Mosaics

Truth is, I haven't made that many mosaics—they are shown further on along with mosaic links.

But that doesn't dim my enthusiasm for sharing my experience learning about them.

• Mosaic School

  I dabbled in mosaics and had a fascination with the medieval period and the Byzantine empire, and these interests led me to attend a one-week workshop in classical mosaics in Ravenna, Italy, taught by Luciana Notturni. It was a dream come true.

  I took notes, which meant that I didn't really have time to take pictures—here are those notes.

  The location was the Mosaic Art School of Luciana Notturni in the world center for mosaics, Ravenna, Italy.

  When the Romans ruling from Constantinople decided to re-take their lost eastern lands of Italy they chose Ravenna as the capital. That decision has left the world numerous monuments that make up the greatest collection of 5th and 6th century mosaics in the world.

  Side note:

  Oh, and by taking a couple of extra turns on my bike ride to the studio each morning and evening I could stop by the tomb of Dante for a reverential moment.

  Another side note:

  The writer and naturalist Terry Tempest Williams once attended the school and there begins her book Finding Beauty in a Broken World which uses mosaic as metphor. Here is an excerpt that has to do with the mosaic making itself.

  Just one chapter in the saga of the once exiled but now beloved Dante

  Some time around the mid-twentieth century tracings were made of what must be acres of mosaics in Ravenna. The school had copies of the more famous mosaics from which we chose one for our main project.

  My choice was this dove at a water bath from the mausoleum of the empress Galla Placidia.

  I mentioned them earlier, but here again is the link to my notes.

  The notes describe the whole process of building the mosaic in a bed of lime putty on an easel, then adhering the composition to medical gauze in order to transfer it to a final setting in thinset mortar.

  

  

  The "columba" took most of the week, but there was time at the end to work quickly and make this free form compostion, cutting the marble and smalti and placing it directly into mortar.

  I recognized some brown marble that reminded me of another favorite Italian site, the train station in Florence so I went from there, working in some various colors of smalti and adding some touches of gold.

  I dabbled in mosaics and had a fascination with the medieval period and the Byzantine empire, and these interests led me to attend a one-week workshop in classical mosaics in Ravenna, Italy, taught by Luciana Notturni. It was a dream come true.

  I took notes, which meant that I didn't really have time to take pictures—here are those notes.

  The location was the Mosaic Art School of Luciana Notturni in the world center for mosaics, Ravenna, Italy.

  When the Romans ruling from Constantinople decided to re-take their lost eastern lands of Italy they chose Ravenna as the capital. That decision has left the world numerous monuments that make up the greatest collection of 5th and 6th century mosaics in the world.

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• Some of my mosaics

  A regular stained glass client who shared my love of classical media and methods learned I was interested in mosaics and commissioned this work.

  "Smalti" is the name for the traditional mosaic material used

  

  

  

  Though the doorbell was illuminated and in the right location, I hear folks don't actually find the bell button, so maybe not such a good idea

  

  

  Stained Glass Mosaics

  I have done a couple of mosaics directly using stained glass.

  There is this backsplash for a bathroom sink.

  

  

  This panel commemorates Sandra, beloved kitchen worker at the local temple.

  The most fun part of this project was the loaf of challah made of a Bullseye glass that had lighter and darker brown-ish areas fused onto a light base. The "sesame seeds" are small sandblasted areas.

  

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• Historical Mosaics

  Carl Brandt

  This is the mosaic that came my way.

  I never did any work on the actual piece, but the excellence of the work made me appreciate him and want to share this work.

  As I recall, the frame was about 32" each side.

  

  

  A couple of close-ups of the mosaic.

  That is quite a level of detail rendering the face, not to mention how fine the border is.

  The brochure announces his move from the Chicago area to Denver in 1900.

  

  

  Carl, who the brochure mentioned studying in Dusseldorf, would have competed at the time with the popularity of windows from the Mayer studio of Munich, which is still in existence and run by the family.

  A famous characteristic of their windows of the time were the ornate architectural canopies, and this design from the brochure shows that Carl was no slouch in that style.

  A Venetian Souvenir

  These are often refered to as Venetian micro-mosaics

  This gorgeous mosaic measures about 12" x 18".

  From my research, this would have been a souvenir of a stay in Venice. I wonder if it was ordered ahead of time by mail or if one could order one and have it ready the next day or so? The mosaic might already be assembled, with only the dedication needing to be done before it would be ready.

  The client said it was in the family—I believe it marked a honeymoon. The banner, translated, reads "Venice, 27th of March 1894".

  

  

  Such fine and beautiful work. There is a lot of glass-making skill that goes into the extraordinary details.

  

  

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