Our Inspirations

Nita is a concrete and mosaic artist and Royce is a steel sculptor. Because of our chosen media, we are particularly inspired by other artists working in the same media. We also draw inspiration from nature and from exploring the uses of various materials. Just about everything we experience goes into the mix. There is quite a colorful history in the world of visionary art environments. Below is a listing of people and artwork we find particularly inspiring.

Antoni Gaudi - born 1852, died 1926. Gaudi is the godfather of found object mosaic. He raised the bar so high that mosaic artists are still amazed by his work. He was an architect who designed, in a modernist style, many buildings in Spain. His largest and most famous works are Guell Park in Barcelona, and the Sagrada Familia, also in Barcelona. Gaudi spent the last 40 years of his life working on this project and did not complete it before he died. Others have taken on the project occasionally. It is currently still under construction and is expected to be completed in 2026. Now that's a big project!

Niki de Saint Phalle - born 1930, died 2002. Niki was inspired by Gaudi to create mosaic art environments. Her installations are spectacular! Her largest installation is called The Tarot Garden. It is in Tuscany, Italy and comprises about 4 acres of huge sculptures that represent the major Arcana of the Tarot Deck. The Tarot Garden took 20 years to complete. It was opened to the public in 1998. Her largest work in the United States is called Queen Califia's Magical Circle. It is in Escondido, California and opened to the public in 2003. Royce visited this site in March of 2009. See photos.

Simon Rodia - born 1879, died 1965. Simon is the creator of Watts Towers in Los Angeles, California. He began building the towers in 1926 and finished in 1954. He built the towers out of steel and coated the steel with found object mosaic. The tallest tower is 100 feet tall. At one point the City of Los Angeles condemned the towers as unsafe. A committee of supporters devised a test of their structural integrity. A crane was used to try to pull on one of the towers.. A couple of pieces of mosaic popped off, and that was all that happened to the tower. Now it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a California State Historical Park.

Javier Senosiain - born 1948. Senosiain is a proponent of organic architecture. He has done several wonderful projects in Mexico. He uses rebar to create a sculptural armature and then covers it in concrete. His ferro-cement houses curve organically, creating truly awesome buildings. He often coats them with brightly colored paint. One of his most spectacular houses is shaped like a nautilus shell. He has a website.

Robert Tatin - born 1902, died 1985, (The wikipedia link is in French so you will have to have Google translate it) He created a sculptural environment called Musee Robert Tatin in La Frénouse, France. It took him 20 years. He was also known as a painter. Here's a link to some photos and text in English about Robert Tatin

Michael Kahn and Leda Livant - They created a wonderful art environment in Cornville, Arizona called Eliphante. They started the project in 1979 and continued to add to it until Michael's passing in 2007. It's truly a mixed-media sculptural paradise. They used about everything they could find to build three organically sculpted buildings surrounded by gardens which display sculptures. We have visited them several times. Eliphante did not get as much attention as we feel it deserves. I found a good article about them. Here's the link.

Burning Man artists We have been inspired by many of the large-scale artworks brought to the Burning Man Festival in Nevada each year. Here are just a few of the more prolific artists that inspire us. We haven't met any of these artists but we love their work. Michael Christian - Michael is a contemporary artist living in Oakland, California. He sculpts with steel and has produced some awesome large scale artworks.

Dan Das Mann - Another metal artists that shows his work at Burning Man. It's people like these that got me started in steel sculpture although I haven't met Michael Christian or Dan das Mann.

Flaming Lotus Girls - a collective mostly of women who create large metal sculptures that shoot fire. One of the most spectacular of their creations was called The Serpent Mother. It was articulated and had computer-controlled fire jets all throughout the sculpture.

Rosanna Scimeca  - Another metal sculptor who creates pieces for the Burning Man Festival. One of the most outrageous ones is called A Cleavage in Space. It is an absolutely gigantic chandelier that looks like it fell from the ceiling of heaven and crashed to earth.