Mosaic Beach Blog

Artemis' Feast

Our friend Mario Bartolini emailed this picture of his latest work. I was so impressed I had to share! Here are his thoughts on how it came together.  All I can say is WOW!

Motivation: Gift to mother-in-law (her name is Diane, also the latin name for the Greek goddess Artemis) to mark her 60th anniversary. Will be used as a table top.

Inspiration: It represents present-day food which would still be familiar to the Ancient Romans. Inspired by the 2th century mosaic of Heraklitos identified as "asarotos oikos" which is Greek for "Unswept Room". It was an atrium floor produced for a rich Roman living in Greece. Using a similar guilloche and a white background, the scene depicted table leftovers lying on the floor (little mouse nibbing on a nut included).

Method: Direct method on a plywood base (thickness of 2.5 cm).
Dimensions: Diameter of 1.12 m (44 inches).
Materials: Ceramic Tesserae (mini-tiles) of 1 cm x 1 cm with glossy surface.
Thirteen colours.

Oyster Pond Academy

On the Eastern Shore of Nova Scotia (about one hour from Halifax) Kath Rutherford & 150 students (ages 7-14), teachers & community members created this beautiful 8' square foyer mosaic.  The significance of the design is that the new school will combine 4 small rural schools into one. It was funded by a 4C’s foundation grant. It was created on mesh using vitreous glass & I think they have done a magnificent job. Congratulations!

Got a mosaic story for us? Send your pictures & story to tanya@mosaicbeach.com & we will feature you here! 

Public Mosaics In Canada

Hey mosaickers!  Most of us feel as if we are living in a mosaic vacuum here in Canada. So little public art...so much time (to butcher a saying). Let's try to find as many public art installations as we can to prove ourselves wrong & to help celebrate ( & encourage) mosaic art here above the 49th parallel.

My first find was in Montreal a few weekends ago when I went to see the Argos get slaughtered by the Als. We stayed at the Europa Hotel on Drummond which has 4 different mosaic installations in their lobby. Done by Mosaika Art & Design in Montreal these are terrific examples of both well executed & artistic mosaics. (more on that theme later).  Here's one to whet your appetite!