​It is a rare feat to swap a successful career as a business coach for a successful career as an artist. But having decided to step away from her career as a business coach and pursue her passion for mosaic art, this is exactly what Prerana Phadnis has achieved since starting her business Beyond Mosiac just over two and a half years ago.

“As an emerging mosaic artist who began this journey in 2019, amidst the challenges of the Covid pandemic, I am inspired by the dedication of modern mosaic artists who have spent decades pushing the boundaries of this medium. It is now my aspiration to create mosaic artworks that evoke powerful emotions and compelling narratives.”

Prerana takes commissions for mosaic work and has an array of pieces which she sells on her website and at markets including: jewellery, furniture and original artworks. Crucially, she gives back to the local community by running Wellbeing and Creativity workshops and donates a percentage of her earnings to community projects and charities. She envisions a future where mosaic art is a “prominently featured medium” and aspires to help skilled mosaic artists discover their unique and powerful voice. Now, having recently received a grant award of £11k from Arts Council England to develop her artistic practice – she is one step closer to realising this dream.

New Creative Direction
Prerana joined Enterprise Enfield’s E-business Programme in October 2023, seeking advice on developing her website, maximising her presence on social media and making the most of digital tools. At this time, she had just published a book, A Different Life, exploring her 27 year career as a business coach and delving into her creative passion - with anecdotes and images of her artwork. However, she says, “My digital knowledge and skills were a weakness – it’s not easy getting to grips with new technology.“ Once enrolled, her allocated Digital Expert, advised her on how to proceed with developing her website and gave her bespoke guidance on how to make her social media more effective, specifically her Instagram channel. She explains, “The programme spurred me on to make my website a priority, at the time my site was focussed more on selling my book than my artwork. I got a lot of advice and support from my Adviser on how to redesign and develop the website- adding new sections and images and improving the navigation and search engine ranking.”

In addition, by watching the programme’s recorded tutorials, Prerana learnt to use Canva - an extremely useful skill for contemporary artists wishing to present their work online. These skills enabled her to create an eye-catching portfolio to submit with her Arts Council grant application, she said, “I picked up digital skills such as using Canva, improving the presentation of my portfolio which I had to submit as part of my application. Amazingly I was successful. I was really chuffed with the Arts Council Award, which is pretty difficult to get the first time or very rarely given to a modern mosaic artist.” The Council received over 3.000 applications- only around 18% of applicants are successful. The funding gave Prerana the incredible opportunity to travel to Italy and be mentored from esteemed contemporary mosaic masters, which, she said, “was incredible and changed my path of thinking in mosaic.”
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Future Plans
Prerana has become a decorated artist in the world of mosaics, she is currently the Vice Chair at the London School of Mosaic and was part of the fabrication team installing a major collaborative mosaic artwork on London Bridge- created by students and alumni at the school. Her work, ‘The Mosaic Map of India’ is on permanent display, with other country maps, at ‘The Ruins’- a discarded coal mine in Pennsylvania, USA - created to honour the people who worked there. This opportunity came about after international mosaic magnet, Rachel Sager, contacted her through Instagram.

​

Another mosaic piece, which was the combined result of the work of attendees at one of her workshops, held in a Bowls Club in Broomfield Park in Palmers Green – is now on display there. Prerana is currently working on a triptych of mosaics inspired by the Stevie Smith poem ‘Not Waving But Drowning’ which she intends to submit to the RA Summer Exhibition next year. In addition, she has been invited to collaborate with an Italian engineer and mosaic artist to create a rotating mosaic totem pole installation.

“I am so glad I joined the E-business Programme – it has really helped me to focus on effective ways to improve my online presence and digital skills – this has helped open new opportunities for Beyond Mosaic and boosted my turnover too. I’m excited about the future, pushing the boundaries and developing my artistic practice further. “

Find out more, visit Beyond Mosiac.

​​

 

​​Free Advice and Support to Grow Your Business!

For more details about how you can access free 121 digital advice and support to grow your business visit the E-business Programme webpage.  (The programme is open to businesses which have been registered over 6 months and located in Enfield, Waltham Forest or Redbridge).

​​

The E-business Programme is fully funded - and supported by Local London, Waltham Forest Council, Enfield Council and Redbridge Council.