During January the Atelier was honored to have a guest mosaic instructor from Philadelphia, USA visiting and teaching. Claire Brill arrived on the island and soon thereafter began sharing her mosaic knowledge with a group of 12 local mosaic artists enthusiasts at the Atelier. Claire brought with her a most interesting technique, which arouse lots of enthusiasm to all. Not so long ago, the Atelier had begun a new workshop,” Dalle de Verre” using glass slabs to create most exciting art pieces, some which may be seen briefly within the picture above. Claire had discovered that when one cuts dalles, lots of small glass leftovers could become exciting thin glass pieces which in turn, when layering them at different levels would create different lighting and texture expressions. That was the case during the two days we spent with Claire and the participants enjoyed, learned and had a great time.
For Claire, her visit to Puerto Rico and the Atelier meant a lot. This was her first time here and in her own words, she shared that “although at different levels, participants were impressive both in their skill using mosaic tools and in their application of composition and color theories.” Claire also shared, “that the Atelier is a serious environment and it shows in it’s work. The mosaics that immediately greeted me when I first walked in were so compelling I stopped in my tracks, bags in hand. Most pieces in the room bespoke a vitality that communicated the truly meaningful nature of the work”. In conclusion, she felt that the Atelier is “a warm sanctuary for makers, a people and heart centered place, on it’s way to becoming a significant mosaic center.”
The Atelier del Mosaico de Puerto Rico, thanks Claire Brill for trusting in us and feel that everyone was able to step another level in their walk with mosaics. Thank you so much Claire and hope to see you again soon, luisalberto.