11:19 20th October 2011

Orchid mosaic sculpture sells for £44,000 at London auction

Maylee Christie's orchid which was exhibited at this years’ Chelsea Flower Show has recently sold for £44,000 at the Sotheby's Auction House in London. 
 
This impressive sculpture stands five metres tall and is decorated with mosaic made from rubies, gold, smalti, silver and stained glass. This October, following an exhibition at the Chelsea Flower Show last May, Maylee took her work to Sotheby’s where it sold for £44,000. 
 
Maylee's previous work has been included as part of the Exhibition in Print 2010 in the the international art publication Mosaic Art NOW and was a favourite of editor and founder Bill Buckingham. "You know, Bill believed in the orchid from the start" says Maylee, "even when I didn't dare to send it for the 2011 Exhibition in Print because it wasn't finished on time. I'm so grateful for his encouragement." Maylee recently sent photos of her newest mosaic Ramblings to the Mosaic Art Now team, who are based in the US, and they were once again taken by the detailed beauty of her work. 
 
Bill Buckingham said: "Her mosaic is like an exquisitely intricate textile. It's not about the whole piece; it's about the details that make up the whole. You discover a singular 'something' each time you look at it. And yet, there is a complete 'wholeness' to it in the feelings it evokes. Her work is very tight; no interstices here. Her colours are gorgeous and the palette works. I can't imagine how someone thinks in detail like this. It's not how I see the world at all. Maylee's work gives me a new vantage point on the world that makes my life all the richer for it. For me, that is one of the great joys of art." 
 
Maylee studied graphic design at La Plata's Academy of Fine Arts in Argentina and became a successful illustrator and writer of children's books while living in Madrid, Spain. After she moved to the UK in 1999, she studied at the Mosaics Art School in Ravenna, Italy and, subsequently, pursued a Master of Mosaics at Orsoni in Venice. Christie went on to study sculpture at Winchester School of Art and glass casting at the Liquid Glass Centre. Maylee is now based in Chandlers Ford near Eastleigh. 
 
For more information visit www.mayleechristie.com.