Piece by Piece is an organization committed to providing art opportunities to underserved communities. Their mission is to empower residents who have experienced homelessness or economic insecurity by providing free mosaic art workshops enabling them to build confidence, earn supplementary income, and promote wellness and an improved quality of life. Through mosaic art, Piece by Piece offers a platform for artistic expression, personal growth, and community engagement, emphasizing sustainability and empowerment.

We were excited to get the chance to talk to a couple artists from Piece by Piece!

Where are you from and does that affect your work?

Andrea: I am from Jalisco, Mexico. The vibrant colors of home, with its lush flora & fauna, has helped make me more mindful about the use of color in my work.

Victor: I’m from Oaxaca in South Mexico, it doesn’t really affect my work! I like to work with my hands in general, and Piece by Piece is like therapy. My mind is relaxed when putting mosaic pieces in place.

Who are your biggest artistic influence?
Andrea: Definitely our instructors Luz & Dawn, as well as Jose (Piece by Piece Artist) in the social enterprise team. I wish one day that I will be like them!

Victor: My biggest artistic influence is Frida Kahlo. She’s a very very strong woman, I like her colorful form of expression, dress, & history.

How do you define success as an artist?

Andrea: When people like what I do, that’s successful.

Victor: When I am established with enough money such that I can concentrate all my efforts on new projects.

What would you say is the hardest part of your creation process?

Andrea: Picking and choosing colors! Some of the preliminary decisions are the hardest to make - the rest is easier.

Victor: The hardest part of the process is selecting the materials and choosing colors in preparation for the project! We use many materials of different sizes, such as ceramic, glass, tile, and they must be organized in specific to each project.

How has your style changed over time?

Andrea: It changes all the time! Before I thought I was good, but now I think I’m a little bit better. There’s always room for improvement, but I’m at a point now where I’m very happy with what I make, and that didn’t happen a lot before.

Victor: I think I haven’t changed my style. When I came I preferred and loved pique assiette for the variety of materials that could be applied to each piece, and I still prefer it!

What is your favorite piece that you have created and why?

Andrea: I like the glass-on-glass breast cancer symbol that I did. That’s my number one, because that represents a lot; it means a lot to me. The second one is the mirror with the flowers because you reflect yourself and the flowers surround you.

Victor: I like the huge Mandela I made with the social enterprise team at Piece by Piece. I enjoyed the process, and using tile with ceramic invoked a pique assiette style which looked lovely.

Anything special you would like to share?

Andrea: I enjoy mosaic, this is like therapy to me. It’s helped me emotionally, physically, this is more than I was looking for, a lot more than I was looking for when I first started coming to Piece by Piece’s mosaic classes.

Victor: I like Piece by Piece because it is like a family. Sometimes people are angry, relaxed, happy, like a family. We talk about and support each other through our problems.

We are so excited to explore your collection in person!

Find Piece by Piece at Pasadena ARTWalk on September 21st & 22nd.
Website | https://www.piecebypiece.org/

Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/piecebypiecela

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