Colors, designs inspired by nature
Jacquie Masterson, 43, finds her artistic inspiration in nature. An avid gardener and hiker, she sees pictures wherever she looks.
Masterson paints on Italian tumbled marble tiles. What she paints on them is reminiscent of ancient gardens and old style abodes done in an impressionistic style. Finished with her own secret recipe of a heat, scuff, and water resistant coat, the pieces have staying power as do the subjects. The cracks and divots found on the natural stone are incorporated into her designs.
She does single tiles as well as wall murals made up of numerous tiles. Many of her wall murals are located in Seattle; one will be featured in Seattle’s “Street of Dreams” home show next month.
Masterson got her start at a home show in Eagle Ridge about eight years ago with two wall murals in Northwestern Homes. Through word of mouth, designers and homebuilders have used her pieces.
She has lived in the Spokane Valley for eight years, and she uses her dining room and garden as her workspace. Her garden serves as a sort of muse, where she gets ideas for color combinations, and for a sense of peace. Her dining room is in the heart of her home and near the door that leads outside.
As a child, she would find comfort in the middle of a field with her dog, and she hasn’t strayed much from that ideal. She appreciates the outdoors and, with her tiles, the outdoors are brought indoors via nature scenes and earth tones.
Her business, Hand Painted Marble by Jacquie, is in full swing, and has tripled since she began selling on eBay this past year. She has clients in California, Texas, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania where her tiles will be placed in a 200-year-old house. She has recently received an order from Singapore.
In addition, she sells out of a distributor in Seattle, and the Made-in-Washington chain also in Seattle.
Masterson was exposed to the arts as a young girl. Her mother is an oil painter, and Masterson was taken to galleries and museums. She learned some techniques from her mother and taught herself by experimenting with different mediums.
Masterson sketched, painted and took up photography in college in Seattle. She married, divorced, and put her art on the back burner for a job in a bank in order to take care of her son.
Later, she remarried and had two more children. Her husband, Wes, is supportive in her artistic endeavors, and her three kids are also creative and helpful with Masterson’s business.
Byron, 20, does digital design work. Christina, 16, sketches and helps with the design application onto the tiles, and Jacob, 15, is beginning to show his ability to draw.
Masterson has always supplemented her children’s education with exposure to the arts and some home schooling. She has taught them to see pictures where they look, to appreciate the outdoors, and to not take things for granted.
As a youth, Masterson lacked direction and had a hard time finding herself, but the creative thing attracted her. “When I found art, I found myself,” She says, “I can’t imagine being anything else.”