About me

My work consists of harmonious sculptures which are covered in colourful pieces of glass. With mosaics, I can build my sculptures literally piece by piece, which gives me freedom as well as control over which way to go from there. Letting go is a wonderful and scary experiment, all the more exiting to explore further.

My sculptures reflect my passion for colours and the perfect patterns that Mother Nature presents us daily, and with which mankind has decorated and designed for centuries, copying Nature. My dream is to add my own colourful pieces.

My current theme is about wrestling with expectations: we often wish to fulfill expectations, but not to loose ourselves while doing so. I hope that my work gives inspiration to all those who seek that consciousness and balance in life.

Inspirational moodboard

In my inspirational moodboard there are various images that have a special meaning to me. I really love the colour blue, and in dutch “Bont en Blauw” means “colourful & blue”. In tiles, in patterns, in porcelain, in my clothes and jewelry. To me the colour blue means the acceptation of limits, but also liberation and renewal. Other images in the moodboard are shells, sticks and stones which I collect while walking. Every time I see them in my house, my heart is filled with a peaceful joy. My logo of Sweet Mosaics has the shape of a stone and is of course….blue!

My work combines well with green grass, brown wood and blue skies. The year rings in the cut wood stem is natures perfection, and I love the patterns that can also be found in shells, flowers, fur, feathers, fruits and vegetables.

The artist that most inspires me is Niki de St Phalle, who has sculpted the most colourful and amazing large mosaics in the form of large women.

A string of red smalti (Italian Glass mosaic pieces) meanders across the moodboard. My path is never straight but follows it’s own course. And that is how it always will go.

Working process

Ideas for new work usually come to me during the night: when I wake up I have a sketch in my mind, which I quickly put to paper. When I need inspiration I look through my old sketches, rifle though my art books or visit a museum.

With a sketch I can build the sculpture with metal wire and fix this in concrete. On top of the wire goes meshing and more concrete, until the sculpture is smooth and can be finished with mosaic: my greatest obstacle is usually choosing the colours and patterns. These days I usually start and gradually the end result builds up. I am usually quite happy with the result. However, it is a time-consuming process which sometimes takes up tot year from beginning to end.

Since september 2016 I am the proud owner of a 3D pen, which I hope to use a lot to sculpt in miniature, before going for the larger version.

Below, a few shots of my very “tidy” studio….

Contact

Antien Zuidberg
Theresialaan 21
5262BK Vught
info@sweetmosaics.nl
06-12147244