Always a trendsetter, Tile Artist Brigitte Baumann
left behind a successful
business in Berlin
making avant-garde metal
accessories to turn her
considerable talent and skill to creating
unique
mosaic environments for the
home. Her distinctive designs now adorn and
embellish
the interior and
exteriors of both grand and simple houses and
gardens around the world.
"What I do is create something beautiful with tiles
that people want to see
everyday."
Influenced by the use of tiles on Portuguese houses
and inspired by her love
of Moorish
culture she began her new career by
smashing up tiles and
experimenting on her own
kitchen. This led to her
first commission to design
and make a mosaic garden, the
project took over a
year to complete and was a
great success.
"Working with my hands is most satisfying for me,
it brings body and mind
together."
More commissions followed and she was soon creating
a diversity of
environments for
her many clients. Brigitte works
internationally and
whether it is a kitchen designed with
real pearls in
Amsterdam, or a
bathroom made from tiles of saints and gods in
India, her
mosaics are always
distinctive and original.
With materials that include tiles, glass, metal and
mirror she turns the
ordinary into the
extraordinary, the mundane into
the sublime and elevates a
functional and utilitarian
object like a bench, a
door or window into an art
form. When you buy her work,
you are definitely
buying a work of art.
Over the last twelve years, she has finely tuned her
way of creating these
mosaic pieces.
It is very important for her to spend
time with her clients
getting to know their needs and
tastes so that this
information is reflected
in her designs. She has a gift for understanding
what her clients want and
the work growing organically from her conversations
with them.
"I work with my instincts, I connect with their
character, I am stimulated
by what I learn
from them. They are the ones who
will live with the work, it
is created for them, not me."
As a woman working in a male dominated environment
she soon earns the
respect and
admiration of fellow craftsmen and
builders. She has an original
way of working and her
special technique for cutting
tiles creates a special
ambiance so the viewer really enjoys
what they see.
Her vibrant mosaics are
always striking and often dramatic but at the same
time easy to live with as
they integrate so well into their domestic settings
be it bathroom,
kitchen,
hall, garden or swimming pool.
"Each time you look at my work you can see something
different, so you never
get bored
with it."
Brigitte continues to derive great pleasure from
creating her unique tile
work and also
from the positive response she
receives from her many
satisfied clients.
"What gives me great satisfaction is knowing that my
work will last for a
long time
and that it works so well."
Interview written by Virginia Boston writer of "Punk Rock" published by Viking in America. In England it was call "Shockwave". Virginia also works with Polarity Therapy, communication skills, confidence building skills, life coaching.