Wasentha Young 

Since 2006, Wasentha has pursued extensive training in mosaics through rigorous study with schools and master mosaic instructors. Her training includes drawing, color theory, ceramics, sculpture techniques, mosaic materials and processes, the Ravenna Technique, hammer and hardie, installation, and both direct and indirect methods. By sculpting her own substrates and gathering materials from rock shops, parking lots, and nature, Wasentha creates mosaics that embrace transformation and the graceful or chaotic movement of energetic forces. Whether guided by purpose or play, her hand-hewn materials bring the shadow of a dream, a voice, a vision, or a thought into the light, giving viewers a way to see the unseen.

In addition, from adolescence forward Wasentha was classically trained in Eastern practices to become a master in the arts of Tai Chi, Qigong, and meditation which has brought a deep and mindful expression apparent in her mosaic art. 

My mosaic work is rooted in the forces that carry me through life’s changes and in the abstract, mythological connections drawn from unseen depths. As I hammer, snip, score, and break materials—using the vivid colors of minerals, stones, glass, and found objects—something profound takes form.

These expressions move through my consciousness, hunting in the night, or remain dormant until the signs align, revealing cultural and emotional stories of being African and American. Although my current body of work may be seen as “masks,” they are acts of unveiling rather than concealment. I call them Unveiling Portraits.