Mosaic Artist Lilian Broca visited our Montreal studio in March ! Lilian was here to start her new mosaic project with us.

Below are photos of Lilian Broca’s visit.

LILIAN BROCA VISITS MOSAIKA ! is a post from: Mosaika Studio Blog

Today, Mosaika was honoured to have artist Luis Jacob visit our Montreal studio!

Luis was in town to look at the production of his 68 mosaic medallions, being created for Dufferin Underpass at Queen Street in Toronto.

Below are photos of Luis Jacob visit, and some of Mosaika’s progress thus far.

LUIS JACOB VISITS MOSAIKA. is a post from: Mosaika Studio Blog

Climbing from floor to ceiling 3 stories, this 39 foot-tall piece depicts scenes inspired by the views out the stairwell where it will be housed; ponds, wetlands and wildlife.

Dixie has crafted hand-formed ceramic elements of pollen, weltlands wildlife and microscopic life that will be included throughout this beautiful mural.

This mosaic is set for installation in January 2012.

Be sure to head over to Dixie’s website to check out her amazing artwork and other Mosaika collaborations. www.dixiefriendgay.com

Below are photos of Dixies original artwork, and some of Mosaika’s progress thus far.

Sam Houston University Progress is a post from: Mosaika Studio Blog

Located in Montreal, Mosaikashop has been operating since 2003, and offers classes suited for beginner, intermediate and advanced mosaicists alike. In addition to classes, Mosaikashop also sells hand-glazed ceramic mosaic tile, as well as smalti and vitreous glass.

From Mosaikashop’s website:

Mosaïkashop is a dynamic and vibrant mosaic school based in Montreal, Canada. The school is well established and attracts students from all over the continent and beyond. Through our affiliation with the renowned Mosaïka Art & Design studio, we provide classes based on the finest professional techniques used in modern mosaic design, creation and installation.

Be sure to check out their website at: www.mosaikashop.com And their blog at www.mosaikashop.wordpress.com

Visit Mosaikashop’s Blog! is a post from: Mosaika Studio Blog

Artist Jessica Polzin McCoy visited Mosaika last week to oversee the completion of her 24 mosaic panels, bound for the Expo/Vermont station on the LACMTA’s Expo subway line.  She sat down with the Mosaika team to discuss her process and offer insight into the creation of what will be a truly fantastic addition to the LACMTA’s vibrant Metro Arts program.

Jessicas artworks for Metro are scenes from in and around the stations neighborhood.  A portion of the panels depict the homes, yards, fences, buildings, familiar signage and landmarks in the colorful suburbs and streets of the area.  The remainder of the panels offer the viewer an inside glimpse into the homes and lives of real residents and members of the community.  Jessica scoured the area with her camera, exploring and taking literally thousands of photos to later meticulously edit, crop and collage, reconstructing scenes of the region. Later still, Jessica painted these constructed scenes using watercolor with almost unbelievable detail, color and depth.  The result is 16 stunning works of original art to adorn the seating modules and archways of Expo/Vermont Station.

At only just over 8 feet wide each, and filled with so much complexity, Mosaikas biggest challenge with translating these panels was to realize the detail in each piece.  Our glazing studio formulated countless custom colors, created just for this project, and hand-painted each tile to best re-create Jessicas brush strokes, and pull as much details from the artworks that the translation would allow.

The images below illustrate Jessica’s incredible original watercolors, and a few of Mosaika’s translations.

Since 2006, Jessica has been an Assistant Professor of Art at the Pitzer College in Claremont California.  Her artworks have been on exhibit at several galleries, including the Columbus College of Art & Design, the Porter Butts Gallery at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, as well as the Ontario Museum of Art in California.  She is presently represented by the Fanny Garver Gallery in Madison, Wisconsin.

Jessica Polzin McCoy visits Mosaika! is a post from: Mosaika Studio Blog

At the beginning of December, Mosaika was honored to have artist Samuel Rodriguez visit our Montreal studio!

Samuel was in town to oversee the production of his 20 mosaic panels, bound for the Jefferson/USC Station in Los Angeles, on the LACMTA’s Expo Line.

Inspired largely by urban art, Samuels imagery is fresh and youthful.  In fact, he is one of the youngest artists to be showcased by the LACMTA.  Incorporated into each panel are silhouettes of bicycle parts and frames, drawing emphasis to the importance and likely pairing of the train system and human-powered transportation.

From Sam:

“One thing many of us do when using public transportation is travel. Both physically and in our mind’s eye. When we look at something, we may be seeing a face, a light pole, perhaps somebody’s shoe, but simultaneously what happens is a mental picture. To capture the nature of public transportation is to crop different and small moments that form together to tell a story.”

Below are Samuels 20 original images, as well as some of the progress Mosaika has made translating his wonderful art in a medium that commuters on Expo will contemplate for years to come.

You can read more about Samuel and visit his websites here and here

Samuel Rodriguez Visits Mosaika is a post from: Mosaika Studio Blog

Below are some photos showing some of the current progress of the 24 mosaics being created for the Western Station, on the LACMTA’s Expo line.  With a painstaking process, each of the 16 different artworks are being ‘painted’ onto tiles, to then be fired, broken up and placed to recreate Ronalds sketch and watercolour style.

More photos to come as this unique and exciting project continues to move forward!

LACMTA Expo Line – Western Station progress photos is a post from: Mosaika Studio Blog

Name: Paramount

Material: Byzantine Glass Smalti

Size: 14ft H, 5ft W – 50 sq. ft. total.

Artist Terry Braunstein offered the following description for her new Mosaika collaboration in Long Beach, CA:

This sculpture depicts workers constructing the future of the world. The work symbolizes the contributions of the largely working class, who live in this area of North Long Beach, and who take great pride in what they produce.  These three workers, two men and a woman are similar to those who work in the petroleum refinery adjacent to this small park. Two people are shown as Diego Rivera figures from the 1930s, when Long Beach began to develop as a city, and one person as a contemporary man.  Braunstein chose this metaphor to celebrate Long Beach as The International City, with one of the most ethnically diverse populations in the country and one of the world’s largest global ports.

This is Mosaika’s third project with Terry.

You can check out the other two here and here

Terry Braunstein’s Paramount project completed and headed for LA! is a post from: Mosaika Studio Blog

Artwork by Stephen Andrews

Mosaika is creating a large, 950 sq. ft. mosaic destined for the new Trump Towers in Toronto.

The artwork depicts a large crowd scene, however this is only realized from afar, as the image resolves.  Made of a multitude of different materials – cut and tumbled smalti, gold byzantine smalti and hand-glazed ceramics – this original and beautiful piece of art is being fabricated now in Mosaika’s Montreal studio.

This past Friday, Stephen stopped by the Montreal from his native Ontario – where he where he currently lives in Toronto – to oversee the production of this large and lovely mosaic.

The photos below show his ‘meet-and-greet’ with our artisans, and an overview and details of his original artwork being translated.

Stephen Andrews visits Mosaika is a post from: Mosaika Studio Blog

This past week, Mosaika was lucky enough to have Daniel Gonzalez visit our Montreal studio.  One of the 4 artists Mosaika is working with creating a total of 76 mosaics for 4 subway stations for the LACMTA Expo line, Daniel’s beautiful lino-cut artwork is being translated using a similar process as the Sonia Romero artworks Mosaika created last year.

Daniel spoke to the Mosaika team about his inspiration for, and the stories behind the artworks he created for the La Cienega/Jefferson station in Los Angeles.  Each of the panels tell an intricate and colorful story of the history of the area surrounding the station.

Below are some photos of Daniel sitting down with Mosaika, helping with the carving of his project, and the 8 original lino-cut artworks he created.

Daniel Gonzalez visits Mosaika is a post from: Mosaika Studio Blog