Specialising in creating large scale mosaics means that I often have works which require a great deal of skilled labour that I couldn’t (and wouldn’t want to) do all myself. Here we meet the team at Drostle Public Arts. Being able to undertake these large mosaic commissions around the world and deliver them on time with the highest degree of craftsmanship means that I need help. On large projects there might sometimes be as many as five or six mosaic makers in the studio and over the years some great mosaic artists have passed through. However there are two mosaic artist who have become core team members here, Claire Notley and Giulia Vogrig. Here we Meet the team at Drostle Public Arts.

Claire Notley – mosaic studio manager and mind reader extraordinaire.

Claire first came to work for me in 1999, wow, was it that long ago? After working here for over fifteen years not only has she become the core manager for the mosaic works but she has also developed the ability to read my mind and work in a style that is indistinguishable from my own. This works to the extent that I can give here instructions like “do that bit of the whad-ya-call-it and mix in the pink thingy-ma-jig” and she will know exactly what to do… Claire has done a City and Guilds in Tiling so is quite at home on site mixing cement and fixing as she is in the studio making mosaics. Personally I prefer that nobody speaks to her at all as she knows far too much about me (hence the knowing grin).

Giulia Vogrig – for the Italian craft tradition

Giulia first came to work for me in 2010 for the two large mosaics created for The University of Iowa, which she worked on throughout the making and on the installation. She trained at the prestigious ‘Scuola Mosaicisti Del Friuli’ the professional mosaic school in the north of Italy. Her exemplary Italian craft training has brought a fresh injection of craft skills to the studio and she has become an essential member of the studio team (even if she hasn’t quite succeeded in converting us completely to the mosaic hammer).

Mosaic Magic – The hands of many

Many great mosaic artist have worked in the studio over the years and it is always a source of inspiration and enjoyment to work with other mosaic artist. Some of these great mosaic makers are listed here: Rob Turner; Ruth Priestly; Marilu Palmieri; Tamara Froud; Liz De’Ath; Matko Kezele; Ruth Minola Scheibler: Valter Solari; Paolo Miamonte; Julie Richey; Sarah Zirkel; Sally Kendall; Anna Morchetti; Laura Barnes and many others who have come to the studio for a day or twos work experience. In addition to those above have been all those who have collaborated on the large scale community projects including most recently Ink Crew artists Dex, Ospen and on the giant mosaic for Bogota in Colombia and the many mosaic artists involved in the 1st International Mosaic Intervention project in Santiago, Chile organised by Isidora Paz López.