Mosaicing San Antonio: A Creative Confluence of Cultures

My personal connection to San Antonio focuses around the local waterways and flowers, tasty cultural treats, sacred spaces across many religions, and museums such as the McNay, where I watched modern dancers enliven the galleries. Encaustic layers symbolize the building of a complex culture over hundreds of years. Torn handmade papers from various countries, rivers and creeks built from glass mosaic, and a collage of imagery represent the mosaic of cultures in San Antonio.

Tile 1, upper left: Arab culture in San Antonio. Baklava and Turkish coffee (watercolor paining). Islamic Center (pen and ink). Plus Sunflowers (ceramic tile) and one dancer from McNay event (etching print).

Tile 2, upper right: East Asian and Indian culture in San Antonio. Holi Festival (etching print). Hindu Temple (pen and ink). Zen Center (pen and ink). Plus Indian Blankets (ceramic tile).

Tile 3, middle left: multiple dancers and audience from McNay event (etching print). Plus Mexican Birds of Paradise (ceramic tile).

Tile 4, middle right: Tourism in San Antonio. Riverwalk Bridge (gyclee print of etching print with torn paper borders). The Alamo (Mission San Antonio de Valero) and the Tower of the Americas (pen and ink). One dancer from McNay event (etching print). Plus Bluebonnets (ceramic tile).

Tile 5, bottom left: Jewish culture in San Antonio. Burning Hametz before Passover at Congregation Agudas Achim (gyclee print of watercolor painting with torn paper borders). Temple Beth El (pen and ink). Catholic Missions: Mission San José (Mission San José y San Miguel de Aguayo) and Mission San Juan Capistrano (pen and ink). Plus Gold Star Esperanza (ceramic tile).

Tile 6, bottom right: Mexican and Spanish culture in San Antonio. Conchas (watercolor painting). Catholic church: Mission Conceptión and Catholic Mission Espada (Mission San Francisco de la Espada) (pen and ink). Plus yellow Prickly Pear Cactus flowers (ceramic tile).