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peacock feather concrete mosaic bench seats garden art sculpture by bay area mosaic artist sophia othman
Home » Mosaic Art Blog » Mosaic Art » Peacock Feather Concrete Bench – with handmade ceramic tile mosaic mandala

Peacock Feather Concrete Bench – with handmade ceramic tile mosaic mandala

green Mosaic Peacock Bench Concrete Sculpture Public Art by mosaic artist Sophia Othman.
Floating concrete feather sculptures

The visual design was inspired by metal filigree grates at the sculpture site.  There are four pink blooming Crepe Myrtle trees set in a square with peacock feather design filigree metal grates at their bases. You can see the metal grates in the background of the pics.  

The conceptual design themes invokes in this sculpture are:  stillness, movement, serenity from beauty, and compassion.  The feather benches appear to float and inspire us to move gracefully through our day. 

green Mosaic Peacock Bench Concrete Sculpture Public Art by mosaic artist Sophia Othman.

Design Development – When coming up with a sculpture idea for the site, a pair of benches seemed ideal for this tranquil verdant spot.  A bench would allow travelers to have a brief moment of serenity and stillness to commune with nature and beauty.  A moment seated on the benches allows a nourishing pause in the bustle of daily bus travel. 

green Mosaic Peacock Bench Concrete Sculpture Public Art by mosaic artist Sophia Othman.

Design Concepts – Stillness & Beauty.  The mosaic design of a colorful tile mandala adds beauty to the bench and again invokes the idea of stillness in a visual form – mandalas are visual tools to focus meditation.  The mosaic mandala uses handmade ceramic tile. 

green Mosaic Peacock Bench Concrete Sculpture Public Art by mosaic artist Sophia Othman.
Mandala radiating mosaic of handmade ceramic tile

Design Concept – Compassion & Beauty.  Peacocks are the national bird of India and are associated with beauty and compassion.  Peacocks are associated with Kwan Yin, goddess of compassion in China, Tibet, and Japan.  

man sitting on green Mosaic Peacock Bench Concrete Sculpture Public Art by mosaic artist Sophia Othman.

I chose the placement of the benches so two people can sit opposite each other and both get up at the same time without bumping into each other and to allow easy access by wheelchair.  The inner curves of the feather concrete benches face each other to encourage people to sit and converse companionably.

green Mosaic Peacock Bench Concrete Sculpture Public Art by mosaic artist Sophia Othman.

My peacock feather benches were part of the SolTrans Diversity Sculpture Project.  Several other sculptures were cooperatively built and installed by a team of ethnically diverse artists. The artists who participated in this project were:  Tom Arie Donch (lead artist), Kahalla Bandy-Pasibe, Melissa Berrios-PennyGene Buban, Lorenzo Crockett,  Sophia Othman, and Liberty Pierson.  In this video Tom Arie Donch, team lead artist, talks about the project.

green Mosaic Peacock Bench Concrete Sculpture Public Art by mosaic artist Sophia Othman.

Production assistance by Tom Arie Donch, Melissa Berrios-Penny, Gene Buban, Lorenzo Crockett, Liberty Pierson, Omar Othman, Siram, and Wes Horn.

green Mosaic Peacock Bench Concrete Sculpture Public Art by mosaic artist Sophia Othman.

Last but not least – credit to my Art Studio Dog, Jasmine, CMO – Chief Morale Officer – she brings joy to everything.  Here modeling the use of the mosaic concrete benches as a playground feature. 

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