carol rydel, mosaic artist
images of work
Inspiration comes from many places, but Carol Rydel, art teacher at Benchmark School, believes it comes from the students.
"I love their spontaneity, their wacky color sense and their willingness to take risks. Because Benchmark students have learning differences, I've also had to learn how to express myself in many different way to be able to better communicate the lessons I've created for them. Many times they take an approach to an art problem that I would never have imagined; this has led me to make art pieces of my own that wouldn'thave come about if not for them."
Mosaic tile murals captured Carol's interest when she had an artist in residence come to Benchmark School and create them with the students. While working closely with the tile artist, Carol learned the techniques of making tile murals, gaining enough skill and confidence to make some of her own with students at school and several in her house. She also used tiles in two public art projects: a tiled dog for "Art Unleashed" for the Mainline Center for the Arts, and a tiled dinosaur for "Dino Days" in the city of Wilmington, Delaware.
Symbolism plays a big part in Carol's artwork. She is fascinated and inspired by the shapes and meanings of pictographs, hieroglyphics, and aboriginal art.
"My dad was very interested in ancient Egyptian art and culture and had a lot of books around about the subject when I was growing up. I loved looking at the hieroglyphics and trying to figure out what the meaning was. I was intrigued by how the symbols and pictures could tell a story and were so beautiful to look at."
Working at the Heron Studio for the past few years has been another freat inspiration for Carol.
"This is the first time I have ever worked in a studio setting with other artists and it has been the most productive time I have ever had in my artwork. Everyone is so kind and supportive; it allows me to have other artists to bounce ideas off of, and watching them work is inspiring."
"I love their spontaneity, their wacky color sense and their willingness to take risks. Because Benchmark students have learning differences, I've also had to learn how to express myself in many different way to be able to better communicate the lessons I've created for them. Many times they take an approach to an art problem that I would never have imagined; this has led me to make art pieces of my own that wouldn'thave come about if not for them."
Mosaic tile murals captured Carol's interest when she had an artist in residence come to Benchmark School and create them with the students. While working closely with the tile artist, Carol learned the techniques of making tile murals, gaining enough skill and confidence to make some of her own with students at school and several in her house. She also used tiles in two public art projects: a tiled dog for "Art Unleashed" for the Mainline Center for the Arts, and a tiled dinosaur for "Dino Days" in the city of Wilmington, Delaware.
Symbolism plays a big part in Carol's artwork. She is fascinated and inspired by the shapes and meanings of pictographs, hieroglyphics, and aboriginal art.
"My dad was very interested in ancient Egyptian art and culture and had a lot of books around about the subject when I was growing up. I loved looking at the hieroglyphics and trying to figure out what the meaning was. I was intrigued by how the symbols and pictures could tell a story and were so beautiful to look at."
Working at the Heron Studio for the past few years has been another freat inspiration for Carol.
"This is the first time I have ever worked in a studio setting with other artists and it has been the most productive time I have ever had in my artwork. Everyone is so kind and supportive; it allows me to have other artists to bounce ideas off of, and watching them work is inspiring."
