Who knew that a childhood talent of assembling puzzles would translate into an art career?

Annie Burke of Ringgold is a self-taught mosaic artist, using natural talent, curiosity, Internet ideas and experience to make mosaic artwork in her garage studio.

She began her business, Mosaic Designs by AnnieB, after she restored a coffee table using a mosaic technique she saw on TV.

“I realized halfway through, ‘Oh, I love this,’” she said.

At that time she had been trying to find a job. But after much thought and many family discussions, she decided to try her hand at being a full-time artist, even if meant living “a little more simply” to reach her dreams.

Since there were no local mosaic art classes, she used trial and error and Internet resources to make her pieces.

“I really had no idea what I was doing when I started,” she said.

For her materials, she uses everything from broken tile to stained glass. Italian vitras tile is best for outdoor pieces, she said, and she prefers to use stained glass for everything else because of the vibrant colors.

“It’s like putting a puzzle together,” she said. “It’s so fun.”

The materials have to be ground down in order to dull the sharp edges, and using the grinder often hurts her fingers.

“I never have a good manicure,” she said.

She recreates photographs she finds online after she asks the artist for permission. These are the pieces available for purchase online.

Another avenue for earning profit is by receiving a request to do a project.

A commissioned project might be for a memory mosaic, an abstract arrangement of trinkets submitted by the customer. These are very emotional pieces, Burke said.

At first, a detailed piece would take her about a month to finish; now she can complete projects in about a week.

She attributes the change to her improved skills at cutting and grinding the materials.

Her pieces range from sculptures to portraits, but she most enjoys depicting landscapes and the human figure.

She has a series of pieces depicting women in motion. “People were taken by them,” she said.

When most people think of mosaic art, they probably picture collages, but Burke said, “I’m not good at abstract.”

For this reason, mosaic artists are often dismissed, even though mosaic artwork is an ancient art form.

“I think when people hear mosaic they think countertop,” she said. “I prefer to say that I paint with glass.”

Burke usually has about five projects she’s working on at the same time to “keep it new and fresh,” she said, and to break up the intensity of working on a detailed piece.

The work takes patience, and she has found she is more patient with her work than with other time-consuming tasks.

Just like any other artist, she has to keep herself disciplined.

“You have to produce products,” she said.

She works in her two-car garage studio seven days a week, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. She avoids going into the main part of the house so she can work uninterrupted.

Burke showcases her work on Flickr, a site popular for sharing photographs, as she works on them.

People tend to purchases pieces they have been watching from the conception, she said.

Burke admitted that she has a hard time letting her artwork go.

“When you sell them, they’re like your babies,” she said. “It’s hard to give them up.”

However, she added “money makes it feel a little bit better.”

Burke’s dream is to have a studio with a retail area.