ABOUT ANDREA
MIXED MEDIA / CONTEMPORARY MOSAIC ARTIST
ANDREA B DESIGNS
“I’m a mixed media and Jewellery artist and I work with glass, mosaics, alcohol ink, resin and various media to create one of a kind pieces that harness the beautiful light that’s abundant in Portugal. Shimmery, with a 3d quality you experience a different perspective from each piece, from every angle and at different times of the day. My work has been shown in the UK, Portugal and Beijing. Available direct from myself or via galleries. Trained in silversmith, glass lampwork and sculptural mosaics the combination is unique”
ARTISTS STATEMENT AND BIOG
After many years in the corporate world of finance, a degree in Business and Management and later a Masters in Psychology, I finally made the break, moved to Portugal, became time rich, cash poor and developed a creative studio at my home in Portugal.
My passion has always been to escape the rat race and explore my artistic potential. My original introduction to the creative world came via the ancient technique of glass lamp work, which entails melting and forming glass rods over a torch to produce beads. Glass still plays a large part in my creations. and spending many hours bent over a propane oxygen flame, melting glass and watching the lustrous colours develop opened up the pathway to other mediums, including alcohol ink, resin and mosaics.
As a mixed media artist I now use myriad elements in my work, developing unique pieces of artwork and jewellery which continue to evolve. While studying at the Birmingham School of Jewellery I learnt the technique of electroforming. In the UK I studied lampwork and silversmith and in Athens sculptural mosaics. However, essentially being self-taught, many of my methods are experimental whilst combining traditional lamp work methods, mosaics, alcohol ink and resin producing both artwork and jewellery.
Artist Statement
The luxury of being able to be introspective, take time to contemplate and focus on what really makes for a happy life is a gift – albeit one that’s been worked for.
Each day is a new opportunity but not every day is productive. The ideas and inspiration can come at really inconvenient times, however the point is, my mind is now open to so much more artistic opportunity.
There is beauty everywhere you wish to look. I believe everyone has a creative soul but most of us never have the freedom to truly explore this side of our nature. If we measured success in creative terms, rather than pure financial gain, just think how different the world could be.
My work with alcohol ink is mainly about the intense colours and the reaction of the ink with the alcohol, which leads to consistently original compositions. This is similar to melting glass and watching the developing patterns and colours either fuse together or repel leading to unique pieces of work.
My mixed media work and mosaics are contemporary and often include other elements including inks, resin, acrylics, handmade lampwork and found objects. I try to recycle glass where possible including mirror and tempered glass.