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Lynn Bevino
Myrtle Beach, SC
I have been making mosaics since 2002. I was living in Australia at that time, and had become fascinated by the many public mosaic installations I encountered across the country. Ever creatively driven, I had long sought out various forms of expression, including music, photography, and needlework. Mosaic, however, held a unique appeal to me. The way I could use tesserae to manipulate light and reflection, the tactile nature of the medium, and the hands-on, meditative method of working in mosaic enabled me to have an almost spiritual practice while nourishing my creative need. It connected me to the natural world through its innately earthy elements and fed my soul unlike any other artistic medium.
Many of my early mosaics were light-hearted and representational. My skills grew as I enjoyed creating jungle animals and whimsical mixed media pieces using thousands of beads, shell, stained glass, copper, and even sand and paper. Later, I became actively involved in the vibrant worldwide mosaic community through participating in collaborative projects, resulting in my mosaic work being seen in many locations worldwide. I have been fortunate to have my art exhibited in juried shows each year for nearly a decade, earning several awards for my pieces. In 2014, I was accepted into the South Carolina Artisans Center, the state's official gallery of artists and artisans, and continue to exhibit my work for sale there. My artistic method continues to advance through experimentation, close contact with other talented and dynamic mosaic artists, and being a part of a professional mosaic family, the Society of American Mosaic Artists. My tribe is my biggest inspiration.
My mosaic artwork has evolved over the years, as I continue to evolve. Life does not often turn out the way we plan, and mosaic is a perfect parallel to this fact. My own life experiences, the burden of invisible disabilities, a devastating childbirth injury, the exquisite crushing pain of losing a life's love, the thread of my still-unraveling feminine journey, has drawn me, of late, to explore and connect with the broader feminine experience, the state of being female that transcends time, space, language, and ethnicity. So many suffer in silence. So many suffer far greater pain than I could fathom. So many experience untold joy. We all experience female-ness, in some way, regardless even, of gender. We are all born of woman, fed by women, taught by women. Women support and enable every society on earth. The very substance of mosaic, its tesserae, are made from the earth, water in the glues and paints, breath of air being the very thing that allows the mosaic to be set in time and space, and fire that forges the glass and makes the tess sparkle, these are the elements that make up a woman's fire, her power, her essence, upon which all of humankind depends for survival. I intend to further study this essence of female-ness, and know that it will emerge in my artwork again and again as I dive deeper into life's mysteries and allow my voice to find source.
As I continue to learn, and mark out my journey, I hope that others will find their own healing and self-discovery through art-making. Mosaic is perfectly suited for this task. It is an ancient medium. Let its history, texture, color, and light lead you on your truest path.
-Lynn Bevino
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