Mixed-media mosaics and murals
An interview with Pam Lostracco
Image credit: Pam Lostracco
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See this art on the city's map here.
This mosaic, titled Gratitude Garden, shows an extensive floral pattern painted on black brick with tiles throughout. It was co-created with Cristina Delago for the Second Cup at Yonge St and Albertus Ave. You can view more of Pam's murals on her website and more of Cristina's mosaics on her website.
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Asha Swann 00:03
Have you seen a colourful mural of students on the upper levels of the Ted Rogers building? Or maybe you've been to the Daphne Cockwell Complex and seen some amazing murals there. On this episode of Toronto's Artery, I spoke with Pam Lostracco, the artist behind those two pieces. We spoke about creating art for TMU and her experience creating a mixed-media mural at the Yonge Street Second Cup.
Asha Swann 00:28
Could you actually talk to me about some of the murals that you've painted at Ryerson/TMU?
Pam Lostracco 00:34
Yeah, actually I've done a few now. I was doing some graphic design work for the Graduate Studies Department several years ago and then it led into a mural for their department in the hallway. So that one was incorporating poems that were created and won for a contest. So they wanted to display those in a way. And so I did this geometric pattern and added in, actually, this anamorphic side to it as well. So the word grad is written at the end of the hallway. But it also goes on the sides of the walls. So it looks like this stretched word. But when you stand in a particular spot, the word "grad" reads perfectly right across. So that was a bit of a mathematical technical thing to figure out. But it worked. And that was very exciting. And then that led to another one at the Ted Rogers School of Management, where there's a wall of students in the hallway. And this hallway is used for student clubs. And there's a kitchen close by, and they wanted to showcase the students in a way so that they're attracted to the space and make it look more lively. So I actually got photographs of actual students, and then painted them on the wall. And these students are leaning against the wall holding laptops, talking to each other and doing the things they would do in the hallway. So it really connects to them. And the actual students were getting photographs with their painted persons. And then I did another space for graduate studies at the DCC on the seventh floor. And that went across the columns and walls and inside offices. So it was basically working with this big interior space and looking at how traffic flows and how people use the space and getting it to look more exciting in there. And then I've just completed another space on the other end of that floor, where the teaching and learning center of excellence, that was just completed in January, and there's quite a few walls in there as well.
Asha Swann 02:48
That's awesome. I feel like having murals around the school really just brightens up the whole atmosphere.
Pam Lostracco 02:54
Yeah, I think that's the main comment. People say it's so much nicer to walk into the office now like it is, you know, a nice picture, but I think it does so much more for people to feel good and brighter and happier. So I think the murals that I'm doing, especially leaning more towards nature based ones, are meant to improve a space.
Asha Swann 03:18
Yeah, definitely. I can see where you're coming from for that, for sure. Did you have a definitive first time where you knew that you wanted to paint murals for a living, like a first time when you were growing up when you knew this was exactly what you wanted to do?
Pam Lostracco 03:31
Yeah, so it wasn't when I was growing up, but I actually have painted a couple of murals. I painted my bedroom wall in my parents house when I was a teenager, and then I painted another one abroad, when I was traveling, but it didn't strike me as, "Oh, this is what I want to do with my life." So I studied to be a graphic designer. And I did that for a while. And then I started getting more into my artwork. And there was some products I was selling on Etsy, including a mountain calendar poster. So it was one poster with different levels of mountains. And then the numbers of the month kind of walking on top of each mountain ridge. And they did really well. People just seem to think, "Oh, those look like mountains I live by I love those mountains," and people really related to them. And I was starting to feel like I needed a change and I wanted to work bigger. So I didn't know what the answer was, but I was looking at this mountain image thinking, "I could easily paint this." And so I just painted my bedroom wall in my apartment here. And while I was painting it, I felt like it was the perfect combination of my graphic design skills with being an artist and being able to paint, as well. So it was a significant moment. That was when I decided I loved it so much the painting process that I was going to start a mural business So that's what I've been doing ever since.
Asha Swann 05:01
And what was your experience like painting a mural in Morocco?
Pam Lostracco 05:05
Oh, yeah, that was a residency I did. So I applied and it was also a work away place. So for a while I was the only artist. There was another artist that joined later who did more sculptural pieces. It was in May, which is apparently the most lush time of the year and Morocco, because they get rain and things are just starting to bloom. And I was just outside of Marrakesh, in the countryside. So I was in this landscape of olive trees that were just starting to get their little white blossoms and they were falling to the ground. And the poppies were blooming and all these different flowers. So it was it was just beautiful. I felt like I was in this magical world. I just love exploring gardens. And so I incorporated those flowers into a wallpaper William Morris-ish type design onto the side of the building that they use as their yoga studio. Yeah, overall, I would just say it was it's very magical there. I really enjoyed it.
Asha Swann 06:14
Could you see yourself going back to Morocco to do more art projects, like outdoor art projects?
Pam Lostracco 06:20
I would definitely, that was an exchange sort of thing. So I got room and board in exchange for providing them with a piece of art. I do enjoy doing residencies. And I'm definitely open to it. But maybe if it was a grant situation or something like that.
Asha Swann 06:35
Yeah, for sure. Have you had any favourite outdoor public art projects that you've done so far? Any that really stand out to you?
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Ted Rogers School of Management hallway
Image source: Pam Lostracco
On the seventh floor of the Ted Rogers School of Management is a detailed mural by Pam. It shows entrepreneurial students carrying laptops and conducting business.
Pam Lostracco 06:44
Yeah, I would say the last couple that I've done. Actually, they were both printed, though. So I am working with The STEPS Public Art and also The PATCH Project. And they do installations on boarding projects for construction sites. So there's one down on the Lakeshore by Jarvis area where that big Loblaws is, for Lakeside residencies, which is a condo that's going up, and that was probably 400 feet long. So I don't know how long that would have taken to paint. But it's pretty impressive to see such a big piece of my art on the side of a highway. I also did a fire station in Brampton, which is where I grew up. And that was pretty exciting. So there was vinyl placed onto the windows of the fire station doors and the tower. If you're inside you can see out and then from the outside, you can see the printed image. And that directly relates to the landscape, the countryside landscape in that area of Brampton.
Asha Swann 07:48
I love seeing really unique, cool murals. So I feel like combining like paint and vinyl or multimedia elements, I think is like a really creative way to create something unique.
Pam Lostracco 08:01
And murals have just started—I mean, they've been around forever. But they've evolved as well. And over the last 10 years, I believe it's become a much more booming industry. There's so many more artists doing murals.
Asha Swann 08:15
I also saw that you did a collaborative project at the Second Cup at Yonge and [Albertus], what was your process like for collaborating and doing that project?
Pam Lostracco 08:24
Yeah, that was very different it was with the Uptown Yonge BIA and Second Cup, and I collaborated with Cristina Delago, who is a mosaic artist. So I created a design and then we figured out which parts I would paint and which parts she would make mosaic pieces out of. And so she installed that part and just working together to figure out who was doing what and where it was gonna go. Overall, it's a very different piece than I've ever done before. And it's pretty exciting to see a new material introduced into the painting. And I enjoy that, I really actually—like, I have so many ideas with future work being, you know, more three dimensional or using different types of paints and materials. Like I feel as though the mural options are endless. And this was a really good example of how that could be done. And there were unexpected results too, because when you look at the mosaic pieces, there's mirror and glass and ceramics in it. So there's lots of details, but also the surrounding light or sunset gets reflected in those mirrors. And it just—it changes throughout the day, depending on the light is like.
Asha Swann 09:41
Do you have any dream spots in the city or anywhere else in Canada where you would love to do like a large-scale outdoor project?
Pam Lostracco 09:51
I'm actually focusing more on indoor projects, but in terms of outdoors, I think — I feel this desire to make a bigger impact, like I really want to make a difference. I want the effort to do something good. So if it's on the side of a large building, again, like my focus is becoming more towards healthcare and institutions and bigger places. So creating work that relates to the people that use that space and making it appear warmer and more cheerful and more engaging. I really want to introduce more nature into our concrete world and make it feel softer and greener and lighter. Yeah, nowhere specific but definitely bigger. Oh, visit the DCC. It's on the seventh floor. The doors are locked and you need a pass to get in. But there's lots of murals in there.
Asha Swann 10:52
This has been an episode of Toronto's Artery, a podcast about art in the heart of the city. For more episodes, and to see a map of the art we discussed in today's episode, head to torontosartery.com.
Thanks for listening!