Mia Tavonatti is an American artist and writer known for her large installation

mosaics A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...

inspired by

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

imagery and contemporary sculptural abstracts. Tavonatti received first place at Art Prize in 2011 for her 9'w x 13'h stained glass mosaic ''Crucifixion'' and runner up in 2010 for her 7'h x 13'w mosaic ''Svelata.'' Tavonatti's work is personal and reflective of her own experiences, which she uses to serve as an inspiration for aspiring artists. Tavonatti attended

California State University The California State University (Cal State or CSU) is a public university system in California. With 23 campuses and eight off-campus centers enrolling 485,550 students with 55,909 faculty and staff, CSU is the largest four-year public univers ...

where she earned her

Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admini ...

illustration An illustration is a decoration, interpretation or visual explanation of a text, concept or process, designed for integration in print and digital published media, such as posters, flyers, magazines, books, teaching materials, animations, vid ...

. Tavonatti started off her career illustrating children's books, many of which she authored herself, though her work extends over several mediums. On top of her work with glass mosaics and illustrations, Tavonatti has worked extensively with large installation

murals A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spanish ...

and sculptures.

Major works and projects

Tavonatti began her mosaic work in 1999 with her first commission of a series of nine mosaics for

Newport Elementary School Newport-Mesa Unified School District is a school district in Orange County, California, United States, that mainly serves the cities of Newport Beach and Costa Mesa. The district was founded on July 1, 1966. It currently serves approximately 18,6 ...

. Tavonatti's early work features the double indirect method of mosaics which requires a greater precision than other approaches and requires mosaic tile to be fixed together before being attached to a base. After discovering the direct method, Tavonatti's work evolved allowing her to achieve greater detail as was the case for Tavonatti's 2011 ''Crucifixion'' which placed first at Art Prize with a reward of $250,000. Tavonatti channelled this award directly towards her Power of Words Project as a part of her Svelata Foundation. Tavonatti's Power of Words Project

mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

has been to unite communities through art and to expand the creative potential of humanity through the transformative power of art. The Power of Words Project aims to create networks of aspiring artists within communities and provide

mentorship Mentorship is the influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the personal and p ...

to young artists. Tavonatti has been a member of the Society of American Mosaic Artists since 2012. She attributes her artistic growth to her involvement with SAMA.

Artistic career

''Svelata'' Series

Tavonatti's 2010 ''Svelata'' series is made up of seventeen individual autobiographical works depicting the duality of life as seen, metaphorically, in the juxtaposition between water, representing spirit or the devine, and fabric representing the material life, veil, or illusion of life, in her compositions. Tavonatti uses herself as the subject in this series to explore universal concepts of duality through her own journey. Her surreal compositions depict her struggles and successes as she attempts to navigate and integrate her inner and outer lives through a ten-year period. The title ''Svelata'' is an Italian verb that translates as "to be unveiled, or revealed." Tavonatti centers her work around the idea of "unveiling" with the ''Svelata'' series revealing Tavonatti's emotional, physical and deliriously journey through life.

''Crucifixion''

Tavonatti's ''Crucifixion,'' which won at Art Prize 2011 is one of her most recognized works. Tavonatti found inspiration for the work from her studies in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

and she has attributed Renaissance mosaics as the influence behind her ''Crucifixion.'' The ''Crucifixion'' was originally commissioned as an

altarpiece An altarpiece is an artwork such as a painting, sculpture or relief representing a religious subject made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting o ...

for St. Killian Catholic Church, but was entered into Art Prize after construction delays. The mural is currently on display at

Cornerstone University Cornerstone University is a private Christian university in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Cornerstone University has undergraduate and graduate programs, two seminaries (Grand Rapids Theological Seminary and Asia Biblical Theological Seminary based in ...

and a second version now hangs at St. Killian Catholic Church.

Awards and nominations

* 2010: ArtPrize Runner-Up, ''Svelata'' * 2011: ArtPrize Grand Prize, ''Crucifixion of Christ'' * 2019: Best Architectural Project, ''Baptismal Font and Pool'' * 2019: Contemporary Innovation Award, ''Origin''

The Svelata Foundation

The Svelata Foundation was created following Tavonatti's

exhibition An exhibition, in the most general sense, is an organized presentation and display of a selection of items. In practice, exhibitions usually occur within a cultural or educational setting such as a museum, art gallery, park, library, exhibition ...

of her ''Svelata'' series at the Museo Arsenale in 2008. The Svelata Foundation's most notable project has been The Power of Words Project which was created with the funds from Tavonatti's 2011 Grand Prize ''Crucifixion of Christ.'' The Power of Words Project comes with the mission of uniting established artists with aspiring artists through the creation of murals. These murals are centered around the communities in which they are displayed and they emphasize

community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, tow ...

involvement. The Power of Words Project also aims to expose the

creative process Creativity is a phenomenon whereby something new and valuable is formed. The created item may be intangible (such as an idea, a scientific theory, a musical composition, or a joke) or a physical object (such as an invention, a printed literary w ...

of art-making to the public to encourage artistic expressions from artists and non-artists alike. The Power of Words Project initially started in California but has since traveled to the

Upper Peninsula of Michigan The Upper Peninsula of Michigan – also known as Upper Michigan or colloquially the U.P. – is the northern and more elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; it is separated from the Lower Peninsula by t ...

with murals appearing in Iron Mountain, Manistique, Marquette, and

Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...

Selected works

* 2000: ''Sea Shells,'' H 3’ x W 7’. Stained glass. * 2010: ''Svelata,'' H 7” x W 13”. Stained glass. * 2011: ''Crucifixion of Christ,'' H 13” x W 9”. Stained glass. * 2012: ''Metamorphosis,'' H 36” x W 36”. Stained glass. * 2015: ''Colorado,'' H 24” x W 36”. Stained glass. * 2015: ''Kaynak,'' H 30” x W 20” x D 4”. Stained glass smalti, fiberglass mesh and resin. * 2015: ''Glory,'' H 18” x W 18” x D 1.50”. Stained glass. * 2016: ''Batyam,'' H 41” x W 32” x D 2”. Stained glass. * 2016: ''Water Ring,'' H 30” x W 24” x D 5”. Stained glass, smalti, fiberglass mesh and resin. * 2017: ''Baptismal Font and Pool,'' 36’h x 36″w x 36″d. Stained glass, smalti and fused glass mosaic set in thinset. * 2018: ''Origin,'' Stained glass, smalti, and fused glass, fiberglass mesh and resin support

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tavonatti, Mia 21st-century American women artists 21st-century American women writers Living people Year of birth missing (living people)