About
Claudia Maldonado is a Colombian-Spanish artist and designer based in Scotland. Living most of her life by the sea in various islands around the world, it developed her awareness of how the immensity of the ocean can also be extremely delicate and vulnerable to human interaction.
Claudia’s art is her interpretation of what she has seen underwater during her professional scuba diving carrier. Her inspiration as an artist comes from being immersed in the ocean surrounded by active fish shoals, giving her the feeling of being part of their harmonious underwater dance.
Member of the Society of Scottish Artists
Member of the East Neuk Open Studios, Scotland
Turning Waste into Art, Ocean Awareness
Claudia believes that art impacts our emotions and can move us to value the blue planet we live in.
After a myriad of trials with different media, Claudia found the inner tubes of tyres to be the most adequate material to represent the fish shoals. She cuts thousands of fish with scissors and hand-stitches them to flax. The golden touch of the finished piece catches the light bringing to life the togetherness of the shoal.
The mere thought of knowing that the old tyres she uses for her art will not end up polluting the ocean, moves her to continue creating ocean art. Her intent is to create pieces to decorate our spaces creating ocean awareness, reminding us of the beauty of a sea filled with fish, the way it is meant to be.
“Being part of their (fish shoal’s) dance, motivated me to find the way to represent such dance through my art”. -Claudia