Barbara Bussler
Black Bear Mosaics
aka Mosaics and More
About Me
Growing up 'crafty'
Having grown up in Germany I was taught many traditional crafts at home and at school and was a constant observer and helper in my dads workshop. So it comes as no real surprise that I have been 'crafting' from a very young age on myself - my mother keeps reminding me to the day. Later I was fortunate to be able to chose Art (and English) as a major in my all-girls high school in Munich. Although I moved on to study Economics, became a accredited management assistant and worked in computer support and help desk services for most of my professional life, I had never stopped pursuing some kind of art or craft. I have been practicing a wide array of techniques and materials over the years, ventured out into pottery and silk painting but finally found my real passion in creating colorful mosaics. It seemed that that one visit to the mosaic studio at Munich's Art Academy has left a real deep impression with me, because after just attending one introductory class to mosaics in 2001 I knew that...
Mosaics it is.
Since moving into my studio at Art Bias (formerly The Art Center of Redwood City and San Carlos) where I spent three wonderful years amongst other professional artists, I’m so happy to have found my routine in going there ‘to crack some tiles’ every day, now in my new location in sunny Groveland, CA.
I keep myself constantly challenged by learning new skills through classes from experienced mosaic artists near and far and accepting assignments for community projects or fundraisers for causes that are dear to me. During several trips to Italy I visited Ravenna (the city of mosaics) and studied classical mosaic making there at the Mosaic School in Ravenna, as well as contemporary mosaics with Giulio Menossi and Dino Maccini (two renown Mosaic Maestros). What an inspiration and experience I am so glad to have had the opportunity for. In addition I attended more than 10 workshops and classes with American mosaic artists, and graduated from the class 'Business of Mosaics' by Laurel True.
Even though my main emphasis is on creating mosaics in my studio I do enjoy experimenting with other mediums as well, lately photography took over and I'm daring to show it, and I'm interested in learning stained glass. And surely enough some knitted scarves are being added on a regular basis with the goal of 'one day' having used all the yarn that I have or get gifted. And lastly you might find me volunteering at FabMo.org, where I’m happy to talk to you about what to do with those amazing tile and fabric samples that you can find there to be repurposed.
From one sunny state (Bavaria) to another (California)
A native of Munich, Germany, we moved to the US West Coast in 1997. Now residing in Redwood City on a lovely yacht with my husband and two crazy parakeets as well as in Groveland, CA, on the way to the northern entrance of Yosemite National Park.
Come visit me in my sunny studio in Groveland, or occasionally at a local arts and craft event. Please check my Calendar or What's happening for the most current infos.