Claudia Bos Picassiette Mosaics

After attaining a MFA from The Willem de Kooning Academy in Rotterdam in the Netherlands in the early eighties, I have worked and played in many kinds of media, always seeking adventure in the art making process, the media and the subject matter.

During a trip in 2008 to Barcelona in Spain, I was blown away by the scalloped benches covered in mosaics in the Parc Güell. They were made by local craftsmen under the supervision of Gaudi. It was a continuous outdoor display of art that would be there on view, rain or shine, day or night. I immediately thought of my hometown Vancouver, so rich in outdoor beauty, but so poor in outdoor art. Mosaics would be the perfect display for my visual ideas, and I set to work, experimenting with various tiles and techniques and covering more and more of my garage -- to the curious delight of neighbours and friends. Mosaics break down the barrier between art and craft, and the making of them gives me endless pleasure.

A five year contract stint in the Netherlands had me living and working in an old farm. The landscape was so incredibly flat, that my eyes kept scootering from left to right and right to left. I just had to make sculptural mosaics in order for my eyes to have something to hold on to. In the nearby village a store had opened where people would bring their old housewares for recycling and resale. Soon it became my main supplier for lightly damaged and cracked ceramics. The animals pasturing around me became my models for a set of sculptures that created much joy in these desolate surroundings.

Having returned for good in 2016 to Vancouver, I am ready to make more!

For more information, please email claudiabos(at)yahoo.com.

Dishware turned into Farm Creatures