Joanne Daschel’s studio in Lincoln City is a mosaic artist’s dream. The quaint backyard shed is bathed in natural light, due to the many windows that brighten the room, even on the rainiest of days. Where there aren’t windows, her handmade mosaics adorn the walls, alongside shelves neatly lined with tubs of glass tiles in every color imaginable.
The lifelong Oregonian grew up on a small farm in Clackamas County, where she recalls spending much of her childhood outdoors. For the past 22 years, Daschel has lived on the coast, balancing time between exploring nature, her studio, and life with her husband.
“I’ve been doing mosaics for 15 or 16 years,” she said “It’s something that I saw as a young person, and it kind of lodged in my brain as an art form that can live outdoors, which I thought was amazing. There’s this whole new gallery to hang things on! And I love that it has a blend of technical and artistic—it’s left and right-brained.”
Daschel’s love for the environment runs deep. With a degree in horticulture, she calls herself a “plant nerd” and is passionate about conservation, having volunteered with watershed restoration efforts.
“It’s always nature that inspires what I do,” she said. “It inspires me in its aesthetics, that wow factor that’s beautiful and uplifting, but there’s also this introspective part of it—how things interact, how organisms have this interdependence that I think we, as humans, don’t always focus on or acknowledge. Lessons like that inform the work I create.”
Her latest public art project–a large-scale mosaic mural–embodies these themes. Created with the help of community members, the piece will be installed at the Cape Perpetua Visitors Center. It highlights the endangered sunflower sea star, a species critical for controlling sea urchin populations. The unchecked rise of sea urchins has led to the denuding of kelp forests along the Oregon Coast.
“This piece won’t have a big statement because it’s in a public space,” said Daschel. “But for me, it’s about community, the special place we live in, the interdependence of the intertidal zone, and how important it is that we continue to protect the Oregon Coast. I’m just really proud to make something for this publicly run and owned visitor center.”
Beyond the ecological message, Daschel sees the mural as a way to foster connection. “A lot of community members contributed to the making of this piece—it means something to a lot of people. It will have an impact on, potentially, tens of thousands of visitors coming to learn about this intertidal zone, who want to preserve and protect it.”
While her mosaics capture the beauty of nature, they also serve as gentle invitations to think more deeply about conservation.
“The work that I make is about nature and reflects on nature, but it’s a soft approach to making folks think about our connection to it,” she said.
Daschel hopes her art encourages curiosity, prompting viewers to ask: What’s happening to this species? Are there conservation concerns? How can we help?
“I think a lot about the impact on public lands and our environment—what kinds of damage can be done that is irreversible–and I think it’s important for us to speak up,” she said. “Because the fish can’t speak, and the trees can’t vote, and they can’t go to a protest—but I can.”
Daschel’s work extends beyond public murals. Her mosaics can be seen at several locations in Lincoln City, such as the Schooner Creek Discovery Park and the Volta Art Gallery. She also creates private commissions, each infused with the same reverence for nature.
Regardless of the setting, her passion remains the same: using art to strengthen the connection between people and the beauty of nature.
“When you go to the beach, you see people interacting with nature in ways you don’t see anywhere else,” she said. “They’re kicking their shoes off, running around like little kids because it’s so freeing, and it connects on this really deep level. I think it’s easy for us to be disconnected from nature in the kind of lives that most of us lead—so maybe art has a role there to play.”
You can learn more about Joanne Daschel’s work at: www.joannedaschel.com
