Commissioned by the City of Berkeley, this project consisted of one interior installation: Canopy of Circles and one exterior installation: Vertical Garden. Materials: stained glass, copper & mirror. Location: Berkeley Public Library South Branch, 1901 Russell Street, Berkeley, California.

design concept

Inspired by Field Paoli, the architects who designed the library, and their green building philosophy, the idea behind this mosaic is bringing a little of the outdoors inside the building. Using hand cut circles to create the tree canopy, the thought was to provide a peaceful nurturing surrounding for the patron coming to quench their thirst. The blue areas of rectangles emulate the sky peaking through the leaves and over the hills of lavender and poppies.

interior wall installation
7 ft x 9 ft

design concept

Continuing with the green theme, the inspiration for this mosaic was to bring the garden out of the landscaping and onto the wall to create a vertical garden. The tear drop shaped glass emulates juicy succulent leaves from one perspective or can be seen as many butterflies flying up the building. Purple flowers cut across the mosaic causing the eye to move up the mosaic. The yellow and orange stripes provide sunlight across the mosaic and also mimic a horizontal treatment used on the exterior of the library.

three exterior niches
2 ft x 10 ft each