I majored in environmental studies at the University of Michigan and spent my junior year abroad working in a Costa Rican rainforest. I am also the daughter of an art teacher. So, writing STEAM books is very much in my wheelhouse. In fact, more than half of my 80+ books are STEAM-themed, but the book that puts the A in STEAM most clearly is Gaudí: Architect of Imagination (NorthSouth). Catalan artist and architect Antoní Gaudí used science, technology, engineering, art, and math to design and build parks, homes, and churches. That A in STEAM is where Gaudí shines, connecting with millions of admirers. It is not only an A for Art/Artist, but for Architect and Avant-garde—his cutting-edge talent in creating unique and functional works of art.

One of the highlights of my 30+ years in education was teaching at the American School of Valencia, Spain. I traveled frequently to Barcelona and fell in love with Antoní Gaudí’s work. If you’ve ever been to Barcelona, or seen pictures, you know that the city is practically a living museum to this accomplished artist and architect who was lightyears ahead of his time. My favorite place is Parque Güell, a life-sized Candyland-like park with colorful columns, curving teacup benches, and a mosaic gecko fountain.

While living and working in Spain, I also studied ceramics. When it was time to move back to the U.S., I packed up the hand-painted ceramic bowls and plates I’d made (and bought) and shipped them by boat. Months later, I unpacked only to find that one of the boxes had completely shattered in transit. At first, I was upset. Then, I remembered the grandeur and beauty of Gaudí’s iconic mosaics. I took a mosaic class and soon began teaching mosaic making to both children and adults. I sold my pieces at the local farmer’s market, got commissioned to do mural installations, and received grants to teach children how to create mosaics. My students found it cathartic to hammer tiles and piece them back together like a puzzle, and families treasured the final masterpieces.

My goal was not only to teach children the process of painting, firing, smashing, gluing, grouting and polishing tile, but to also impart Gaudí’s inspirational life and work. As a child, Gaudí suffered with such bowlegs that he couldn’t walk or sit to attend school. Instead, he wandered his family’s ranch on a donkey, keenly observing nature. He was fascinated with snail shells, twisted branches, and flowing rivers. Gaudí said, “The straight line belongs to man and the curved line belongs to G-d.” Take a look, next time you’re out in the world—buildings, doors, streets, chairs—most everything with straight lines is human-made, but nature is inherently curved. This fascination eventually led Gaudí to design undulated teacup benches, spiraling staircases, and ornately rounded façades of houses such as Casa Mila (La Pedrera) and Casa Vicens. (Like Gaudí, as a wildlife photographer, I view nature as my muse.)

When he graduated university, his professors said, “I don’t know if we’re graduating a genius or a fool!” Gaudí broke plates, glass bottles, and tile, transforming the shards into breathtaking works of art. His eccentric, eclectic, vibrant style either made people gasp in awe and admiration or shake their heads in admonishment. Now, we see him as a visionary whose works are the main tourist attractions in Spain.

Gaudí’s most famous and frequented creation? La Sagrada Familia (the Sacred Family), a cathedral with towering steeples, gawking gargoyles, and constant construction. This masterpiece is projected to be “completed” in 2026, to commemorate the centennial of Gaudí’s passing, but I imagine Gaudí is looking down and finding 1,000 places to fix still. When he was commissioned to do a project, Antoní became so obsessed that he lived on site and appeared disheveled. (As a creative, I empathize with this intensity and definitely might not be recognizable when I emerge to go the store while I’m on deadline!)

Gaudí turned his pain into passion. By breaking plates, tiles, and bottles, he created magnificent mosaics shaped like suns atop columns supporting the ceiling, homes that morphed into museums, and entire rooftop gardens. For kids, I inscribe signed copies of Gaudí: Architect of Imagination, “Broken can be beautiful,” because so many of our youth feel like being different, living in a dysfunctional home, thinking out of the box, or being deemed “weird” means you are broken. I know I internalized this message as a kid; yet I’ve found a way to turn my brokenness into books, my weirdness into words. Misfits can make magic! Gaudí is the quintessential example of how seemingly challenging life experiences can be transformed into art and architecture that is admired globally. Using all the elements of STEAM, Gaudí created an entire city of broken beauty!