Luis Laso Casas
Flora, my muse'
Inspired by my fascination for the Japanese art of flower arrangement known as Ikebana.
The flower vase is created by a piece of slate I was able to split into three and the flower itself was fashioned out of recycled pieces of steel I found while visiting a blacksmith and inspired by Joan Miro's art.
Direct method using natural stone, slate, smalti and steel.
62 x 42 cm
Daydreamer
Mosaic I made while taking a two-week workshop with Mireille Swinnen in Belgium, focusing on mosaic portraiture in a painterly manner.
40 x 27 cm
Smalti and some natural stones and terracotta
Castilian poppies
Represents a Castillian meadow with seed heads grasses and poppies after blooming. Poppies are a flower with great historical significance for Castile, the Spanish region where I was born and grew up.
Smalti, natural stones and beach glass.
44 x 40 cm
About Luis Laso Casas
I am living in Lincolnshire but come from a small village within a very few kilometres of the fabulous mosaics found at La Olmeda Roman villa in Palencia, Northern Spain.
My journey into the mosaic world begins with an appreciation of classical Greek and Roman mosaics. A desire to incorporate mosaics into the design of my garden marks the starting point of a process in which I am able to express my creativity, a process that continues to stimulate my imagination while bringing great personal satisfaction.
An admiration for the beauty we find in the natural world is a great source of inspiration, and my fascination for technology guides my desire to explore and develop my skills in relation to varying mosaic techniques.
This exploration of techniques is closely linked to an appreciation of physical and aesthetic properties inherent within the materials I incorporate in my mosaics.
My mosaics reflect an affinity towards the Aesthetic and Art Deco movements.
A fascination with texture and how light can be reflected by different materials drives my strong affinity for minimalism and elegance, while I favour the use of a rather monochromatic palette with well-balanced colour accents and the introduction of light reflecting materials.
The direction in which I am currently taking my mosaics reflects a desire to familiarise myself with different materials and the creation of handmade substrates, especially in the sculptural form.
What matters to me as a mosaicist is the joy I derive from the many stages involved in the conception and creation of a mosaic, and the gathering of materials that will eventually be used in one of the ever increasing number of mosaic projects that reside deep in my mind.
