The mosaic is based on an image I painted a few years back while studying at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. My original painting depicted the imaginary spaces I thought up while reading Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Little Match Girl” – one of the most memorable fairy tales from my childhood.

Both the painting and the mosaic are inspired by the imaginary spaces I build in my head while experiencing this familiar childhood story. Being a story architect can be extremely creative as there aren’t any rules you have to follow.  In the upper left hand corner (inside a room, among the apartment buildings) my mother is reading the story to my two sisters and me.  The orphaned child in the story is out on a cold winter day, selling matches.  No one is buying them though.  It is so cold that the little girls starts burning the matches to stay warm.  As my mother approaches the sad ending of the story – an ending I’ve heard before – I leap out of the room landing in the story. Though I am too late the last match has been lit.  All that is left of the little girl is a shadow surrounded by light, as her soul ascends to heaven.

This mosaic is based of one of my paintings: “Unity on Earth”, acrylic on canvas, 20″ x 16″, 1999. I painted it when I was a teenager and the images stayed with me since. Today the original painting hangs on my living room wall. One day I thought, “That would make a great mosaic …” so I got out my nippers. I had to work meticulously to sculpt out the tiny leaves, the little stars, to give life to all the little animals and flowers and to create a roaring fire and a flowing waterfalls.