Slippery Rock Gazette

Creating Custom Mosaic Backsplashes and More in Pagosa Springs

Peter Marcucci

Photos provided by Emily Tholberg

Emily Tholberg was 9 years old when she first started experimenting with brush and canvas, 11 when building her first mosaic with M&Ms, and by her mid-20s was producing cutting-edge graphics for the television industry. 

The humble backsplash re-imagined as a colorful, one-of-a-kind piece of art.

Above: Emily Tholberg at the beginning of her commissioned project Elk and Eagle Near Navajo Peak. “I didn’t know I was going to do so much landscape,” said Tholberg, “but people around here are really excited about having elk and mountains in their homes.”

Above: The completed Elk and Eagle Near Navajo Peak is 53 inches by 42 inches and made from a mixture of slates, travertine, marble, sandstone, and granite. River minerals were used in the mountains and ceramic for the sky. “Fortunately, over the years, I had squirreled away countless scraps of all sizes and colors and was able to cut many intricately shaped pieces,” said Tholberg.

Above: The full-height backsplash Waves in Color is six feet by eighteen inches high. “To be honest, when I’m working, sometimes I’m not sure how I’m going to finish the background, but as I progress it reveals what the final will look like. That was true with Waves in Color. I didn’t know how I was going to fill in the background, but I just kept working and it came to me,” she explained.

Above and below: Elkville is a full-height, 19-foot-long backsplash mural made out of travertine, marble, slate, porcelain, sandstone and pebbles. Installed in a private residence in Pagosa Springs Colorado.

Above: Rick and Roxanne Jewell are the proud owners of The Tree backsplash. It’s assembled from petrified wood, real gold and real silver, as well as stones both soft and hard. “The Jewells are rock collectors and wanted me to use their stash of cool minerals. I also made two small matching backsplashes for their bathroom vanity,” explained Emily.

In the 1990s, Tholberg began experimenting with complimentary colors of organic materials as well as ceramic, bringing a new genre of home and kitchen decor to a western American audience. “I enjoyed creating art with M&Ms when I was a child. The fact is, I still do,” said Tholberg, laughing.

“These days, however, I’ve traded my M&Ms for natural stone, minerals, petrified wood, colored glass and tile. My last project, a tree that seems to grow from a countertop, uses many of these materials. The client said, ‘I want your flair, I want your creativity, and I want you to come to our home and see our new kitchen.’ So when I saw her granite countertops I said, ‘Why don’t you have a tree around your window? It will frame the window with different colors of stone, and it will add some softness and a natural feeling.’ She said, ‘Fabulous,’ and she went to the basement and brought up a bucket of beautiful minerals that she and her husband had saved for years; everything from petrified wood, to minerals, to marble and granite. These pieces really meant something to them, and the fun was cutting them, putting them next to each other and blending them.   

“So the tree is a patchwork of different marbles, granites and minerals, and the materials that represent the bark, because they’re different, add a lot of texture to the image of the trunk.

Just look at any real tree, and you’ll see lots of textures going on. Placing the Ocean Jasper with bubbles next to striped stone was challenging, but in this case really made the tree come alive.

At the top, just above the window, the branch gracefully drapes over and down. That kind of patchwork creation was really inspiring for me while putting those different textures and colors together. The client had lots of trees outside the window, and now they have their own indoor tree that dances all the way up the wall.”

Marketing, Sales, and Production on the Cutting-Edge

Many of Tholberg’s clients are homeowners, so from time to time she’ll visit local homebuilders, first speaking to their receptionists. “Usually, receptionists know their clients and know if they are looking for something unique.” Tholberg also attends area home shows in Pagosa Springs and Durango whenever they are scheduled. 

“It’s a funny thing. I can be at one of these shows for two days displaying my work and just get one customer, like the woman that commissioned the Moenkopi Canyon mural. Another time, I was the featured artist at the Durango Home Show. 

That show turned me on to another client who was excited to have me do her work. I also have a website where interested people can see examples of what is possible. Sometimes clients want something similar to what they’ve seen or might have something new in mind. Then, after discussing the size and shape they want (usually it’s a custom size), I’ll create a basic sketch. Then, upon approval, they will send a deposit.

“When beginning a backsplash project, I will usually adhere the cut pieces on to a cement board using a high-quality, flexible thin-set in order to ensure the work doesn’t crack while in transit.

A thin-set with slower drying times is also an advantage, allowing me to move the pieces to taste. I want them to be just right. It’s amazing how when you move the pieces, even slightly, the story changes.

Anyone who’s done a mosaic knows that once you begin moving pieces, the attitude changes. I’m very specific about how I want the finished work to be perceived. Every single installation that I’ve done has turned out well, and there’s never a problem.”

As far as production, Tholberg’s shop consists of two diamond-blade band saws, different-sized chisels and files, a few small electric tools for shaping and a variety of abrasives for honing and polishing.

There is no water recycling system, no forklift and no large equipment. They’re just not needed. Moreover, there’s very little waste with her work. The many ceramics, stones, and minerals she uses, that might have eventually found their way into local landfills, are saved and eventually repurposed.

When needed, Tholberg purchases her materials from either a local rock hound or from out of town. “Nothing is in stock in Pagosa Springs,” she continued, “and everything has to be ordered, so I’ll drive to the high-end tile stores in Albuquerque and Durango to pick through their leftovers for interesting colors. After I finish a piece, I usually have leftovers such as small cuts or ends that I save. Eventually, though, maybe years later, everything does get used.”

Design Dictates the Materials, and Materials Dictate the Design

Tholberg attributes much of her success to the fact that when her art is viewed, “People feel something.” She added that the biggest key to her success is her ability to push in new directions, while knowing how to combine a client’s input with her own. “My artistry of landscapes continues to evolve, and most who know me and my work understand this. I want my clients to have their dreams come true, and I spend as much time with them to understand their requirements.

I’ll then look, and look, and look again at each tile or stone balancing the colors and shapes while touching everything! It’s always a study in perspective, and cutting pieces that can translate that perspective — especially while using bigger pieces — is a challenge for me. 

“Composition in what I do is huge. It’s quite difficult and not like I can take a paintbrush and paint over it if I make a mistake. It is finite and not easily changed, so I always have to think ahead.

Preparation before beginning any job is usually specific to each homeowner. They usually come to me and begin by talking about their home and say something like, we have travertine in the kitchen and slate in the bathroom, and we want you to design and build something in the hallway that will tie these materials together. \

One homeowner even added that her husband really likes nature and wildlife, and asked that the design include an elk. Other clients say they love water, or they love color, and that they’re confident my finished work will be great, so they tell me to just go crazy!

“It’s at this point that I’ll begin to think about how a special request, such as an elk, can stand out and be prominent in terms of the layout, because if I use the same colors for the elk as the background, then that’s not going to catch the homeowner’s eye.

So it’s important at this time to think about the balance and juxtaposition of the colors and textures and the intricacies of the kinds of shapes that they want. It’s also time to begin thinking about the colors and textures I have in stock that will blend nicely.

I have gained a lot of experience so far with these things, and when the homeowners’ eyes light up when saying, ‘I want this, or I want that,’ I’m able to quantify the solution and know what colors to use. 

“Maybe they’ll say they want a border that looks like carpet, and I’ll tell them I’ve got the perfect color to make a great highlight, while additionally giving consideration to what is going to be on the floor or wall. Sometimes I’ll make a sketch, but my clients usually trust me and know they are going to get something unique. Murals do take a lot of time, but I will not sacrifice quality just to get it done. 

“When I’m finished, I’m glad to let it go, because those clients are very excited and eager to have it.”

Tholberg on Tholberg

“We live in a world where so many things are made with little or no personal touch. I am doing something that’s created by hand with the beholder in mind. That’s my service, and that’s why I make art for others.

My website brings in clients from all points: Florida, Oregon, California, West Virginia, you name it, and their art is shipped to them fully insured.

“As for the future, I have a friend that that’s been encouraging me to apply for a grant to do a mosaic out of marble and granite in my hometown of Pagosa Springs. We have a large wall downtown on Main Street that’s got a painted image of horses and mountains, but we are at 7,500 feet above sea level and sooner or later the U.V. rays will burn off that paint — but not mosaic! So I’m thinking of applying for a grant that will allow me and town members to create a mosaic for the town’s adornment.”

You Gotta to Give to Get

Like all successful artists, Tholberg gives her work her all, every time and every day while in pursuit of her high-energy aesthetics, sublime style and special brand. And within her legendary collaboration of art, fabrication, of delicate beauty, and within the context of extreme craftsmanship, the woman and her art remain cutting-edge.

Currently, Tholberg is working on another tree for a different client who was enthralled with the concept of the first tree.

So fabricators, if you’re interested after reading this and are seeking an edge in a market that’s always looking for something special, consider mixing the clean lines of your granite or marble with the natural beauty of Emily Tholberg’s custom creations.

For more information and a gallery of samples, visit www.emilytholberg.com.

Above: Buzz’s Canyon is 13 feet long, made out of carefully chosen pieces of slate, marble, travertine, sandstone, with blue ceramic for the sky.

Above: A Horse For Terry is 16  by 18 inches, assembled from complementary shades of slates and blue ceramic. This detail shows how Tholberg uses subtle textures and colors in her work.