It was so much fun to have the honor of making this brilliant, Gaudi-inspired showpiece for a client’s home!
My clients were building their dream pool house which was sleak, modern and minimal. It is a gorgeous home with clean lines and almost all white. They planned on doing a lot of entertaining, so they wanted a bright, bold mosaic backsplash in their open kitchen to be the centerpiece of the dining and living area. I was so fortunate that the president of an arts organization I do work for are neighbors and friends with the couple building the home. The wife told the couple about my mosaic work and we met to discuss the project.
The couple wanted something inspired by Gaudi because they loved his mosaics and wanted a special artwork to remind them of their travels to Barcelona. They also wanted cobalt contrasting with vibrant, warm colors. It’s so rare people are bold enough to put this much color in their home, so it was such a joy to work with them to make this mosaic happen.
I wanted to create a design that would match their Gaudi & color specifications while still reflecting my own style. I suggested a sun because Gaudi has made mosaic suns, but I did it my way by using geometric shapes, different levels of translucency in the glass, colored mirror, and gold smalti. I didn’t even anticipate the gorgeous reflection of the sun on the stovetop. That was a happy coincidence. For the background we wanted something swirling and magical, so I created crisp lines between the cobalt that would transition through other blues and greens before coming back to cobalt. They wanted more red and movement in the design, so I added in the red sections to reflect the movement of the background.
I also suggested to create the mosaic out of glass instead of ceramic. I was so happy they agreed because I couldn’t have created a work this intricate out of ceramic. It would also lack the shine and impact. I still used a picasiette-style andamenton traditional of ceramic mosaics to pay homage to Gaudi. The whole design and choice of glass came together beautifully and quickly because the clients were open to ideas but also knew exactly what they wanted when they saw it. It was a wonderful collaboration.
