About Danna Gabriel

 Danna’s mosaic journey began during a transformative time in her life, when creating art became a source of healing and renewal. Early on, she started experimenting with bottle caps for a home project, and they soon became a signature element in her work. Over time, she expanded into tempered-glass mosaics and developed a strong connection to using recycled and reclaimed materials, reflecting her commitment to sustainability.

Danna regularly creates new mosaic pieces for local art exhibits and occasionally donates work for community fundraisers. While she focuses primarily on her own creative projects rather than commissions, her work continues to be shaped by a love of texture, color, and giving new life to overlooked materials.

Danna is deeply involved in Wisconsin’s arts community. She currently serves as President of Antigo Visual Arts (AVA), where she also collaborates local artists on community projects. In addition, she is the Secretary for the Association of Wisconsin Artists (AWA) and the regional coordinator for the AWA Wisconsin Regional Art Program–Teen (WRAP-Teen) Antigo.

Beyond her local leadership, Danna continues to grow her mosaic practice through professional organizations and ongoing education. She has participated in national mosaic conferences in the past, remains an active member of Contemporary Mosaic Art 2 (CMA2), and regularly seeks out learning and community through workshops, artist groups, and professional gatherings. 

Danna teaches a variety of mosaic workshops, including general mosaics, mosaic flowerpots, and tempered-glass techniques that incorporate acrylic paint. Known for her relaxed and encouraging teaching style, she enjoys helping students discover the creative possibilities of mosaic art. She has taught at Northcentral Technical College in Antigo, The Creative Spirit in Merrill, and with several local art groups. In recent years, she has also offered small seasonal classes from her home studio. As her work increasingly centers on tile-based mural projects, Danna continues to teach selectively while focusing on larger-scale public art.

  Danna has been actively expanding her practice with the use of a decal printer and kiln, creating custom ceramic tiles and printed pieces. She is currently developing an American flag mural incorporating veteran memorial tiles. Her entrepreneurial skills were strengthened by completing an Entrepreneurship course at the NTC–Antigo Campus, which helped prepare her for investing in the printer. She also receives ongoing business guidance through the SBDC. 

 Definition of Tesserae: Small pieces of stone, glass, ceramic, or other hard materials cut in cubical or regular shapes. 

Danna enjoys incorporating various types of tesserae into her artwork, with a particular fondness for collecting beer, soda, and wine bottle caps. Her diverse collection includes broken ceramic plates, colored wine bottles, and leftover tempered glass from workshops, which she creatively utilizes in her mosaic creations. 

 Danna is a passionate supporter of recycled art. Inspired by her local art group's plastic bottle cap project, she visited the home of the late Mary Ellen Croteau, a renowned advocate for the environment and a plastic bottle cap artist. This experience profoundly influenced Danna's perspective on recycled art. In the wake of Mary Ellen's passing, Danna is committed to carrying forward her impactful visual movement, raising awareness about waste in our society.