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The beginning was just a funny story: Summer Holmes was sitting with her dog, Graham, on her lap and said something to her daughter about cooking. Graham perked up—had she said “cookie?” He wasn’t sure, so he tilted his head and lifted only one ear. Summer said to her daughter, “That’s so cute! Quick, take a picture; I’m going to make a mosaic of that!” She said it again, he took the pose, the picture was snapped, and Summer made the mosaic. (And Graham got the cookie, of course!)

She didn’t know this was about to change her life.

Summer grew up with four siblings in a family that made everything—food from scratch, new clothes from old, rugs from the scraps, toys and gifts and Christmas decorations from odds and ends. As a mother of seven, she did all the things her mother had done, even after Summer's children were grown and gone. When she created a large “button bouquet” for her home, people started saying, “You could sell those,” so in June 2020, she opened an Etsy shop called HolmesMadeArt, selling paintings, handsewn items, drawings, etc., and of course, button bouquets and kits for people to make their own.

After a few months, Summer made a button mosaic of a friend’s cat, and began making small mosaic pendants for daughters-in-law. She started making pictures, and as she expresses it, “fell in love” with mosaic art. She had once designed and made a mosaic backsplash/spice rack by breaking up dishes with a hammer and choosing from the pieces.

Now, she learned that there were tools for cutting. She watched videos, played around, practiced, and ended up getting rid of all her other art supplies and setting up her largest bedroom as a mosaic studio. Some of her tesserae (the little pieces mosaics are made of) are commercial tiles, but she most loves finding dishes at thrift shops and garage sales and cutting them herself. The Etsy shop filled with mosaics, and she started getting likes, comments, and sometimes orders from all over the world. She currently has art pieces in Asia, Europe, and the US.

By this time, Summer was also going to craft shows, where she did much better financially than on Etsy (“Likes” don’t pay the rent!).

Then came Graham’s misunderstanding of the word “cooking.” Everyone said of the mosaic she'd made of her pup, “You could sell those!” So she took the photo of Graham and the mosaic of him to her next craft show, and from then on, pet (and sometimes human) mosaic portraits, plus mosaic kits for adults and button mosaic kits for children, became the mainstay of her business.

"I really like to just make pictures that will make people smile," Holmes said. "I consider my art to be whimsical for the most part. I love when people come in my booth and look at my stuff and it makes them smile or even chuckle. I really enjoy that a lot."

If you'd like to see Summer's art for yourself, she will be showing her art in the Union Church Community Room, 200 Prospect St. Berea, this Friday and Saturday, April 10th and 11th. Friday hours are 5pm to 10pm. Saturday hours are 2pm to 7pm.

For more information, search HolmesMadeArt, either on Instagram or Facebook.

Summer Holmes is the sister of author Debbonnaire Kovacs.