Margaret River Region Open Studios designs, co-ordinates and promotes a free annual open art studios event to showcase the increasingly diverse and vibrant visual arts throughout the Margaret River region, WA. The event has become the biggest of its kind in Australia.
Mosaic Artist Andy, produces an array of work full of creativity and vibrancy. Working primarily with glass, his pieces range from wall art, birdbaths to mosaiced driftwood.
Art has always been an interest of mine from an early age, starting with drawing caricatures then progressing to more detailed portraits.
Becoming a chef dominated my life for 30years, so undertaking art unfortunately took a back seat besides showing my creative side in my culinary work. Only until I moved to Margaret River back in 2016, was I able to find a work / life balance.
I ventured down a new career path by becoming a carer for the elderly with dementia and working with clients with disabilities. This gave me inspiration to express myself artistically. I found that my love of nature, the outdoors and colour, mixed with my artistic background, was obviously the perfect recipe for me to go on this creative journey and this is when i discovered mosiacing.
Challenging myself and attempting new things is visible in the variety of work I produce, such as birdbaths, mosaiced coffee tables and my most popular being wall art which is where my passion lies.. Upcycling/recycling includes working with items such asfurniture, pallets, gas cylinders finished off by acrylic paints and glass.
Glass is my primary medium, such as smalti, irredescent and vitreous tiles. Recent pieces have also incorporated ceramics, gems, marble, shells and driftwood.. Experimenting with colours and designs is so much fun. I thrive on working with various mediums and finding new obscure ones. I find there are no boundaries and its just a matter of letting loose with your imagination and see where it leads.
Local businesses and the community have continued to show their support these past few years and I can't thank them enough. It means so much. If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't be here to show you my mosaics pieces and evolving artwork.
