Venice Beach, known for its art galleries, boutiques and Bohemian lifestyle, celebrates the arrival of a "new girl in town" – an 18-1/2 foot-high original mosaic of a mermaid, erected on the front of the Inn at Venice Beach, one of Pacifica Hotel Company's Los Angeles boutique lodgings. 

The stunning mosaic, conceived by Santa Barbara artist Barbara Larson, was inspired by the energy of Venice, California and the style influenced by Picasso's Les Demoiselles d'Avignon. Larson's colors are bold and elegant, symbolic of today's architectural choices. Assembly of the mosaic, executed by Matt and Leslie Doolin of Topanga Art, is made of custom hand-made ceramic tiles mixed with glass tesera and Tile. A specially fabricated light box illuminates the mermaid from below, enhancing the shimmering, incandescent quality of the glass and tile surface. The 'new girl…' is certain to become one of Venice's icons.