Local Artist Spotlight: Amanda Rife of Mosaic Montage

Amanda Rife, Artrist and Sole Proprietor of Mosaic Montage in Harrisburg, PA

I first met Amanda Rife at a fine dining establishment in downtown Harrisburg. I was going through my “Martini” phase, and she was known to be  the best Martini Mixologist ever to walk through the doors of the Midtown Tavern. She invented (as far as I know, anyway) a drink called The Divitini – which to this day is one of the best adult beverages I have ever had the pleasure of tasting. My pallet has since matured to wines,  putting this drink a little on the sweet side for me theses days, but that bar was a better place with her in it.

It was in this bar that I learned Amanda was working hard during the day to help her be less of a “starving” artist while getting her chops up in the creative world. Amanda had started out as a serial connoisseur of the arts (drawing, photography, collaging, stenciling), but had fallen in love with working with glass. This is one of the more challenging mediums to work with and it takes many years to become accomplished. Amanda embraced that challenge with open arms, and continued to pursue her passion any chance she had and slowly started to build her inventory.

Flash forward several years later and Amanda has a well-established business called Mosaic Montage based out of her home studio in Harrisburg, PA. Here, she has produced close to 400 pieces of art that have been sold both locally and nationally. Her work has become so popular around the mid-state that her personal inventory is completely sold out, and she is doing almost strictly commission work with her standard mosaics. This process usually involves someone presenting a picture – or in some cases just an idea – that is turned into a sketch, fine tuned with the customer, and then reverse-engineered into tiny individual pieces of glass. From there it is reconstructed with new angles both straight and curved, into an original work of art. Here are a few of my favorites:

But Amanda’s art work does not begin and end with mosaic commissions. While researching Buddhism, she was struck by many of the concepts relating to mindfulness, but none more so than the symbolic representation of the mandala.  Mandala quite literally translates to “circle”, and represents many things including wholeness, nature, and the interconnectedness of our daily lives and spirits. Amanda realized that her years of creating mosaics were much more than a creative outlet and self-expression.  They were in fact a form of moving meditation that was nurturing her soul. With this in mind, she set out to integrate her artwork with the circular pattern of the mandala, and further explore the meditative aspects and grounding experience her creative process had already been giving her. This endeavor has produced her most challenging, intricate, and intriguing works to date – as seen in the following pieces:

I am doing my best to describe the mosaics Amanda has been producing, but like most artwork, it really must be seen in person to be appreciated. I strongly recommend dropping by one of her shows around town in Harrisburg or Mechanicsburg. Her prices are VERY reasonable for this type of artwork. She currently has her mosaics on display at The Magic Is In You, Mud Queen, Creative Spark Arts, Perry County Council of The Arts, and Abrams and Weakley.

Perhaps most exciting of all, Amanda will be working in conjunction with Mud Queen to put on The 2nd Annual Summer’s End Artisan Market, August 20, 2022 from 10-4 at Mud Queen Pottery, 5933 Linglestown Rd in Harrisburg. This is a pet friendly event, and Just Add Paint’s very own The Roustabouts will be breaking out the guitars to provide some background music. This was a wonderful event last year and we all look forward to continuing the tradition!

For more information on Amanda Rife and Mosaic Montage in Harrisburg, PA, please visit online at:

Instagram: www.instagram.com/mosaicmontage

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MosaicMontage

Website:www.MosaicMontage.com

Etsy: www.mosaicmontageshop.etsy.com