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ALWAYS TEACHING: MacLeod teaches adults privately and at the Durham Arts Council, and children at Artspace in Raleigh. "I like teaching," she said. "I find it really exciting when somebody's catching on and they're doing cool stuff. And I have a really good time with the kids." With her older son, 21, moving out of the house recently, she was able to double her studio space, in the family's finished basement, and so is stepping up her private and small-group lessons.

ELVES AT WORK: The "Grout Elf" is MacLeod's invention born of necessity, a tool that applies grout and cleans a surface in one step. Many mosaic artists use their hands, but hers had become sensitive to the properties in grout. She developed a small, flexible "grout float" and sells it for $11.99 through a mosaic supply Web site. "Getting something manufactured, that's a whole new can of worms," she said.

GATHERING ENERGY: Much of one studio wall is sprinkled with pieces in her "Meditation" series, based on connected energy, many of which have already sold. "As we meditate we soften and fade, moving from ego to clarity, and linking individuals in the process of letting go," said MacLeod, who follows the practice. Some of the works have an ethereal quality to them. She often puts a piece of fused glass in the middle to represent collective energy. One piece, called "Vertigo," reflects her own recent struggle with vertigo, which she said have improved but not disappeared. On the lighter side of things, she makes hanging disco balls out of CDs. "I'd been wanting to do something with CDs that got scratched. People put them in trees, and that's fine, but I was thinking what else I could do."

DO IT YOURSELF: When asked if mosaic work is something people think they can easily do on their own, MacLeod said with a big laugh, "I hear it all time. One woman told me, 'I'm a mosaic artist, too.' Then she asked, "what's the stuff in between the pieces?' 'You mean the grout?' I said. She must not be doing it right. But I know that a lot of things can look easy. Abstract art looks easy, but I'm pretty sure I couldn't do it."

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