappeared in February.

A bright red guitar mosaic, replete with glass and mirror tiles, that joined the sea shell in the front garden two years ago was left behind.

Following the sea shell theft, Combs decided to rebuild, this time permanently installing the piece. He chose to create it on site, in order to educate passersby about the complexity of mosaic art.

The blue and green sea shell required an estimated 200 hours of work.

"My husband had to drink a lot of green bottled beer," Anderton, said, laughing. A local graphics shop contributed much of the blue glass.

Anderton said the sea shell saga has generated a lot of interest in the art garden. When the red guitar was removed by Combs in September, many worried that it had also fallen prey to thieves. "People started asking about it right away," she said.

According to Combs, public curiosity matters. "In a world where you can pick up yard art for peanuts, most people don't have an appreciation for what it takes to create something like this," said Combs, who is finishing up a black glass and mirror Les Paul guitar mosaic at the service station.

"I welcome the interest because it means I have succeeded in making art visible, even if some folks think they can have one for 100 bucks," he said.

The red guitar mosaic is gone from the garden, but will return to the area soon. Combs will haul it back from a temporary installation in a Grand Rapids, Mich., art walk and plans to tour it around to local businesses with a proposal: The mosaic would be temporarily installed, and Combs would use an interior space to display his photography.

"I want to be an emissary for art," he said. "Bring it to the public."

To contact Combs, call

619-6129.

Irene Bowers, bowersi@aol.com