BABY BELLY MOSAICS

Cherishing the beauty of pregnancy with a lasting piece of art

By Julia Moore

When you’re 9 months pregnant, you’re probably just excitedly anticipating meeting your new bundle of joy. But are you preserving your pregnancy memories?

“It seems like a lot of people regret never documenting enough,” says Erica Mathews, owner of Lolabug Creations in Fairbanks. Some moms will take photos, professional or personal, of their belly bumps, but Erica was inspired to capture the beauty of pregnancy on a whole new level: creating a glass mosaic over a mold of the mom’s belly. “I had actually seen some bellies that had been painted, and I thought that was really cool,” says Erica, “But then I thought, oh I could mosaic it.” And that’s when the magic started.

To create a mosaic, Erica wraps the expecting mom up in plastic, lays plaster over her belly and lets it sit before removing the mold, applying an additional hardening agent, painting an outline of her vision, and laying out the glass pieces. Each side of the piece, since round bellies have so many angles, has to be placed and dried separately. For design, Erica takes inspiration from the mom’s loves – such as sunflowers and ladybugs in a mosaic (shown here) for Brandi Burns.

A baby belly mosaic helps preserve a moment in time of a mom’s pregnancy journey – even at her biggest of baby bump moments. Brandi actually gave birth the day after her belly mold. “I was at my biggest point,” says Brandi. “He was 10 lbs, 6 oz – you can’t really capture that in a picture!” When she first saw the mosaic, Brandi almost cried. “It was just so beautiful.

It’s not an easy piece, to do a mosaic like that on, because there are so many curves… She did a fantastic job.”

Like a proud mom, Brandi displays her unique keepsake on the wall of her new home – an amazing visual reminder of a most special time in her life.