It's been a while, actually round about seven years, that I haven't touched my cutting nippers, hammer and hardie. Not to mention my tesserae. The feeling was, to say the least, therapeutic, fulfilling, almost like a dream. To be honest, it feels as if I have to learn everything right from the start and, I won't hide it, my mosaic project has not turned the way I wanted it. It is way far from good (for my own standards), lots of mistakes, project, colour and design wise, but I am glad for one thing: I did it, it's finished.
Yesterday I had a very creative afternoon. I don't know where all this came from. I was meaning to work on some patters for cards, then I saw the faberge egg that fascinates me so much and decided to try design something.
All these stuff are basically completely out of the blue.
Then I decided that the first image needed a better quote and then placed an out of the blue, very common I know, but so right!
Have a great week and take as many hours of rest as possible! It will boost your creativity.
This is one of the things I have been working on since my last post. I have also been very busy with some charity work and I have finally been able to sit down and take some pictures of my first card. It is composed of mosaics from Constantinople and Thessaloniki and what they have in common (besides being of religious character) is the different tones of gold and blue that blend so fine. The inside of the card is blank. I have also framed the card to see how it looked like as a picture.
We are told to use our logic and to calculate every single thing in our lives. Our next step, our home furnishings, our meals, our education, our careers. We forget that most of the time if only our instinct was nourished and "taken care of" like we would take care of a small plant or a bulb, we would benefit from what it has to say to us. I had once read in a book by Clarissa Pinkola Estes that in order to identify and follow your instinct you first have to nurture it, to know you have it and work on it, not to suppress it. Quote of the day. By Mosaicology. With some mosaic work there of course (look carefully on the border meander).
You may have guessed I have a thing for quotes and design. It is like a virus. I realise that a design is never "perfect enough" and that you constantly need to change and improve it. Today I worked a little bit on this one here and I am sharing it with you. This result was totally unexpected for me.
I had this image printed on one of my plain tank tops by a print shop in my area. I am working on some other images to print on more tank tops and t-shirts. I am also thinking on long beach dresses. I am not considering selling anything right now because the idea of competition, prices and copyright baffles me so for now I am going along with the initiative and see what comes up. Your comments and thoughts are more than welcome as always.
I was happy to retrieve these two mosaics, made a lot of time ago, from a box I kept in the attic. I had forgotten all about them!
I like the second better, actually I don't like the first one but I can *endure* looking at it and learning from the mistakes.
Mosaic making involves making mistakes and trying to find solutions, as in all art forms and mediums.
I would be very surprised if someone out there preferred the first one with the green background!!!
This is my first mosaic using smalti. I made this at a mosaic summer course in Ravenna. The theme is taken from the spectacular mosaics embellishing the walls of the basilica of San Vitale. Everybody has seen the mosaics, dating 6th century, commissioned by Justinian, the Byzantine emperor, considered amongst the most outstanding mosaics of the Byzantine era if not of all eras worldwide.
These are the San Vitale mosaics from which the "doves" theme was taken:
I think that it's a great achievement that in Italy and in Ravenna in particular, there has always been a strong awareness to conserve the mosaics and to promote the art through the Ravenna school, summer courses, cultural events etc. To learn more about Ravenna and courses of mosaic visit:
Parenthesis. To be fair I'll say a word or two for Spilimbergo too. Another great mosaic school in Italy. I would say that Spilimbergo differs basically for its "modern edge". I haven't attended any course there but I remember going there to see an exhibition and I was astounded not just by the creativity and imagination of the artists but for their technique. In mosaics, technique is crucial. Lack of it can "contaminate" someone's talent or ideas. Mosaic is not "straightforward". You don't just take the brush and wherever it takes you. You can't "brush over" mistakes. Mistakes are "forbidden". Not really ...but...imagine trying to extract small stones from hardened cement.
Shortly after the course in Ravenna (Lido Adriano to be exact), a private client of high prestige commissioned me to reproduce a mosaic fragment dated 10th century. Click here to go to Benaki museum website “Byzantine Art” Section. You should be able to view the mosaic. Apparently, this fragment is the only mosaic evidence, from the ruins of the Monastery of Stoudios (ΜοναστήριΣτουδίου), which historically was the most important monastery of Constantinople.
Here’s the copy I made:
(invisible hook behind the icon)
Here's an interesting read on Stoudios monastery and Constantinople:
From Athens in Greece let's go to Italy, Bellagio on LakeComo. That stunning little colourful town extremely famous with breathtaking lake views. I was commissioned by an art gallery-shop to make a mosaic replica of a Roman mosaic. We chose this one, a tiger. I am afraid I only have the pictures on paper and the quality isn't so good.This is a photo of the original mosaic:
And this is the copy I made (for mosaic reproductions the technique used is usually the double reverse method, "Ravenna" method, a long procedure yet the most effective and accurate).
This next mosaic was made with pebbles showing a simple olive branch. I like this mosaic for its simplicity. It fits and compliments any kind of home interior (and exterior of course.)
Another client from Greece had requested a "mosaic translation" of the celebrated Minoan wall paintings. The idea was to make a small mosaic using the "lilies" theme from Thera, today's Santorini. The result was this next mosaic which I am afraid I only have - again - on paper...There's an invisible hook behind the mosaic so that it can be hanged on the wall giving it a "floating fragment" look. This is what I love about mosaics. You can "play" with their "antique" effect especially if you use cement but even if you make a mosaic on a wooden base, particularly if you use marbles, you can achieve an "antique" effect and add a stylish and distinctive ancient aura to your living space.
These are the beautiful frescoes from Thera:
This next mosaic icon shows Saint Ambrose. The design is based on Byzantine iconography, yet, I should say it is a free and personal rendition that does not reflect tradition "at its best". I only say this out of profound respect for iconography - hagiography according to the Byzantine (Greek-Byzantine tradition.)
These are just some of the mosaics that I have made. Any new mosaics - which I will definitely photograph now that I have a proper digital camera!!! - will be posted later…
