Some time ago on this blog, I featured an interview with Simona Canino, an Italian mosaic artist and graduate from Spilimbergo Mosaic School. It was such great news to hear about her Etsy store!
Her work is distinguished by an authentic and versatile style. Some of them are trendy and perfect to wear during the day and for all occasions, whilst others - like this superb pair of earrings featured above - can complement a more dressy outfit - especially a black dress - and make a sensational statement.
Oh and....apart from the mosaic decoration of her accessories, Simona also creates her own settings (bezels)!
Have you seen Rihanna wearingthis mosaic bikini? Well, if you haven't, I'm telling you it's from 2011. I wonder if she
knows about the bikini girls of Piazza Armerina but who cares if she
does. Thing is, kudoz to her for choosing faux tiles. You see mosaic NEVER goes OUT of FASHION. Mosaic is posh. A presto, Magda
This cobbled pavement, λιθόστρωτο in Greek, is part of the Athenian heritage pertaining to the Filopappos area. I love it for what it represents and for its randomness. I see the Greek soul hidden right there between those spaces wanting to put the pieces closer together.
There's only one city that will turn me into an insomniac... What a wonderful surprise to find this picture here which, guess what, is available to buy from ETSY right here. Great perspective, impact and contrast. It's NEW YORK. Congrats to photographer Brian Tuchalski.
Cobblestreet n.2 is from Romania. What draws me to this cobbled street from Bucharest is the irregularity of the stones and the way they let the light reflect on them. It really looks as if this was taken as far as the year 1700.
There's something majestic and artistic about cobblestone streets. I see them all too often here in Italy but this type of street paving is encountered around the world and it goes back thousands of years ago. This is - again - one of those posts that have just popped up in seconds.
So, I said to myself why not do a series of posts with cobblestone streets from around the world? Simple, short and inspiring.
Cobblestone streets it is then! The ones we love to walk on. Perhaps our high heeled shoes don't love them that much but anything cobble and stone for a mosaic artist is a feast. Stay tuned!
Impressive mosaics of huge dimension in a building almost everybody forgot about. Almost....
Yes, this is how bad it is.
It's beginning to get a bit scary. The perfect setting for a sci-fi movie or The Predator...
Now, this looks better. I fear not.
You are looking at mosaics from an era that's not so far away. For this, and apparently other reasons, it still sort of hangs out there till it hopefully is allocated to where it deserves to be.
(I suppose you know which era this is or do you need a hint?.. Hm, thought not).
These mosaics deserve a warmer and friendlier environment because of the work that has been put into them, for their dimensions, for their association with a past that meant something for some people and their ideology, because of the building which they adorn and the location of that building, for respect, for the future.
For being an impressive a MOSAIC MONUMENT in a beautiful setting in the countryside.
Okay.
I think it's time I told you what on EARTH I am talking about.
This is Buzludha. The former headquarters of the Bulgarian Communist party. An abandoned building that few people visit because it's in a really bad state. Looking at it from the pictures, it truly gives you the impression of ANOTHER ERA.
As the building is currently plunged into oblivion, the mosaics are slowly decaying and in no time they could indeed be lost unless someone either restores the building and turn it into a museum or at least remove the mosaics and place them into an existing museum.
I'd love to quote for you the words of Timothy Allen of Human Planet.com who wrote about the place in his post Forget the past:
Buzludha is Bulgaria’s largest ideological monument to
Communism. Designed by architect Guéorguy Stoilov, more than 6000
workers were involved in its 7 year construction including 20 leading
Bulgarian artists who worked for 18 months on the interior decoration. A
small, universally expected donation from every citizen in the country
formed a large portion of the funds required to build this impressive
structure that was finally unveiled in 1981 on what was the 1300th anniversary of the foundation of the Bulgarian state.
Buried in the monument’s concrete structure, is a time capsule
containing a message for future generations explaining the significance
of the building.
The decor was a sumptuous mixture of marble and glass including a
magnificent main hall containing 500sq metres of mosaic fresco depicting
Bulgarian and Soviet communist themes.
Timothy Allen also includes pictures of how the building USED TO BE LIKE before being abandoned. This way you can see the mosaics intact.
Sci-fi. Indeed. Star Wars... I'm expecting a Jedi entering the scene.
And this is where Darth Vader is walking fast and furiously.
In his post, Timothy Allen shares an EXTRAORDINARY picture of a
REMOVED MOSAIC from the building. The author visited the building on a snowy day.
A sinopia in the snow...
Suggestive, not that scary but who would want to spend Christmas there? (unless if they turn it into a museum)
The way the building looks on a snowy day
In Allen's post, there's a reader's comment that I wanted to include here because it's relevant to both the building and the MOSAICS. He wrote this in May 2013.
The place has deteriorated a lot since you were there, Tim. Most of the
mosaics have gone around the balcony and the roof seems almost see
through now. But the view is spectacular as ever. There are a few other
monuments to check out in the area too and a beautiful russian church.
I’m planning a trip back there with some friends to spend a few days
waiting for some descent weather, it looks like people will keep braking
into the building if anyone seals it up. All the holes seem to have
been made in fairly fresh concrete.
In total there are 220 comments on Allen's post Forget your Past!
And here's why I called this post BAD CASE LOVING YOU:
While going through the interesting comments on humanplanet.com I discovered that a band named CRCV went there to film a video for their song BAD CASE. Besides the video you can see pictures from the video clip on their Facebook page. This video is amazing! The MOSAICS THAT GLITTER make it pretty mystic and unforgettable.
So, what do you think?
Is it a bad case loving something that nobody wants to know about?
A presto!
Magda
Thanks:
Thank you Plamena Nikolova and Sofia Polykreti for letting me know about the article on Matador Network! This post wouldn't have existed if it wasn't for that tweet! Image Credits / Copyright: Matador Network for the information and for the 1st to 4th photo used in this post Timothy Allen for the information and for the 5th to 9th photo in this post
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