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About Yulia Hanansen:
Yulia Hanansen is an adjunct faculty in the College of Fine Arts and Communication, teaching printmaking classes. She has been teaching a variety of courses at Towson University since 2010. In addition to teaching Yulia owns and operates Mosaic Sphere Studio which she opened in 2001 with the purpose of promoting modern mosaic art through her projects, presentations, and teaching.

About “Underwater Library”

In the Fall of 2017 I was approached by Howard County’s Elkridge Library about designing and creating a mosaic mural. I have created mosaic murals before in different cities and states. This mural was my first large scale project in Baltimore area. 

A new library building was being constructed with modern architectural elements and spaces incorporating art. One of those spaces was an 8 foot by 16 foot free-standing wall in an enclosed location outdoors facing kids and teen reading section of the library. The library wanted to either preserve and restore an old mosaic from a previous building or commission a new piece. After assessing an old mosaic it was determined to proceed with a brand new artwork. 

I was granted this project by February 2018 after submitting a proposal and several preliminary ideas. First step was to create 2-3 versions of a composition and get it approved by the committee. The challenge was to weave together my own ideas with the ideas that the library community had in mind. The composition and thematics had to be attractive to people of different ages. Along with my original idea I was asked to incorporate some subjects from an old mosaic: an octopus, dolphins, a big fish, and a pirate treasure chest, which I later turned into a portable library. My ideas included a girl diving under water and taking a selfie of herself and the surrounding coral reef; several divers interacting with underwater world; and, finally, a diver who swims under water and discovers a living coral reef, a sunken ship and a treasure chest filled with books and maps guarded by an octopus and a big fish. On top of the treasure chest there is a blue crab who traveled to the coral reef all the way from his home in Chesapeake Bay, where I live and where the library is located. The idea shows how connected our world is not only between humans and underwater, but also between creatures inhabiting our planet. There is one more important connection that surfaces up- a common curiosity and a drive to search for knowledge and discovery. 

Mosaic was assembled in 4’x8’ sections at my Mosaic Sphere Studio. The mosaic was further partitioned into 66 separate sections that were precisely registered to each other. The layout process was fully completed in July. After postponing installation a few times due to rains mosaic was installed at Elkridge Library at the end of September with the official opening in October. As a follow up to the mural installation I have been invited to give an artist talk and a demo in the Spring of 2019. 

Mosaic Sphere Studio