I am first and foremost a community artist. Sometimes the community is an organization with whom I am creating a mosaic. Always the community is the tesserae, the glass, rocks, ceramic, seedpods, and whatever else I choose to use in a work.
Mosaic is the great art equalizer. Anyone can glue shards onto a board. In my community projects, people tile and are invited to make meaningful individual elements. These are seamlessly incorporated into a unified thematic image. Seeing the impact of such projects makes me know that this kind of art – art that is accessible and multi-faceted, relevant, and that changes the experience of a place for the better -is art I want to be doing.
Working on my own, I love the infinite possibilities for interplay between composition and materials. I incorporate material aspects of a site into my installations to integrate my community of pieces into their home.
Each of us is a contributing individual in our community; in mosaics each tessera (piece) retains its individuality within the whole. Our community influences who we are; the whole mosaic adds significance to each tessera. I love this dynamic dual reality. One can focus on the parts or on the whole but they really exist only through each other.
Claire Brill 484-326-6315 clairebrill@verizon.net