Tim Palomera grew up in a San Antonio neighborhood near San Pedro Springs. He attended Fox Tech High School in the early 1960s where he developed an interest in architectural drafting and design. Following his graduation from high school, he served three years in the United States Army. He attended the University of Texas at Austin on the G.I. Bill and earned a degree in architecture in 1970.
Upon his return to San Antonio, Palomera served as City Architect of San Antonio and retired after 20 years of service. When he is not researching and writing about local San Antonio neighborhood history, he stays active with designing and creating mosaic art tile products. He began working with clay tile 25 years ago.
He comments that “The art work is an attempt to honor a people, a religion, life itself. It is a metaphor of using discarded, broken and ordinary elements, and transforming them into an object of beauty very similar to the human experience of overcoming life’s challenges and ultimately finding beauty and happiness.”His historical interest revolves around documenting and photographing San Antonio’s oldest neighborhoods, in particular, downtown and the Westside.
Palomera’s cover art represents religion and culture both of which gives us the image of a star. A star in the sky can give you direction, light and hope. A star is as old as the universe and represents one of nature’s most beautiful objects.
