Lichen Pixel Project 2026
The Lichen Pixel Project is a collaborative piece of digital art, created as part of my membership programme.
The inspiration for this artwork was a photograph of some lichen. I pixelated the image and invited members to create mosaics using one colour. Participating artists photographed their mosaics and uploaded them to our membership site. The images were then assembled into the collage below,
You can click on an individual mosaic to see it in more detail, along with the name of the artist who created it.
Participating artists
Amanda Thomson, Ann Hunter, Barbara Down, Brenda Kennelly, Carolyn Nelson, Cathy Haslam, Christine Hume, Dorry Vargo, Elizabeth Arendt-Delgado, Enid Probst, Harriet Rubenstein, Jane Edwards, Jennifer Comrie, Jennifer L’Esperance, Judy Wheeler, Julie Bensemann, Julie Hembree, Kim Hester, Kris Samuelson, Lenore Harris, Leslie Whited, Lisa Bonin, Lisa Gould, Lucia Mingo, Marie-Claude Messager, Marie-Martine Ligault, Martina Regnerova, Myra Traylor, Pam Denny, Pascale d'Abrigeon, Rachel Davies, Rob Kall, Sally Danvers, Sharon Holley, Sue Peterson, Susan Buchan, Susan Sill, Susan Wilson, Suzanne Bauman, Tuba Bağdatlı
The background to this project
The idea for this project came from a visit to Rachel Sager at The Ruins Project in early Spring 2026. During that visit we discussed using a pixelated image of lichen as inspiration for what later became known as the Holdfast Project.
For the Holdfast project, Rachel invited artists to create small mosaics from smalti and filati. These would be assembled in a large metal grate, creating a gorgeous display of tiny mosaic art.
I decided to create a digital version of this with my membership community, taking place at the same time as the Holdfast project. Instead of the mosaics being installed in one place, they would come together virtually.
Two lichen projects - one physical, one digital. Both bringing artists’ work together to create something special.
Read more about the Holdfast project on Rachel Sager’s Substack account.
A5 Postcards of the Lichen Pixel Project will be available on my online store soon.
The inspiration image for the Lichen Pixel Project