Big Time

Giant chocolate kisses, an ice cream sundae, even a toilet bowl filled with goldfish—all are fair game for Jean Wells Hamerslag’s playful—yet powerful—sculpture. The Rancho Santa Fe artist’s recent show at the San Diego Museum of Art drew an appreciative crowd, along with some star power. Actress Geena Davis posed with a cow and listened on a giant princess phone. (Jersey Boys producers Kevin and Tamara Kinsella bought the bovine.) Hamerslag’s art work is larger than life, but it’s all in the details. Her medium is glass mosaic—thousands of pieces can form one sculpture, all painstakingly applied. Hamerslag, who donates all proceeds to charity, seems destined for the big time.

—Andrea Naversen, photo by Susan Fielder