About Joanne Rigutto

I was born and raised in Portland, Oregon, and come from a family that has been involved in the tile, stone, terrazzo and mosaic trades as craftsmen/craftswomen, continuously for over 100 years. After graduating from high school, I worked for 5 years as a professional horse show photographer and animal artist. During that time I photographed horse shows in Oregon and  produced animal portraits and wildlife art in a variety of media ranging from graphite pencil to oils.

In 1984 I went to work for my father as his apprentice/helper and have worked exclusively in the tile and stone trades ever since. I was a member of the Bricklayers and Allied Crafts local #1 from 1984 to 1999 during which time I worked as a helper and later as an apprentice tile setter and marble mason. I received my journeyman's card in tile and in marble masonry in 1998 and 1999.

Over the past 24 years, I've worked on numerous commercial and residential projects primarily  in Oregon, but I've also worked on projects in Washington, California, Colorado, Missouri, and Florida, and I have done work for the International Masonry Institute as well as private homeowners and commercial contractors.

The scope of my work covers a wide variety of disciplines and applications from tile installation in commercial buildings, to stone repair on Oregon's State Capital building to classical Venetian Glass Mosaic and custom stone fabrication and installation in residences in the Portland area.

I currently make my home at my small farm in Mulino, Oregon (about 20 miles south of Portland), where I am also the webmaster and registrar for the Hamlet of Mulino. In my spare time, such as it is, I study animal behavior, and do research into agriculture, animal disease epidemiology, and international trade issues impacting small scale agriculture.