Pastoral in pieces

Auckland pebble mosaic artist John Botica has created what is considered, in the specialist publication Mosaic Art Now, one of the world’s top 100 contemporary mosaic works. Botica’s ‘Tree of Life’ was commissioned by the North Shore City Council and installed at a children’s playground in Greenhithe. The 4.2m diameter mosaic took him three months to complete, and that working 12-hour days, seven days a week. Botica says: “I’ve discovered the passion of my life and I want to promote New Zealand world-wide through my art. I work both domestically and internationally, providing a full service from original design to final installation of pebble mosaics.”