About the Artist

Donna Parsons

Mosaic Artist

Donna won her first art contest in the sixth grade when she made a poster for the PTA. It looked so outlandish with paint intentionally splattered on it that she self- consciously hid it behind the door realizing that no one else’s looked remotely like it. The teacher discovered it and Donna was shocked to win.

When she was twelve Donna learned to sew and by the next year was selling clothes and costumes to two local stores. Working with fabric led to a decade of experimentation with batik and fabric design. She sold batik wall-hangings at art shows and was hired for private commissions.

For a year Donna studied art and design at Virginia Commonwealth University, but was called to travel. When she did return to college as an adult she received her degree in Cultural Anthropology graduating first in her class.

Several years ago she returned to her birthplace, Virginia, after living in Seattle, San Diego, several places in Florida, as well as Tortola, in the British Virgin Islands. She now works in her self-designed studio, a life-long dream come true. It’s the perfect place to pursue mosaics, the art-form that ultimately captured her attention and her heart.

Donna’s love of art and culture is inextricably linked. Travels in Greece, Thailand, Bali and New Zealand yielded not only inspiration but objects that became centerpieces and accents in her mosaics. She also finds inspiration closer to home. Christmas dinner plates, thrift-store finds and her Aunt Hazel’s jewelry have all found their way into her work. Mosaics provide the palette to resurrect in beauty, objects discarded by others, and challenges her to elevate this ancient craft to a contemporary art form.