About the Artist
At age eight someone gave Wasentha a mosaic ashtray kit – complete with little tiles on a net, an aluminum tray, glue, and grout. There was something about the grouting process that intrigued her and grabbed her attention. Filling the space between the tiles, making it a whole from many pieces, she promised herself that one day she would revisit mosaics.
As a young adult, Wasentha wrote poetry to help her process emotional states; she painted to express what could not be literally describe; and made beaded jewelry to concentrate her mind. By age 20 she was showing in galleries and selling in craft fairs.
Mosaics reentered Wasentha’s life 2006 after going to Spain. Seeing some of Gaudi’s work in Barcelona, the church of the Sagrada Família and Park Guell and visiting the Alhambra where there are porcelain tile mosaics, and right across the ravine was the pebble mosaics in Albayzín, both districts of Granada was impressive. At that point she realized that there are many different styles of mosaics.
As synchronicity would have it, shortly after Wasentha returned home she came across a mosaic school in her area and began her study. There she studied the use of stain glass as the main material in creating mosaic art. Intrigued by the longevity of pebble mosaics she saw in Albayzin, Wasentha did an internet search and came across a school in Chicago that offers a complete study in mosaic art.
After the first class, 40 hours over a weekend with a pebble mosaic master instructor she began attending intensive classes at that school. There, she has had the opportunity to study mosaic techniques with internationally renowned instructors. These classes resulted in her current use of materials such as stone, Smalti glass (1/4 thick glass imported from Italy and Mexico), minerals and other elements in her work.
Since Spain Wasentha has visited Greece and Italy, exploring the countryside and journeying from BCE to the contemporary expressions and styles in mosaics. She has exhibited her work nationally and has been asked to present on mosaic art and its development as a fine art.
Exhibits
Gutman Gallery, Ann Arbor, MI
​
Chris Nordin Gallery, Ann Arbor, MI
​
African American Cultural and Historical Museum,
Ann Arbor, MI
Biblical Museum, Dallas, TX
​
Hellenic Museum, Detroit, MI
​
Yellow Brick Road, Long Beach, CA
​
Kerrytown Concert House (solo exhibit), Ann Arbor, MI
​
Birmingham/Bloomfield Art Center – MI
​
Gallery for Contemporary Mosaic Art – Chicago, IL
​​​
Granville Performing Arts Center – TX
​
Copper Colored Mountain Art Center, Ann Arbor, MI
​
Evenstar Chalice, Ypsilanti, MI
Affiliations
Society of American Mosaic Artists
​
Chicago School of Mosaics
​
Mosaic Artists of Michigan
​
Ann Arbor Public Arts Commission