Check Out Carlos González’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Carlos González

Hi Carlos, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Based in the vibrant North Carolina Triangle region, I am a Mosaic Artist and Educator with over 25 of experience in creating intricate and engaging mosaic artworks. My background includes a significant three-year study of mosaic art from a prestigious international mosaic school in Italy from 2001 to 2004, which greatly influenced my practice in several prosperous mosaic studios that allowed me to contribute to notable projects around the world.

In my current practice, I specialize in crafting narratives using smalti (Resistant Mosaic Glass) glass, marble, and a diverse array of materials. I am particularly interested in exploring themes of Sculpture Development with fragmentation and reassembly, reflecting the idea that while mosaics are composed of broken pieces, they come together to form a cohesive and meaningful whole. My work spans from small-scale personal creations to large public art installations, showcasing my versatility and commitment to precision.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
My trip to Italy was amazing, I learned Italian, drank more wine than water and met other students from around the world. To give an example, Holland, Germany, Japan, Hungary, Greece and many more. For the most part chasing a dream of the unknown has been very straight forward on my part. I love the challenges that life gives you and create squares out of them to make life go by easier. Mosaics have been all for me, therapeutic, fun, creative, hurtful, exhausting but in a over all perspective I have come to take this road of 23 years with it’s ups and downs. Being the first Mexican to graduate from a 90 year old school at the time was something that amazed me by saying how did I ever end up in a town called Spilimbergo, Italy where it’s one of the birth place of mosaic art. This has giving me the advantage to be prepared for future works in the medium. The 3 year school in the middle of north Italy with it;s cold winters makes you strong and determined to complete any task in the future.

I would say, I love mosaics and it loves me back. Creating something that you can break and put it ack together has always been intriguing. Meaning, the human life has it’s up and downs and that’s what a mosaic is. the connection between being able to get back up is as equal to a mosaic being cleaned off once the installation is finished to see it’s true beauty.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I started to work at a Burger king at 14, so early in my life I knew that work is not as easy it it sounds. My studies in Italy made me an official mosaic artist and the other side of the coin led me to be a politician. A lot of similarities with both professions as they both come together to try to fix or solve a problem. The language of art and politics have many things in common.
Both are admired and they also have it’s own personal feeling to it. I am now to be a nice person in any profession I present my self to.

My communication skills and self determination of doing things that one might think it is obsolete could be what sets me apart. Hard works and resilience even against all odds have been a part of me that still remains in everything I do. Fixing, creating, solving issues and broken pieces is my strong fold.

The proud thing I have ever done is to be part of a nuclear family where my family is first. Being a good father and husband is essential for me to go out into the world and try to concur it.

Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
During the 23 years of making mosaics and being a politician being able to listen to others and have the patience to talk back when there is something that I might not agree with. Being original has always made me stand out of being who I am and not being a superficial person that acts one way at home and changes when I in the world doing what I need to do.

Having experience in anything that you are willing to try is the most important part of moving forward. Even if at first you don’t have any it is important to try it so you know if it’s hard or not. This characteristic and way of thinking about things can open doors or could be closed if you don’t jump in to the situation once it appears in front of you.

The most important is be yourself as I said earlier. Be respectful of others and try no to get mad about things you can’t controls would be on the top of the list.

Pricing:

• Mosaic pricing is determined by the time it takes to create a mosaic. Meaning how will the mosaic be elaborated, what is the material that will be used and if it is a direct method or indirect method. All of these have a huge part in how you price a mosaic. The difficulty on how to make it will determine of the technique and style of how it is done. By adding the material shape size and depth can also help you determine how fast the mosaic with be elaborated. These are the main points for making a a mosaic. Always ask what are the options and try to have an artist draw up 3 iterations for you to see of how it will actually look. If it seems it could be done fast with the material he is proposing I would ask other artist to get an idea of how long the image would take. This can give you some insight of what a mosaic really cost.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.ncmosaics.com/
• Instagram: @ncmosaics @mosaichardscapes

Image Credits
@ncmosaics- Carlos González